What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Lucy breaks away from Scotty and says, what is this? He says, what they’ve always wanted, and kisses her again. They fall behind the hay bales.

Martin says, for the life of him, he can’t figure out why Tracy wants to suddenly unburden her conscience, but like he said, he’s not up for it right now. She wants him to say she’s right? She’s right. He’s broken up with Lucy. They’re done now. Unless of course (🍷), she wants to discuss some obscure point of law, in which case, she can call his office. Tracy says she’s the reason he and Lucy broke up.

John calls for a car to come to the station of the PCPD… He wants to transport a couple of detainees. Robert comes in and says, look what the cat dragged in – Jagger Cates. John tells him that it’s John now. It’s been a while. He looks good. Robert says, better than the last time John saw him, and John says, he beat the cancer well. He and Robin stay in touch, although it’s been a few months since they caught up. How is she? Robert says, they’re doing great, out there saving lives. Noah’s captain of the soccer team and Emma is an intern at Berkeley Astrophysics Center. John asks why it doesn’t surprise him that Robin’s daughter is a genius. He’s glad to hear they’re all doing so well. It’s good to see Robert. Robert says, him too. What brings him to Port Charles?

An officer locks Jordan and Anna in a cell, explaining that Special Agent Cates asked for them to be detained. Anna says, of course (🍷) he did, and Jordan asks if they don’t get a phone call. The officer says he’ll check on that and leaves. Jordan wonders how far Anna’s friend is going to push these obstruction charges, and Anna says, Lord knows. Jordan suggests they tell him what they know. He might be interested to learn that the buyer for the weapons is in Port Charles. Anna says, if they give him their intel, they use their leverage. If they want to be involved in this investigation, then they have to keep what they know to themselves. Jordan says, they won’t have much time to investigate while they’re being arraigned in federal court, and Anna says she’s just hoping their friends intervene. Dante comes in and says, friends like him?

On the phone in his office, Michael tells Drew that he’s glad the meeting went well… There’s no need to come back. Everyone’s gone for the day. He’s just wrapping up a few things himself… Looking forward to it. AND HE ACTAULLY SAYS GOODBYE. Unheard of on a soap phone call. Dex walks in and Michael asks what he’s doing here. Dex says, somebody tried to kill Michael’s father.

At the penthouse, Sonny thanks Brick for coming by so quickly, and Brick says, it sounded urgent. Sonny says, it is, and Brick says, whatever he needs. He knows Sonny is going through a lot right now. Sonny says he needs people he can trust.

Sitting in the interrogation room, and John tells Robert that he’s in Port Charles working on a case. Murder, attempted murder, stolen weapons. Robert says, sounds serious, and John says, it is, but on a lighter note, he hears Robert is DA now. Congratulations. Robert says, John knows him; keep moving, so to speak. Which brings him to why he’s here. He understands Anna was arrested, so after he sorts that little mess out, the three of them should get together. He knows Anna would love to see John. John says he doubts that. He’s the one who arrested her.

Anna asks, who told Dante they were in custody? and Dante says, Nikolas Cassadine is back in town and turned himself in. He brought Nikolas in for booking, and the desk sergeant told him they were down here. What’s going on? Anna says, the Feds arrested them for an obstruction charge, and he says, really? What happened with that? Jordan says, she and Anna tangled with them while following a lead, but Dante says he’ll need a little more information than that. Anna says, they tried to keep the PCPD’s hands clean while they gathered some extra information, and Dante says, right. Well, too late, right? Because here they are the PCPD jail. He can’t override the Feds, but if he’s going to help sort this out at all, they have to tell him what happened. Start from the beginning. Tell him everything. Anna says, it all started with Dante’s father.

Sonny says, someone close to him targeted him and his family in Puerto Rico, and Brick says, so he thinks the shooter is someone he knows? Sonny says, has to be, because they had to have knowledge of his island. They knew how to get through security, they knew where his men were, and they knew how they worked. That kind of information isn’t easy to get, so it’s got to be somebody he trusts. Brick says, so his theory is, someone inside was the shooter or was working with the shooter, and Sonny says, that’s the only thing he can think of. Brick says, no one on the outside would have any knowledge whatsoever of Sonny’s security plans. Hell, some of his own men don’t know. Sonny says, that’s right, and Brick wonders, who the hell can it be? He personally vetted every single person who works for Sonny. Sonny says he guesses he has to question the source, and Brick says, what?! Sonny thinks he’s behind this? Does he?

Dex tells Michael, after they realized the shooter had gotten away, Sonny didn’t want to stay on the island, so they came back to Port Charles. Michael says, everyone’s okay though, right? His dad and Ava… Avery didn’t see anything, did she? Dex says, everyone’s fine. Fortunately, Avery was in her room with her bodyguard the whole time and never even realized anything was wrong. Michael says, that’s good at least. How could someone get close enough to Sonny to shoot him in his own house with Avery there, and why is this the first he’s hearing about it? Dex says, Sonny probably didn’t tell Michael because he didn’t want to worry him, and Michael says, this is exactly why he wanted Dex to keep working for him, so Dex can tell him when things start to spiral for Sonny, and it seems like it’s happening now.

On the phone, Gregory says he needs to make an appointment with the doctor. He’s expecting Gregory’s call… Yes, he can hold. He looks into the restaurant and sees Tracy sitting with Martin.

Martin says he gets it. Tracy and Lucy don’t like each other. He understands. What he’s telling her is, if she wants to gloat, to bask in Lucy’s misfortune, she’d better have the decency to do it somewhere else. His relationship issues have nothing to do with her. She says, they do. With her and with Scotty. He says he’s telling her that he wants to be alone. It’s none of her business. She says, the trouble with Lucy started when she warned him about Lucy and Scotty. She’s the one who put it in his head that their tawdry history has a habit of repeating itself.  He asks what kind of game she’s playing, but she says she’s not playing a game; she’s trying to stop the games. She’s trying to be honest with him. She’s been manipulating him. She’s been misleading him. He says, in what way? and she says she doesn’t want to bore him with the details, but she got wind of the fact that Lucy and Scotty were plotting against her. They wanted her to fall for Scotty. He asks, why the hell would they do that? and she says she doesn’t know. She thinks it’s got something to do with Deception. When she found out, she decided to turn the tables and started manipulating them and thereby Martin. Her intention was only to get revenge on Lucy, then he got swept up in it… She’s so sorry. Martin bangs on the table and says, of all the self-centered and hateful… How could she do something like that? She says, believe her, she’s done worse. So he has a choice now that he knows the truth. He can either waste his time berating her or use it more wisely and try to get Lucy back.

Lucy sits up, her hair full of straw and her dress off one shoulder. She says, oh my God. What did I just do? Scotty sits up, looking more rumpled than usual, and says, this was amazing. At the same time, Lucy says, this was a disaster,

Martin says, Lucy’s not picking up, and Tracy asks if he expected her to jump at his call. He just broke up with her. Try again. He says, that’s the third call in a row. Obviously, she doesn’t want to talk to him, and he can’t say as he blames her. He’s an idiot. He let someone like Tracy poison their relationship. He would be surprised if she ever forgives him. Tracy says, if he gives up this easily, maybe she shouldn’t. Why doesn’t he stop wallowing and figure out a way to get her to listen to him? Martin says, do him a favor. Don’t help. She’s done enough already. Then again, he can’t stop thinking, if it’s that easy for her to turn the two of them against one another, maybe it’s not meant to be after all. She says, that’s between him and Lucy. She for one thinks he could do a lot better, but for some unfathomable reason, he’s in love with Lucy, so he deserves the truth. He says, after the damage is done. That’s what he doesn’t understand. Why? She got what she wanted. She got her revenge. She blew up his relationship with Lucy. Why confess now? She looks over at Gregory and says, why indeed.

As she zips up her dress, Lucy wonders how this just happened. How, how, how? What were they thinking? Really, what was she thinking? How in the world did she and Scotty just end up here – again? Scotty says, hang on. She’s single. He’s single. They didn’t do anything wrong. She says, right. Technically, she is single because Marty just broke up with her. But she just ended up with another man in bed… Well, it wasn’t in bed, was it? It was horizontal behind a haystack. He says, it’s a haybale, not a haystack, and she says, who cares? She just had sex with another man when the love of her life just broke up with her. She’s not particularly proud of this. He says, she’s very emotional from all those things Martin said to her. It’s not like they planned this. Lucy says, right. It just sort of happened because she was emotional and devastated and very, very, very hurt. So he’s right. He was here and it just happened. It felt familiar. Scotty says, she better be honest with herself and she sure as hell better start being honest with him, dammit.

John tells Robert, after Anna and Jordan refused to disclose whatever information they had about the unsub, he had no choice but to arrest them. They’re hiding something. Robert says he gets that John has a job to do here, but if Anna… John knows her. If she’s prepared to go to these lengths to check this out, then he’s got to know that she’s got a good reason. John says, too much is at stake here. He needs to clear this case, and both Anna and Jordan are getting in his way. Jordan ignored his warning, then she and Anna joined forces and cost him his best lead. Robert asks how they did that, and John says, the gun dealer lawyered up and isn’t talking. They admit they learned something from him, but they won’t say what. Robert says, so he thinks throwing them in jail on an obstruction charge is going to help, and John says, whatever it takes. They’re both former law enforcement. They understand time is of the essence in a case like this, but Anna is more interested in protecting Sonny Corinthos. Robert says, don’t start him on Sonny. They’re both on the same page when it comes to that guy. As the DA, he understands the position John is in. John says he appreciates that, and Robert says, but he’s going to insist John drop the charges.

Dante says he understands why Jordan wants to investigate who shot Curtis. He’s her ex-husband and she wants someone to pay. Jordan says, Curtis could be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Whoever did that to him should be behind bars. Dante says he agrees, but the problem is, the Feds told her to back off and she went and got Anna involved. Anna says she didn’t need convincing. It could have just as easily been her that day instead of Curtis. Dante says he gets it, but he wishes they’d come to him, but Jordan says, they didn’t want to involve him or anyone else in a fight with the Feds. He says, it would have been better than this. Now they’re in a cell facing serious criminal charges, and Jordan says, if they’d had just a few more minutes with the gun dealer, this would all have been a moot point. He was just on the verge of talking to them when the FBI burst in. They were so close to identifying the person who shot Curtis. Dante asks if they got anything, and Anna says, they did get one piece of intel they can use.

Brick says, Sonny thinks he’s behind this? and Sonny says, wait a minute. They’ve known each other a long time. He can always count on Brick. That’s why he asked Brick to be second in command. Brick says, and he gladly accepted the position and all it entails, and Sonny says he knows that, but he’s been in this business a long time and he knows people have a breaking point. and if Brick was ever in a position like that, he hopes Brick would come to him before he did anything he shouldn’t do. Brick says, of course (🍷) he would. They’ve been through entirely too much together for him to even think of doing something against Sonny. Sonny says he didn’t think it was Brick, but he had to make sure. With all these people that are close to him, it’s making him question everything. Brick says he understands. If he was in Sonny’s position, he’d do the same thing. Sonny says, so they’re good? and Brick says, yeah, we good. But in the spirit of honesty, he has a confession to make.

Brick says he did a favor for Jordan Ashford, and Sonny says, since when does Brick work for the cops? Brick says he doesn’t. Never have, never will. But Jordan isn’t part of the PCPD anymore. She hasn’t been a cop for a while, and now she owes him a favor, whenever he asks, no questions asked. Sonny says, somebody in the mayor’s office owing him could be good down the line, and Brick says, that’s what he was thinking, but Sonny says, it still doesn’t help them with who the rat in his organization is. Brick says, no, it doesn’t. Based on the intricacy of the attack and how easily the shooter escaped from Puerto Rico, this isn’t the result of someone just shooting off at the mouth loosely or letting some information slip. Sonny says, this wasn’t a mistake or an accident. Somebody he trusts wants him dead.

Michael says, Sonny doesn’t know Dex is here? and Dex says, he doesn’t, but Sonny is going to tell him to keep this from Michael, so he’s not going behind Sonny’s back. Between the shooting and Spencer dying so unexpectedly, Sonny’s been going non-stop. He doesn’t think Sonny’s had time to process either of those things yet. Michael says, his first instinct is to go see his father, but he doesn’t think he’s welcome in Sonny’s house right now. Dex says he can’t speak on Michael’s relationship with his father. That’s between the two of them. Michael says, that’s why he made the decision not to turn Sonny in to the Feds. He started working on their reconciliation and they made it. He thinks they did. Things were good between them in Puerto Rico. That’s why he couldn’t bring himself to tell Sonny what Nina did. It would break his heart. He also thought Sonny would take it as him saying Sonny was wrong to choose Nina over his mom. Sonny claims he’s angry with Michael because he kept quiet about what Nina did, but he’s more angry because Michael was right about Nina all along.

Anna says, as they surmised, the shooting was an attempt on Sonny’s life, but it’s a smaller piece of a much larger case, and Dante asks how she knows. She says, because the agent who arrested them gave up a piece of intel. Apparently, the Feds are investigating this string of killings committed using the cache of weapons stolen from the WSB. They believe a single person is responsible for these murders and that all the victims have something in common, but he wouldn’t give up what that something is. Dante says, they should know as well that another attempt was made on Sonny’s life a few days ago on his island, and Anna asks if anyone was hurt. Dante says, everyone’s fine, but obviously whoever this is wants to finish the job, and Jordan says, and they’re stuck in this cell, unable to help. Can he get them out of here? Dante asks, why? So they can run around town, investigating again and putting themselves in harm’s way again? Jordan says, come on. The Feds don’t want to work with anyone else on this, and Sonny isn’t their favorite person anyway. Anna says, which puts them in a better position to help, and they can’t just sit in here while someone makes an attempt on his life. Dante says he knows. He’ll talk to Robert and see if he can get them arraigned and released tonight. Anna thanks him, and he says, don’t make him regret it.

John says, not Robert too. He’s the District Attorney. He should understand better than anyone that no one can be above the law. Robert says, look at this. Something they agree on. Anna is the mother of his child. They’re always going to have each other’s backs. So he’s asking John, let them go. John says he hears Robert, but he needs to know whatever Anna and Jordan are hiding. If he lets them walk, he ends up with nothing. Robert says, if John drops the charges, he’ll get them to share whatever they know with him, and John asks if Robert really thinks he can get them to do that. Robert says, Anna responds better to those who are on her good side.

Scotty says, Lucy can deny this all she wants, but there’s something between them. That spark that they had years ago, that’s still there. So why fight it? Him being with her is like him just breathing. She says, their history says otherwise, doesn’t it? How many times did they cheat on nice, deserving people with each other? How many times did they scheme? How many lies have they told? How much damage have the done everywhere, and how many times did they try to make this – what is this? – this relationship work? Every time, they fail. He says, maybe that’s because all of that didn’t matter… until now. Now, this is their time. She says she admits she feels close to him, and she’s more of her real self with him than with anybody else, and he says, then stop fighting it. He’s about to kiss her, when Martin walks in.

Lucy asks what Martin is doing here, and he says, apparently interrupting. Scotty says, yeah, they’re busy, and Martin says he can see that. He doesn’t have to ask what they’re doing here. Lucy says, you know what? Martin doesn’t get a say. He just broke up with her, remember? He doesn’t get to say what she does. Martin says, they just broke up fifteen minutes ago. Of course (🍷) what she does still matters to him. for her information, he came here to tell her that he was wrong, that he made a mistake when he said they were over. Because it turns out, all of their problems were manufactured by Tracy Quartermaine.

Gregory meets Tracy at the bar and says he’s sorry he kept her waiting. The call took longer than he expected. She says, it’s fine, and he asks if they’re still on for dinner. She says, actually, she’d rather not, and he says, if this is about him leaving her alone for so long, he apologizes, but she says, no. She just lost her appetite. He says, something’s going on here. If she wants to deal with it all alone, he’ll go, no questions asked, but he saw that she and Martin were having a rather animated discussion and he’s here for her if she wants to talk about what happened that got her so upset. She says she doesn’t have a problem with Martin. She has a problem with him.

John says he appreciates how close Robert and Anna are, and he appreciates Robert wanting to look out for her, but nothing Robert does will matter if Jordan and Anna keep interfering in his investigation. Robert says, if John releases them to him, he’ll take personal responsibility for their supervision, and John says he hopes Robert knows what he’s doing. Fine. He’ll extend Robert this one-time professional courtesy and drop the charges against Anna and Jordan, provided he keeps them in line. Robert says he knows John is in a tough position. He owes John one. John laughs and says he’s got to admit, if he’d been told when he was running around Port Charles causing trouble that one day the DA would ask him for a favor, he never would have believed it. Robert says, people change. John should be proud of the man he’s become. Dante says, sorry to interrupt, but can he steal the DA for a minute? John says, sure, and Dante and Robert step away. Dante says he wants to talk about Anna and Jordan, and Robert says he had a little talk with the FBI and they’re going to drop the charges. Dante says, that’s great, and Robert calls to John, saying they have to get together before he leaves town. John says, looking forward to it, and Robert leaves. Dante says, they haven’t met, and introduces himself to John. John says, he’s Sonny Corinthos’s son, and Dante says, yeah. Who is he? John says he’s Special Agent John Cates.

Brick says, Sonny was right to start by looking at the people closest to him. It takes people with the right kind of knowledge to pull a job off like this. He would start off with Frank, Gabe, and Dex. Sonny says, don’t be surprised if he doesn’t find anything on Dex, but Brick says, Dex hasn’t been the most transparent person with Sonny. Sonny says, Dex has been loyal to him repeatedly. He got shot saving Sonny’s life when they were ambushed. If Tony hadn’t come back, Dex would be dead right now. He also did a really good job in Puerto Rico. Dex let him know when the guard was knocked out, and it allowed him and Ava to take cover. Brick says, there could be a simple explanation for this. Whoever’s doing this, they have to deflect attention away from themselves, right? Sonny says, maybe, and Brick says, he put the wheels in motion, so he can come to the rescue and save the day for Sonny and Ava. That way, he looks like the hero, he provides himself some cover, and ultimately Sonny feels gratitude toward him, and maybe allows him even more access into his operation. Sonny says, that sounds like smart play, but the thing is, they don’t know it’s Dex and don’t have evidence of that, do they? Brick says, Dex was coordinating with the head of security on the island. Plus, he’s the one who found the shooter’s hideout. He’s just sayin’, it fits.

Dex says he’s not telling Michael that stuff’s not important, but Sonny is more worried about keeping his family safe, and Michael says, that means finding the person behind the attack. Any leads? Dex says, Sonny’s theory is that it’s someone on the inside, and Michael says, maybe there’s a way he can help his father. Dex asks, how? and Michael says, you.

Sonny tells Brick, it’s possible Dex is a traitor, but he doesn’t really know a lot about the business. That means he would have had to get access elsewhere. Brick says, he doesn’t need to know the inner workings of the organization. He just needs to know how, where, and when Sonny is most vulnerable. Sonny says, like he told Brick before, Dex has gone above and beyond. He offered Dex a job he wouldn’t trust many people to do because it would have bound him for the rest of his life, and he didn’t even blink. He would have gone through with it if Sonny hadn’t stopped him. Brick says he gets it. Sonny likes the kid. He exposed Dex to a lot of sensitive things and he came through, but here’s the question. Is it possible what Sonny is feeling is exactly what Dex wants him to feel?

Dex says he wants to find out who’s after Sonny just as much as Michael does. Because as long as Sonny is in danger, so is his family, and he doesn’t want anything to happen to Joss or anyone she loves. He’ll do anything in his power to keep them all safe. Michael says, good, because if Sonny is right and someone on the inside is working against him, Dex is in a perfect position to find out who it is. Dex says, Sonny hasn’t asked him to look at anyone in the organization yet, but Michael says, he can be discreet. Sonny never has to know. Dex says, it’s risky. If Sonny catches him, he could assume Dex is the traitor and trying to cover his tracks. Michael says, make sure he never finds out. Dex is the best at this, and he’ll gladly pay Dex extra for the risk he’s taking.

Jordan says she thought Dante would be back with an update by now, and Anna says she’s sure he’s moving as fast as he can. Robert comes in and says, they’ve got themselves in a bit of a situation, have they? Anna says, don’t gloat, please. Did he talk to Dante? Robert says, yes. He’s got good news and bad news. Anna asks, what is it? and he says, thanks to his incredible powers of persuasion, Cates agreed to drop the charges. Anna says, that’s great, and Jordan thanks him. Anna asks, what’s the bad news? and Robert says, they have to back off this investigation. Jordan says, they were just making progress, and Anna says, they’re going to find out who’s behind this entire operation. They can’t stop now. He says, they might as well stay in this cell, because Cates isn’t going to give them another chance. They’re civilians. They have no right being involved in this business. They have no power. What are they going to do if they catch this perp? They can’t do anything with him. They may as well cooperate with Cates. Anna says, maybe she’ll do exactly that, and Jordan says, meaning? Anna says, the conversation she had with Mayor Collins last week. Laura offered her a position in her administration, but the timing wasn’t right. She thinks the timing has just changed.

Gregory says he doesn’t understand how Tracy can have a problem with him. All he’s ever done is try to be a friend to her. She says, that’s her problem. His friendship is changing her, and she doesn’t like it. He says, changing her how? and she says, ever since she met him, she’s been getting… soft. She surrenders in feuds. She compromises with the Bensonhurst brigade. She’s trying to help people she doesn’t even like. He says, making donations to grieving widows? and she says, it’s poor form to ask a lady about her finances. But if she did, it’s a direct result of his influence. Being around him is making her nice. He asks if that’s really so bad, and she tells him, that’s easy for him to say; he doesn’t have to live with the consequences. She takes a sharp breath and says, oh my God, I’m so sorry. That’s not what she meant. It came out wrong. She wasn’t thinking. He starts to laugh, barely containing himself.

Lucy asks what Tracy has to do with any of this, and Martin says, for weeks now she’s been intentionally feeding him little tidbits of information about Lucy and her history and her relationship with Scotty, because she wanted to poison the well. She wanted him to doubt Lucy, make him believe that she was being unfaithful to him. Lucy says, what? and he says, that was his reaction when she accosted him in the restaurant just now. Some kind of attempt to unburden her conscience. She mentioned something about turning the tables on Lucy and Scotty because she realized they were plotting against her. Scotty says, their plan was foolproof, and Lucy says, that conniving snake. Martin says, ya think? Because from where he’s standing, she wasn’t far off. Obviously, Lucy has been hiding parts of herself from him and Scotty’s had full access. She and Scotty have been getting closer together while they’ve been drifting apart. Lucy says, that’s not true. He knows her really well, and they’re very, very good together. She doesn’t know what this was. It was just some sort of mistake, that’s all. It was a big mistake. Martin says, the mistake was him coming here to ask her for forgiveness. It was so easy for Tracy to manipulate them. All she had to do was use Lucy’s nature against her. Lucy says, that’s not true. Please. Can they just go somewhere and talk together? She knows she can make it right. She loves him. Martin says, that’s what makes this so sad, because he loves her too. But he’s all talked out. In fact, right now he doesn’t think he ever wants to see her again. He walks out.

Dante asks if John is any relation to Stone Cates, and John says he has a son named Stone, but he thinks Dante is referring to his younger brother. Dante says, so that’s how John knows his father. He used to talk a lot about Stone. He guesses they were really close. John says, they were, and Dante asks if John and Sonny go way back then. John says, they have plenty of history, and Dante says, now John is in charge of an FBI case against his father. Robert brings in Anna and Jordan, and John says he takes it this means they accepted his terms. Anna says, actually no. She’s not stepping back from the case. She’s going to continue to investigate… as the new Police Commissioner.

Lucy tells Scotty that Martin couldn’t even stand to be in the same room with her. He couldn’t even look at her. Scotty says, so what? He wouldn’t even hear her out. She deserves better than him. Lucy says, no, she doesn’t. He just broke up with her and somehow, she ends up in Scotty’s arms, so he’s right. She’s a horrible, horrible person. He says, that’s not true. Listen to him for a second. She says, will he please just leave? and he says, Lucy… but she says, get out now. Now. Please leave. He leaves, and she sits and cries.

Gregory tries to get ahold of himself and tells Tracy that he hasn’t laughed that hard in a long time. She says she doesn’t understand what’s funny, and he says, ever since he was diagnosed with ALS, people have been tiptoeing around him, being so proper and polite and handling him with kid gloves like he’s going to break at any moment. He hates it. He didn’t realize how much he needed someone to talk to him like he wasn’t sick. He laughs some more, and she says, he knows she didn’t mean it the way it came out. He says he knows, but even she did, he’s fine with it. He may have a fatal disease, but he’s still the same Gregory on the inside. It’s just so nice to have someone talk to him like he’s normal. He appreciates it more than she knows. So no matter how nice she may become, he hopes she’ll never stop doing that. She says she’ll do her best, and he keeps laughing.

John says, since when is Anna the Police Commissioner? and she says, Mayor Collins asked her if she wanted her old position back. Anna told her that she needed to think about it, which she did, when she was stuck in the cell. And she accepted that job. John says, so she can continue to undermine his investigation, but she says, no. So she can hunt down the threat to Port Charles in her new capacity as law enforcement, and no one can stand in her way. So if you want the PCPD’s help, Special Agent Cates, you’re going to have to give us the FBI’s help in return.

Sonny says, they can’t count anyone out as a suspect. He needs Brick to look into everyone in his organization, and that includes Dex. Brick says he’ll get right on it. He knows Sonny is fond of Dex. So for Sonny’s sake, he hopes he jumped to the wrong conclusion. But this is him. Sonny knows he’s rarely wrong about stuff like this. He’ll find out if Dex is hiding something.

Michael says, the money is in Dex’s account now, and Dex says he appreciates it, but this isn’t about the money. He just wants to keep Joss and her family safe. And stay in Sonny’s good graces. If he even gets a hint that Dex came on with an ulterior motive… Michael says, he won’t. They both want the same thing here. Just find out who the threat is to Sonny and his family and report back to him. Dex says, he can count on it.

At the door, Brick asks what Sonny will do to Dex if he finds out Dex hasn’t been loyal after all, and Sonny says, he’ll make Dex beg for death. Brick nods his head and says, yeah.

Tomorrow, Ava tells someone that they’re not welcome here; Michael asks what Willow’s secret is; Cyrus tells Laura that he wasn’t expecting quite that level of hostility; and Finn wants to take Gregory to the hospital.

😳 My bad, I got my days mixed up yesterday. Probably because I desperately want this season of RHOBH over. Tonight, it’s the awful people on VPR. Well, one anyway.

Vanderpump Rules

Nice update on the new beginning credits, showing the different restaurants.

The outcast is home and poor assistant Ann has to run interference between him and Ariana. In Sandoval’s interview, he says he came back from a competition reality show after being on the receiving end of more hate than he’s ever gotten. He wanted to punish himself, penance through pain. He’s brought a bribe of athletic shoes for Schwartz, and tells Ann that things are cool between them, but in his interview, he says, things are not okay with Schwartz. Schwartz talked sh*t about him on Jax and Brittany’s podcast, and he feels betrayed. Tomorrow is his birthday, and he wants to have people over. He’s open to having Ariana there, but Ann says she doubts Ariana would want to be there. He tells Ann to text Ariana that he’ll get her a nice hotel room, and in Sandoval’s interview, a producer asks what it’s like for exes to be living in the same house. He says, stupid, and in Ariana’s interview, she says, awkward. He’s done stuff like opening her mail and got a white noise machine that’s annoyingly loud. In his interview, Sandoval says he got it because Ariana would overhear what he was talking about, and in her interview, Ariana wonders if it’s psychological warfare. Ann presents the offer to Ariana, but Ariana says, that’s not happening. She thinks it’s disrespectful and inappropriate, and if they make noise, she’s going to call the cops. In her interview, she says she’s spiraling thinking about parties Sandoval used to have. Loud music and a mess. It was disgusting and would sometimes last until 6 am. Now that they’re not together, she’s not putting up that sh*t. Ann tells Ariana, everything is great, but when she’s out of earshot, Ann says she thinks it’s weird.

Villa Rosa! Hairstylist Patrick does Lisa’s hair for the last celebration at Pump. In Lisa’s interview, she says, Pump is closing after 10 years. The rent is going up, so it’s going to be more expensive, and Ken wants to retire. Ken will be stomping around West Hollywood when he’s in his 80s, and her in her… 40s. It’s just too old. She tells Patrick, sometimes it’s good to know when to walk away.  James and Ally discuss if they’re ready to get a dog, and we see clips of James with Graham. In James’s interview, he says he doesn’t know what happened with his dog. He’s never gotten over it and he’s heartbroken. He and Ally get ready to say bye-bye to Pump.

One of Sandoval’s few remaining friends, Jason, visits, and in Sandoval’s interview, he says, since the scandal, he’s lost friends, but Jason stuck around. He’s also the band manager and kept him from being in a bad place. Jason asks about Raquel, but Sandoval says he hasn’t heard from her in a few weeks. In his interview, he says he’s still in love with Raquel and hoping to give their relationship a real chance. He tells Jason that Ariana nixed the birthday party, but Jason says, what’s she going to do? Ann says, she mentioned calling the police, and in his interview, Sandoval says, obviously, Ariana is still very upset with him. (Yeah, obviously.) She thinks what he did makes him a criminal, but he doesn’t think the police would agree. He says, what if they’re out by midnight? and Ann texts Ariana with the idea, including more than one so sorry!

Lala and Ariana meet for smoothies, and Ariana tells Lala about squelching the party idea, but Lala says, he’s allowed to have a party. Ariana says, she’ll call about a noise complaint, and Lala says, what about if she compromises and everyone is gone by a certain time? Ariana admits the suggestion was made, and Lala says, it will be easier when Ariana moves out. Ariana says she will when the house is sold, and Lala says, Sandoval is getting off on making her uncomfortable. In Ariana’s interview, she says, Sandoval wants to buy her out, but she’s not going just because he offered her a measly sum. He f***ed this up, so he doesn’t get to do that and keep it. Lala asks what new boyfriend Dan thinks, and Ariana says, he’s looking forward to her getting her own space, since they’re paying to stay somewhere when Sandoval is in town. She says she thinks Dan has opened her mind to possibilities she couldn’t see with Sandoval. In her interview, Ariana says, being with Sandoval affected her about having kids more than she thought. We flash back to Sandoval saying he wants 3 or 4 kids, and Ariana saying she wants none. She says, Dan made her realize there can be more than just a 50/50 partnership. On a day where she can only give 10%, he can give 90%.

Lisa and Ken go into Pump amid cheers, and I wonder where Pride Day will be celebrated. The guests chant, Lisa! Lisa! and she says, 10 years ago, they had a dream to create the most beautiful garden in West Hollywood. We go down Pump Memory Lane, ending with TomTom. Lisa thanks everyone for their support, and says, that’s a wrap. Let’s f***ing party. Schwartz bartends, and in his interview, he says he feels more at ease than he did 10 years ago. We flash back to him having a panic attack, and he asks Lisa how she’s feeling about closing the restaurant. She says she has mixed emotions, but if it’s not carrying its own weight, it will be a drain. Schwartz says, Sandoval tainted their Schwartz & Sandy’s brand. Their partners said, if he comes in, they’ll close the doors. He’s not welcome. In Schwartz’s interview, he says he didn’t expect Sandoval to fully check out. He could have at least come up with ideas on how to weather this storm. Lisa says she thinks it’s time for Schwartz to reevaluate things, and in her interview, she says she thinks it’s unfair to blame Sandoval totally for the failings of the business. She tells Schwartz to tell Sandoval how he feels.

Scheana goes to the recording studio and says she’s going to be DJing with Ariana and Katie on Emo Night. In Scheana’s interview, she says, it’s a huge event. They listen to emo music and if you’re sad AF, you’re supposed to be because it’s Emo Night. But you’re sad in a happy place. She wants to do Good As Gold as an emo screamo cover, and in Brock’s interview, he says he loves this version of his wife. In her interview, Scheana says, in 2019, after the negativity about her One More Time song and video, she threw in the towel and moved on. But everyone loves a good reunion tour, so guess what bitches? I’m back. I actually have Good As Gold on one of my playlists, but I forgot all about One More Time. Apparently, it was forgettable. She tells Brock that the next thing she and her therapist are working on in exposure work is having someone else watch Summer Moon. In her interview, she says she was diagnosed with post-partum OCD, which magnified her worst fears. It took her almost a year to do anything alone with her daughter. She tells Brock that she’s known Tori since she was 16 and trusts her, and Brock says he’ll take anyone she wants.

Sandoval meets Schwartz at a place they don’t own, and Sandoval drinks a non-alcoholic beer. In his interview, Sandoval says, the catalyst in him getting sober was that he knew Raquel couldn’t drink where she was. He wanted to do it with her. They make small talk for a hot minute, and Sandoval says he knows he caused collateral damage. He can feel Schwartz is angry with him, but he had to tour because Ariana didn’t pay bills for 8 months. In Sandoval’s interview, he says he’s pretty much been paying for everything, and it’s like pulling teeth to get Ariana to pay him back. He says, Schwartz hurt his feelings, saying he was living his rock star dreams. Schwartz says he was dealing with Sandoval’s sh*tshow at the bar. Had he been in Sandoval’s position, he would have at least been pitching solutions. Sandoval tries to spin it six different ways, but Schwartz says, all he should be saying is that he’s sorry. Sandoval says he understands he f***ed up and he’s sorry. He wants to move on. Scwartz says, he’s going get there, and Sandoval asks if Scwartz is sticking with him. Schwartz says he’s doing what’s best for himself. I don’t want to say I like this new Schwartz, but I’ll go with disliking him less.

Tori comes over to Scheana and Brock’s, and Scheana’s mom says she’ll be there with Tori, but she has a torn rotator cuff and can’t be doing any heavy lifting. In Scheana’s interview, she says she absolutely trusts Tori. She’s hoping her OCD brain can take a nap tonight. Brock decides to be an agitator, not seeming to grasp Scheana’s issue, and wanting it to be done with; and this frustrates Scheana even more than she is already. In Brock’s interview, he says, before Summer was born, he and Scheana were a juggernaut of getting things done. Now simple tasks are overwhelming for her, and they get nothing done. Scheana’s mom tells Brock that he needs to validate his wife’s feelings, and in her interview, Scheana says she’s hoping to get to a place where she’s not afraid to do things alone with her daughter, and not worried about something bad happening. She wants to live in the moment without thinking it might be the last moment. Her mom says she’s proud of Scheana putting in the work.

Schwartz visits James and Ally, admiring their new house. In Schwartz’s interview, he says, it’s hard not to feel the sting of losing his dream home. In Ally’s interview, she says she started an astrology business. She did Schwartz’s birth chart. She feels like he could use a little direction. She tells him that it’s the most Libra chart she’s ever seen. He’s a peacekeeper. Sandoval texts James about the birthday party, and James says, if Sandoval comes at him, he’s egging the place when he leaves.

Poor Ann has to decorate too, and Sandoval says, it’s giving him baby shower vibes. He likes it. On the way there, Ally says, it’s not too late to not do this, but James says, he’s not mending things with Sandoval. He feels he needs an apology and Sandoval needs to mean it and show he’s a friend. Ally decides to wait in the car, and in her interview, she says she doesn’t have a relationship with Sandoval, but she does care about Ariana. She doesn’t see the point in forcing a relationship with him.  Meanwhile, Katie, Ariana, Lala, Scheana, and Brock go to Emo Night.

In James’s interview, he says, the party is like a who’s who. Like, who the f*** are you people? Sandoval used to be the coolest guy. Now look. A guy named Brett comes up to James and says he has a question about the friend group situation, and James wonders, who the f*** is this guy? He tells Brett that he came to talk to Sandoval, and he and Sandoval step away from the crowd. James says, he feels like a big brother got lost. He was waiting for a text that never came. Sandoval makes time excuses, but James says he’s seen him on Instagram. Sandoval says, sorry he didn’t reach out, and James says, it’s the ultimate betrayal. Sandoval asks why he’s so angry when James hooked up with Kristen. James says, that was 10 years ago, but Sandoval insists it wasn’t. We flash back, and yep, it was. James says, Sandoval is embarrassing, and walks out. In James’s interview, he says, Sandoval is bringing up the past when he’s looking for an apology. He was made to seem crazy when Sandoval was getting his d*ck wet. He pees on the bushes outside, and from the car, Ally says, those are Ariana’s bushes too.

I watched the later airing and there was no preview.

🥃 I keep trying to watch Southern Hospitality, the poor man’s Vanderpump Rules. Or Summer House in a restaurant, if you will. But the more I watch it, the less I care about it. I checked for recaps to include here, but none were posted yet. They’re probably staring at their screens, wondering how to write about this drivel.

🧀 Sweet Dreams Are Made Of Cheese…

Join me tomorrow for soap and RHOBH – for real this time. Until then, stay safe, stay not deciding on your order at the counter, and stay remembering that sometimes it’s good to know when to walk away.