Category Archives: soap opera

Apr8

April 7, 2023 – A Surprise Guest Crashes the Ball, New Life, Bad Cop, Joisey Tawk, Daisy’s Pick, House Spin, VanderChatter, Happy Place, Exactly Eleven Quotes & Sun

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Valentin brings Victor the necklace, and Victor says, finally; that’s more like it. He whips out his jeweler’s loupe and checks it out, saying, to think they could have done this together, father and son. Instead, he’s had to choose another heir to carry on the Cassadine name. Valentin’s betrayal broke his heart, so he thinks it’s only fair he return the favor. He shoots Anna, who slumps to the floor.

The audience applauds the magic act, even though Obrecht disappeared and never came back. Molly says, Georgie and James were so adorable, but where did Obrecht go?

Esme watches the Nurses Ball at Laura’s apartment, bouncing Ace on her knee.

Backstage, Nina asks Maxie where Georgie and James are, and Maxie says, in the dressing room. Georgie is trying to figure out what went wrong, and James keeps insisting magic is real. Nina asks, what happened? Did Aunt Liesl get stuck or something? Maxie says, that’s the mystery. Liesl vanished from the vanishing cabinet.

Bobbie tells the audience not to go anywhere. The next act is the act they’ve all been waiting for, and they don’t want to miss it. The audience applauds, and the bracelet bodyguard asks Sasha where Gladys is. Sasha says, she was here a second ago. Maybe she went to the ladies room? We see Gladys sneaking around backstage, sans bracelet.

Josslyn asks if Trina is still upset that Spencer talked to Dex like that, and Trina says, Josslyn was pretty annoyed with him too. Josslyn says she’s still furious, but she’s not dating him.

Sam says, Spencer is brooding at the bar. Is he just being a Cassadine, or did something actually happen? He says he blew it with Trina – again.

Gladys comes back to the ballroom, and Sasha says, the bodyguard was looking for her. Gladys wonders if a lady can’t powder her nose in peace, when Sasha asks, where’s the bracelet?

Victor leaves with his goons, and Valentin runs to Anna. She tells him to go after Victor.

Gladys says, a bazillion dollar piece of jewelry has just been stolen, but Sasha says, it probably just fell off. Look around. The bodyguard comes back while they’re looking, and asks, what’s wrong? Where’s the bracelet? Gladys says, that’s what she’s trying to tell Sasha; somebody stole it. Sasha says, maybe it’s just missing. Maybe the clasp broke. The bodyguard asks, when was the last time she thought she had it? and Gladys flashes back to putting it in Cody’s tux pocket backstage. She says she doesn’t remember, and just prays they find it soon.

Trina tells Josslyn, it’s not just the way Spencer spoke to Dex. It’s like he went out of his way to pick a fight. Josslyn says, maybe he’s just being an entitled jerk. He’s overcompensating for his own insecurities by lording his imaginary status over those who actually work for a living. Trina says, but he wanted to do better. She really believes that. Spencer was lashing out, and Dex was the nearest target. Something’s going on with him. Josslyn says, like what? and Trina says she doesn’t know, but she’s going to find out. She’s not letting Spencer hide this from her anymore.

Obviously in pain, Anna struggles to breathe. She tells Valentin, if his father gets away, they’ll never find him, but Valentin says he’s got to get her to a hospital. He calls 9-1-1.

Walking into the Haunted Star, Victor tells Watkins, that was nice work with Miss Devane. Watkins provided just enough incentive to get his son to talk. Watkins says, it’s Victor’s new strategy, and Victor says, and an effective one, if he does say so himself. He asks if Watkins has followed up on Holly Sutton, and Watkins says, she’s still listed as a patient in the Swiss burn unit, but she’s not there. She doesn’t have a room, she’s not being treated. There’s no patient there matching her description, so she’s not using an alias. Victor says, all the more proof that fire was a ruse. Miss Sutton has been looking for her son when she should have been recovering. Watkins asks if Victor wants them to move him, and Victor says, in a manner of speaking. It’s time to offload Ethan Lovett… at a profit. Victor’s phone rings, and he says, when it rains… taking it out of his pocket. He asks if they’ve found Lucy Coe… He wants her home, the PCPD, and the MetroCourt under constant surveillance. That’s probably where she’s going to run to. She’s one of their remaining loose ends – he messes with the necklace as he talks – he needs to have tied up, now that he has everything he wants.

Gladys wonders who would steal the bracelet, and at a charity even no less, but Sasha suggests Gladys retrace her steps. Did she leave the ballroom, other than going to the bathroom? Gladys says, she’s been here the whole… wait… she went backstage to tell Maxie what a great job she’s doing. The bodyguard asks if she talked to anyone else when she went backstage, and Gladys says, now that he mentions it, she did see Cody Bell.

From the stage, Maxie asks for everyone’s attention. They have another anniversary to celebrate. Ten years ago today, at the 2013 Nurses Ball, there was a performance that not only brought down the house, it set this place on fire. It’s been a few years since we’ve seen them, but they are now back. She’s so happy to introduce The Magic Wands. The Magic Wands, including Milo, and is that Yuri? dance to Devil in Disguise, going out into the audience and back, and ending with showing the audience Nurses Ball 2023 on their behinds. The dancing is pretty good, with some unknown dudes doing a lot of flips and old school break dancing.

Backstage, Maxie tells Milo, once again, he blew the room away. He says, the guys were really good, but she says, every football team needs a quarterback, and every heart-stopping, jaw dropping all male review needs a centerpiece, and that’s obviously him. Some little girl runs through, nearly colliding with them, and Milo says, break a leg. She looks at him, and he says, that means good luck. She gives him a thumbs up. I can see no conceivable reason for this scene, so I’m wondering, who is this kid related to? Maxie says, her performance is going to be darling, which reminds her, she has to tend to the performers. She thanks Milo for coming, and he thanks her for having him. He leaves, and she says, now if she could only find Liesl. Nina walks in, and Maxie asks if she’s seen Liesl. Nina says, no, and this is ridiculous. She knows she has a bone marrow harvest tomorrow.

Laura comes home, and asks if the Nurses Ball is still on. Is Esme enjoying the show? Esme says, there’s certainly a lot of local talent on display. She asks if it happens every year, and Laura says, almost. She loves how their community comes together to raise money for a good cause. Esme says, it certainly seems like everybody… yes, and Laura says, Ace looks a little bit tired. She reaches for him, and Esme says, don’t touch him.

Sonny comes backstage, and Nina tells him that they can’t find Obrecht. Maxie says, they questioned Georgie, James, the stage managers, but everybody says the same thing. Liesl stepped inside the disappearing cabinet, and never stepped out. Sonny asks how it works, and as he looks it over, Maxie says, there’s a false back that the assistant hides behind to disappear. Then they slide back to reappear. He says, there’s a trapdoor at the bottom? Is there a trap door on the stage? Nina says she’s not sure, and Maxie says she’ll text the stage manager. Nina says, maybe she fell through the trap door. Aunt Liesl could be hurt. They all walk out.

Spencer asks Trina to tell him that he hasn’t screwed up the best thing that’s happened to him. Can they talk please? She says, okay. Tell her, what is going on with him?

Felicia fans herself, and Robert asks what she thought of Magic Milo. Mac says, those Magic Wands have her all flustered, and she says she’s not apologizing for enjoying the act, but the one who always gets her flustered is her Mac. Robert says his brother’s a very fortunate man, and Mac says, doesn’t he know it.

TJ comes back to the table after getting out of his Magic Wand skivvies, and Molly says, he was so good. He says, the things he does for charity, and she says, what about her sacrifice? She had to share him with a ballroom of thirsty women. He says, okay, the things she does for charity, and they kiss.

The bodyguard says, the bracelet’s been found, and Gladys asks, where was it? The bodyguard says, one of the people in wardrobe found it when she was moving some clothes. It fell out of a tux pocket. Gladys says she told them it was stolen, and Sasha says she can’t believe someone would actually do this. Who was it? Cody comes in and asks if anyone’s seen his… What’s going on?

Victor’s messenger, now dressed in sweats, comes onto the Haunted Star, and tells Victor, everything went fine on his end. Victor says, excellent. Now he wants messenger guy to check the state rooms; make sure they’re appropriately prepared for their guests. He asks if Tobias is back, but messenger guy says, there’s been a complication.

Valentin tells Anna, please stay awake, and she says, if anything happens… He says, nothing is going to happen, but she says she’s glad they found each other. He says he doesn’t know how he got so lucky, and she says, he’s a good man. He says he doesn’t know about that. He thinks there are plenty who would disagree with her. She says, they don’t know him like she does. They don’t know his heart like she does. He says, she knows him better than anyone, and she says she loves him. He says, and he loves her, and he hears the sirens in the distance. She starts to fade, and he calls her name.

Esme says she’s sorry. She didn’t mean to snap at Laura like that. Laura says, that’s okay. Esme knows she’d never hurt the baby, right? Esme says, of course (🍷) she knows that. Did Laura ever hate leaving her kids out of her sight for even a second? Laura says she has, and Esme says she feels like everyone is making some claim on Ace, and he’s all she’s got. Laura says she understands, but babies pick up on the emotions of people around them. How does Esme think her constant anxiety is going to affect him? Esme says she’d never hurt her son, and Laura says she knows that; that’s not what she meant. Laura’s phone rings, and she says she has to get this. She answers, Laura Collins…  Oh my God… Where is she?… Okay, she’ll be right there. She tells Esme that she’s sorry, but she has to go right now. They’ll talk later. She rushes out.

Spencer says he’s sorry about what happened with Dex, and Trina says, sorry because he treated Dex like dirt, or sorry because she’s disappointed? He says he’s sorry he upset her. That’s the last thing he wants to do. She says, he does know that’s the wrong answer, and he says, Dex is not a good guy. Whatever is going on with him and Josslyn… She says, is none of his business. He says, Cam is his best friend, so it is his business, but she says, Cam is in California, living his dream, and that is not the reason he went after Dex. Spencer was spoiling for a fight, and Dex was there. And Spencer knew Dex works for his uncle and wasn’t going to fight back. That is the definition of a coward. He says, she’s right. He’s sorry. He’s trying to do better. She asks if he means that, and he says, of course (🍷) he does. She says, good. Apologize to Dex. His phone rings, and he sees it’s Victor. She asks if he’s really going to answer the phone right now.

Robert’s phone rings, and he says he’ll meet them at the hospital.

The bodyguard asks if that’s Cody Bell, and Gladys says, that’s him. Cody says, or the guy could just ask him, and the bodyguard asks if this is his jacket. Cody says, all tuxes look the same, and the bodyguard asks, so where’s Cody’s? Cody says, it went missing when he was on stage, so it may or may not be his. What’s going on? Sasha asks, did he maybe find a bracelet on the floor, and put it in his pocket for safekeeping so he could return it later? Cody says, no, and the bodyguard asks, then why was it found in his pocket? Gladys says, because he stole it, but Cody says, if it was in his pocket, it’s because someone else put it there. Maxie blows through, and asks them to take this conversation elsewhere. She’s trying to put on a show. Sasha says she’s sure they can clear this up, but Cody says, there’s nothing to clear up. He has nothing to do with the bracelet, but the bracelet’s back, so no harm no foul. He starts to walk away, but the bodyguard stops him, and Mac walks in. Mac asks, what’s going on here? and the bodyguard tells Mac, arrest this man.

Dex and Josslyn make eyes at each other, when Sonny calls Dex over. Dex asks, what’s up? and Sonny says, they have a problem.

Cody says this is a mistake, and the bodyguard says, a million-dollar bracelet was found in his jacket pocket. Cody says, but he didn’t steal it. Mac has to believe him. Mac says he’s just following the evidence, and Cody says, Sasha please. Gladys says, this guy’s been hanging around her all night, insinuating himself with her daughter-in-law. Following her, and apparently casing her so he could strike at the perfect moment. Does Cody deny following her in here? Cody says he doesn’t deny it, and Mac says, so he admits to following Gladys.

Trina says, they’re right in the middle of something, but Spencer says he’s sorry. It’s his Uncle Victor. He has to. He steps away, and says, yes, uncle? Victor says, it took him long enough, and Spencer says, sorry about that. Now’s not a good time. Victor says, it doesn’t matter. Does Spencer want to get his brother away from Esme? Spencer says, Victor knows he does, and Victor says, then come to the Haunted Star immediately, and tell no one.

Laura walks into the hospital, and asks Valentin, where’s Anna? He says, she’s in there, pointing, and Laura asks, what happened? He says, Victor shot Anna in the abdomen. Robert comes out of the elevator, and Valentin says, the bullet’s still inside of her. She coded in the ambulance – he starts to cry – but they were able to bring her back. Laura says, Anna is very strong; she will make it through this. Robert asks where Victor is now, but Valentin says he doesn’t know. He got away. Laura asks, what about Lucy? Where is she? Valentin says, she was able to get out of the house, but he doesn’t know where she is now.

Slipping into the Ball backstage area, Lucy says, if she can just find Mac and tell him that Victor found the safehouse. A muscley dude comes up behind her with a gun, and says, don’t move. She turns around, and muscle man says, if she screams, he’ll shoot her. She says she’d really rather he didn’t, and he says, good. Let’s go. She says, this is just a whole case of mistaken identity… Actually, it’s not, but she’s not a spy. She doesn’t know how to decode anything… He tries to grab her arm, and she says, one thing she does know how to do its this, and kneecaps him. He doubles over, holding his knee, and she runs.

Robert tells Laura, when Valentin called from the ambulance, he said Anna had been shot. Did he offer any other details? She says, Valentin didn’t call her; the hospital did. Robert says, when? He was under the impression Anna and Valentin arrived at the hospital… She says, right before her. She asks Valentin if Victor gave any clue as to what his next move might be, and Valentin says, he only said he’d chosen a new heir. Robert wonders what he meant by that, when the doctor comes out. Valentin asks, how’s Anna?

Accompanied by messenger guy, Spencer walks into the Haunted Star, and says, so this is where Victor is staying. Victor says, it suits his current needs. Did Spencer tell anyone he was coming here? Spencer says, no. He followed Victor’s instructions to the letter. So tell him, what’s happening with Ace? Is everything all right? Victor asks why it wouldn’t be, and Spencer says, when they spoke this afternoon, Victor told him to sit tight. Has something changed? Is there something Victor needs him to do?

Nina tells Sonny that Obrecht’s bag is still in the dressing room, her car is still in the garage, and no one’s seen her. Dex comes in, and says, no sign of Dr. Obrecht, and Nina says, she’s scheduled to have that stem cell transplant tomorrow. Willow cannot wait, and if Aunt Liesl is missing, or if she’s hurt somewhere… Sonny says, they’re going to find her Aunt Liesl, and everything’s going to be fine, and he holds Nina.

Mac says, so Cody admits to following Gladys tonight, and Cody says, yes, he followed her, but not to steal some bracelet. Mac asks what reason he’d have. How does Cody even know Gladys? Cody says he and Gladys have crossed paths a few times, and Gladys says, there’s no big mystery here. Cody saw that bracelet on her wrist, and thought it was an easy payday. Mac asks if Cody has anything else to say, and Cody says, he didn’t steal the bracelet. He guarantees his fingerprints aren’t on it. Gladys says, that doesn’t prove anything. You can wipe off fingerprints, and I oughtta know. Mac puts handcuffs on Cody, and tells him his rights.

Jordan says she knows TJ and Molly are still in the trying stage, but can she probably expect a grandchild within the year? TJ says, they’re still in the seltzer solidarity stage. They have a long way to go. Jordan says, they’re two of the most efficient people she knows. It probably won’t take too long. Her phone rings, and she says, ugh. It’s the station. She steps away to take the call.

On the phone, Jordan says, Anna Devane’s at GH?

The doctor says, they’ve prepped Miss Devane for surgery to remove the bullet, and Robert asks, how bad? The doctor says, she’s critical, but they’re trying to keep her blood pressure up enough to affect her organs, including her brain. Gunshots can create considerable damage from the bullet fragmenting. They won’t know the extent of the damage until they’re inside, and can assess what they’re dealing with. He leaves, and Laura says she has to make a call. She goes down the hall, and says, come on, Esme, pick up.

Felicia runs into the hospital, and asks Valentin what the doctors said. Robert says, this is your fault, Cassadine. She wouldn’t be in this state if it wasn’t for you. Felicia says, stop it. Did Valentin shoot Anna or did Victor? Don’t take this out on Valentin. Valentin says, Robert’s right. Victor shot Anna to hurt him. This is all his fault.

Lucy tries a door on the next landing, but it’s locked. She squeals, and turns around, but muscle man is there, and says, it looks like she has nowhere to go. She says, he has great big muscles, and a tiny little gun… but she has this. She pulls down a boa from a costume box, and starts smacking him with it. As he’s dodging the feathers, Sonny comes up behind him, hitting him with a large cane. He drops, and Sonny says, a boa? Really? Lucy shrugs.

Mac asks if Cody understands his rights, and Cody says he always does. Mac starts to take him away, when Sam runs in, and asks, what’s going on? Cody says, it’s a frame-up. This time, he’s innocent. Mac leads him away, with the bodyguard following.

Carly takes the stage, introduces herself, and says she doesn’t work at GH, but her mother is an integral part of the hospital. She asks Bobbie to come out, and everyone cheers. Bobbie says, for the few who don’t know her, this is Barbara Jean Spencer; she’s nursing officer at General Hospital. More cheers, and Carly says, they’re not just celebrating General Hospital’s 60th year, they’re celebrating Bobbie. This beautiful woman has been helping people and saving their lives for the past 45 years. What makes General Hospital so special is its people; the passion and tradition of helping communities and making the world a better place. No one embodies that more than her mother, Nurse Bobbie Spencer. More applause and cheers, and Bobbie flashes back to when she was practically a baby nurse; telling Monica her cancer prognosis; giving BJ’s heart to Maxie – I remember that, and even though I had no investment in the storyline, it made me cry anyway; with Laura; giving Elizabeth the morning after pill when she was raped, even though she wasn’t authorized to do it; threatening to bitch slap Tracy to the Canadian border; making peace with Carly. Carly says, she is a consummate healer, infinitely kind and loyal to those she loves, and equally fierce to her adversaries. Carly should know; she’s been both. Bobbie found Carly when she was at her worst, and loved her until she was her best. And she’s not the only one.  That’s what she does to anyone whose life she touches. That’s what Nurse Bobbie Spencer does for General Hospital. Bobbie is given a standing ovation.

Sonny asks if Lucy is okay, and she says she’s not dead. He says he can see that. Good for her. She says, thanks to him, and he says he does what he can. How can he help her? He holds out his hand, and she steps over muscle man. She tells Sonny that she has this really important errand, but what does she do with… She looks at muscle man, and Sonny says he’ll take care of it. She thanks him, kisses him on the cheek, says, ta! and dashes out.

Victor says, Spencer’s already done his part. He called on Spencer, and voila! Here he is. Spencer says, so now… what? He hears something, and asks, what’s that? Victor asks if he doesn’t recognize the sound of ship’s engines, and Spencer asks, what’s going on?

Laura sees a pacifier in the hallway outside her apartment, and picks it up. She lets herself in, and the place has been tossed. Esme lies unconscious on the floor, and there’s no Ace. Laura says, oh my God.

Jordan says, she was told Valentin died in Paris, and Valentin says, the reports of his death are… exaggerated. She says, clearly. Here he is. Meanwhile, she has reports of multiple shots fired at a house in a quiet suburban neighborhood, and now one of her best friends is fighting for her life. So why doesn’t he tell her what the hell is going on. He says his father shot Anna, and she asks, where is Victor? Valentin says he doesn’t know, but he does know, whatever insane plot Victor is hatching is going to be unleashed on them very soon. They have to stop him.

Bobbie thanks Carly for the beautiful and unexpected tribute. It’s an honor. And it’s also an honor to be involved with General Hospital’s first 60 years. She’s also been given another honor this evening; the chance to speak about Lucy Coe. The curtains part, and there’s a giant photo of Lucy. Bobbie says, it might seem counterintuitive that she’s up here, because she and Lucy were never friends. She and Lucy were tearing each other’s hair out – Lucy arrives backstage, and listens – long before the word frenemies was even invented. Lucy came to town dressed as a librarian, and seduced the man Bobbie loved. That was only the beginning. Lucy lied. Lucy cheated. She even married a Quartermaine. Backstage, Lucy says, Bobbie’s one to talk. She started off by lying to Laura that she slept with Scotty. Lucy heads up the stairs to the stage, and Bobbie says, somewhere along the way, in 1994 to be exact, Lucy shocked everyone, especially her, by discovering a passion for giving. Lucy finagled herself a place as Mistress of Ceremonies at the very first Nurses Ball, and it transformed her. All of that willfulness, all of that guile, the conniving, the deceit, the vanity… In the wings, Lucy says, vanity? Bobbie’s red hair hasn’t been natural for a hundred years. Bobbie says, Lucy cajoled, she arm twisted, she blackmailed to get all of them there, either onstage or in the audience the first year, and many years thereafter. From 1994 to the early 2000s, and 2013 to the present, the General Hospital Nurses Ball has raised millions of dollars for HIV and AIDS related charities. She turns to the photo, and says, and Lucy Coe was the leader, the inspiration, and yes, the relentless nag that made it all happen. Lucy Coe isn’t here tonight, but none of us would be here… Lucy stomps toward the stage, but slips on something on the floor, and busts right through her photo, faceplanting. Everyone is shocked, and Lucy gets up. She says, what the hell did Bobbie call her? Bobbie says, she’s alive, and Lucy says she’s back. Deal with it. Bobbie says, welcome home, and moves to hug Lucy, but Lucy backs away. The audience gives Lucy a standing ovation, which is only fair.

On Monday, Portia thinks something wasn’t such a great idea; Victor says he’s not abducting Spencer, he’s saving Spencer; and Carly asks Nina where the hell Obrecht is.

✈️ From Across the Pond…

She took a big step, but we only regret the things we don’t do. Or so  they say.

Kelly Thiebaud Adjusts to Her New Life in London

🚓 At Least He’s Honest…

I wouldn’t want to be a patient at the hospital either. The security there leaves a lot to be desired.

Dominic Zamprogna Jokes About Not Being a Great Cop on GH

👠 Really, We’re Good…

This sounds like as good of an explanation as any.

Dina Manzo on Real Story Behind Teresa’s Engagement Party Drama, Friendship With Dolores, and Her RHONJ Regrets, Plus Reveals She Almost Joined RHOBH

So, are we good?

RHONJ Star John Fuda’s Jailed Ex Accuses Him of Banning Visits With Son, Explains Why She Gave Up Custody and Reacts to Rachel’s Adoption Attempt

⛵️ Green Is Not His Color…

Gary wouldn’t have been just a step down from Colin. More like several stories.

Below Deck Sailing Yacht Star Daisy Kelliher Says Gary King Was “Definitely” Jealous About Her Hookup With Colin Macrae

🏖 Desire To Be Awful…

Actually, it remains to be seen whether this show will rival the Hamptons in immaturity, but I trust nothing after seeing a 40-year-old in a mullet.

New Spinoff Summer House: Martha’s Vineyard Trailer Drops

🍸 Don’t Leave Home Without It…

Reunion prep.

Everything to Know About the ‘Vanderpump Rules’ Season 10 Reunion

I don’t know about must see. I doubt it will get the show any new viewers, but for those already watching, it adds a fresh level of interest.

https://www.avclub.com/scandoval-has-made-vanderpump-rules-must-see-tv-1850280936

And how is LVP friends with this guy?

https://www.aol.com/entertainment/steve-o-calls-scandoval-greatest-215315189.html

Schwartz’s word salad.

https://jezebel.com/andy-cohen-tom-schwartz-tom-sandoval-raquel-leviss-scan-1850306803

🦩 And In This Corner…

What more do we need when we have pets and Barbie?

https://people.com/pets/drew-barrymore-loves-7-pets-4-cats-exclusive/

I so can’t wait for this film.

https://ew.com/movies/dua-lipa-joins-barbie-movie-posters/

🐣 Quotes of the Week

You have the need and the right to spend part of your life caring for your soul. It is not easy…To be a soulful person means to go against all the pervasive, prove-yourself values of our culture and instead treasure what is unique and internal and valuable in yourself and your own personal evolution. – Jean Shinoda Bolen

For those who fight for it, life has a flavor the sheltered will never know. –Wise Man (Scott Glenn), Sucker Punch

Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant. – Robert Louis Stevenson

On Love: Even while we kill and punish we must try to feel about the enemy as we feel about ourselves—to wish that he were not bad, to hope that he may, in this world or another, be cured: in fact, to wish his good. That is what is meant in the Bible by loving him: wishing his good, not feeling fond of him nor saying he is nice when he is not. – C.S. Lewis, from Mere Christianity

A river cuts through a rock not because of its power but its persistence. – Jim Watkins

Accept me, Lord, as I am, and make me such as thou wouldst have me to be. – Mary Livingstone, African missionary

Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes. – Oscar Wilde

Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. – Arthur Ashe

Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present. – Marcus Aurelius

A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer. – Bruce Lee

Though force can protect in emergency, only justice, fairness, consideration, and cooperation can finally lead men to the dawn of eternal peace. – Dwight D. Eisenhower

🐇 Hippity Hopping Down the Bunny Trail…

A Happy Holiday to all celebrating both Passover and Easter (aka Resurrection Sunday). After the festivities, stop in on Monday really Tuesday for soap, setting sail, and the original awful Housemates. Until then, stay safe; stay taking a spring break, even if it’s only in your mind; and stay never overcompensating for your insecurities by lording your imaginary status over those who actually work for a living. In other words, don’t be an entitled jerk.

Apr7

April 6, 2023 – Victor Demands the Real Necklace, Extras, Why She’s Back, Billboard, Emmy News, Jersey Mess, VanderBacklash, Admission, Pets (!) & Someone

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Valentin runs back into the safehouse, and tells Lucy and Anna to get down. Another shot is fired through the window.

Linc tells Josslyn that she was born to be a performer. She just needs the right person to guide her. Brook stomps over, and pretends to bump into Linc, spilling her drink all over him.

Mac says, Maxie and Bobbie are doing a fantastic job. The show is going off without a hitch. Bobbie says, the trick is to make it look effortless, which Maxie is doing effortlessly. Good thing no one knows what goes on behind the scenes. Felicia can’t wait for the big act coming up, but Maxie says, there are a lot of great ones before that. Which reminds her, she has to check on them. She excuses herself, and Felicia says, Maxie was younger than Georgie at the first Nurses Ball. Now look at her; she’s running the show. Bobbie says, time sure flies, doesn’t it? One thing she knows for sure, if the Nurses Ball could have all of its unexpected acts happen, including Mac’s surprise acts over the years, it could handle anything. Felicia says she remembers her first performance. She was absolutely petrified. Everything was a big blur. We get a little flashback of Felicia in a clown costume, and she says, when it was over, one thing she knew for sure; she was better off in the audience. Mac says, he remembers being furious at Robin and Stone’s Romeo and Juliet scene. He was so mad at Doc and the kids, his stand-up became a tirade. Felicia says, they can laugh about it now, and Bobbie says, what about her act? At least their situation with Robin didn’t end up in an out-and-out brawl. Mac says, they had no idea what the Nurses Ball would come to mean to Robin, and the whole community. Bobbie says, with all of its traditions and the loved ones lost, she’s really proud of what they started in those days. And she’s even more proud of continuing it on tonight.

Brook tells Linc she’s so sorry, and stomps on his foot as she tries to wipe him off. She says, Josslyn’s mother is looking for her, and Josslyn asks if Brook is okay. Brook says she’s fine. She and Linc have some business to discuss. Josslyn leaves, and Linc grabs Brook’s arm, asking, what the hell was that?

Valentin sets up the coffee table as a barricade, and tells Lucy and Anna, the house is surrounded, front and back. Lucy says, they’re trapped, but Anna tells her to remember the window she climbed out of, and Lucy says, right. They can all go out that way. Valentin tells them to leave now, but Anna says, no, and Lucy says she’s not leaving Anna. Anna tells her, go, and Lucy says, all right. She’ll get help. She slips into the back, and Valentin says, it’s Anna’s last chance to get out, but she says she’s not leaving him. He says, they’re going to be in here any minute, and she says, they won’t like what the find. Victor’s goons bust through the front door. Shots are fired back and forth.

Cody gives Sasha a glass of champagne, and she thanks him, but says, he really doesn’t have to wait on her. He says, it gives him a chance to escape the muckety-mucks and an excuse to talk with her, but she says, they’re not all muckety-mucks, and he never needs an excuse to talk to her. He says, good to know, and asks how things are with Gladys. She says she’s not sure what he means. He spoke to Gladys earlier; she seemed fine. He says, Gladys is having a great time. He was talking about her. When Gladys sold her husband’s garage, Sasha was pretty upset. She says, actually, it still bothers her, but Gladys had good reasons. Gladys walks in, and Sasha says, it had to be a painful reminder for Gladys to deal with that every day; paperwork, constantly seeing Brando’s name… She sold it to give them both closure. He asks if Gladys even went over the details of the sale with her. Does she know who the new owner is? Sasha says, actually, she doesn’t think so. Why is he…? Gladys comes over, and says she wondered where Sasha disappeared to.

Anna and Valentin are on their knees with their hands up, Victor’s men behind them, and Watkins comes in, saying, clear. Victor walks in, and says, Valentin, you’re alive. The question is, for how long?

Gladys looks at the bracelet on her wrist, and says she must be the luckiest mother-in-law in the world. Sasha thanks her, and says she loves seeing Gladys enjoying herself. Gladys says she almost forgot. Dante was asking for Cody; it sounded important. Cody thanks her, and says he’ll go check it out. He leaves, and Gladys looks at Sasha, who says, what? Gladys asks if she’s all right, and Sasha asks why she wouldn’t be. Gladys says, that Cody fella. She’s heard things about him. He’s not a reliable character.

Jordan asks if Mac has time to talk shop, and he says, about the late Deputy Mayor? She says, yeah. She got a call on the red carpet. The preliminary autopsy indicates there was no air in her lungs. Eileen Ashby didn’t drown. She was killed by a fall. He says, so she either jumped, she slipped, or… Jordan says, they pushed her. He says, they need to check her known associates, and Jordan says, start with Victor Cassadine.

Linc says, what Brook did just now, interrupting him when he was recruiting new talent… comes perilously close to violating their agreement. I don’t know how he figures that, but okay. Brook says she mentioned nothing to Josslyn about him being a sleazebag, and he says he paid well for her silence. She got her songs back. Sometimes he thinks he overpaid; those songs were good. Who would believe what she had to say about him anyway? He’s going to track down Josslyn Jax. I wonder why Brook didn’t mention that Sonny’s her stepfather.

Cody sits with Sam and Dante, and asks if he’s told Sam how beautiful she looks. She thanks him, and says, he looks handsome himself. He thanks her, and asks why Dante needed to see him. Dante asks what he’s talking about, and Cody says, Gladys Corbin said Dante was looking for him. Dante says he tries to avoid Gladys as much as possible. You know. The whole not being able to choose your relatives thing. Sam asks if Gladys really said Dante was looking for Cody, and Cody says, I kid you not. Sam wonders why she’d do something like that.

Portia asks if she can sit with Elizabeth and Finn, and Elizabeth asks if everything is okay. Portia says, Trina’s having such a good time. It’s all she can do not to go over and talk to her, but she doesn’t want to put a damper on Trina’s evening. Elizabeth says, it’s not always going to be like this, and Portia says, that’s what she keeps telling herself. Finn says, for what it’s worth (🍷), he and his dad were estranged for a lot of years, but his dad never gave up on him. And he doesn’t think it’s going to take Trina nearly as long to realize she needs Portia.

Deanna takes the stage, and introduces herself. She says, tonight, she has the pleasure of introducing a phenomenal talent. This amazing artist was already established and accomplished in her career as a public defender. She stepped out of her comfort zone to pursue her dream of touching people with her God given talent, and they should all be grateful she did. She asks everyone to welcome, Danielle Ponder. Danielle comes out and sings Someone Like You. Luckily, she has her own band and doesn’t have to rely on the invisible musicians and back-up singers that everyone else does. She’s good. Macy Gray-ish. I also love the dress she’s wearing.

Victor asks if there’s any sign of Lucy, but Watkins says, no. There’s an open bedroom window. Victor says, so the bird has flown. No matter. He’ll deal with that later. Valentin says, he wasn’t exactly subtle taking the house. Someone from the neighborhood will have contacted law enforcement. He’s sure they’re on their way. Victor says, is that so? and Valentin says, it’s the suburbs. If Victor doesn’t want a lengthy gun battle with the police, he thinks Victor should probably leave. Victor asks if Valentin thinks he’s just going to turn around and walk away after going through all this trouble to track Valentin and Anna down. He’s not going anywhere until he gets what he came for, and Valentin is going to give it to him.

Backstage, Maxie thanks Danielle for performing, and Danielle says, the Nurses Ball does important work, and she’s happy to lend her voice to the cause. Maxie says, she did more than lend her voice; she blew everyone away. They’d still be applauding if the curtains hadn’t closed.  Carly runs in, and shakes Danielle’s hand, introducing herself. She says her mom is Maxie’s co-chair, and she shamelessly used her connections to come back and meet her. She was so amazing. Of course (🍷) for her incredible voice and lyrics, but just as much for leaving her law career and following her dream. How did she have the courage to do that? Danielle says, it got to the point where she knew she couldn’t do both, and she couldn’t leave behind music, so she completely surrendered. Carly says, she followed her instincts, and Danielle says, it sounds like Carly knows something about that. Maxie says, Carly is kind of known for following her instincts… no matter where they lead. Carly says she’s never regretted it, and Danielle says, neither has she. They high-five.

Gladys says, apparently, Cody was dating Dr. Britt Westbourne, the late, may she rest, and Sasha says she knows that. Gladys says, but she overheard Maxie saying that Britt found out he was no good, and broke things off; something to do with a necklace. She doesn’t know the details, but it concerns her. Sasha is just getting her life back on track. She’d hate to see it derail by somebody trying to work her for her money.

Dex asks for a shot of tequila at the bar, and ever putting his nose where it doesn’t belong, Spencer asks if his uncle knows Dex is drinking on the job. Dex says he doesn’t know. Maybe Spencer should run and tell him. Spencer says, Dex is here to work, not suck down tequila shots and pretend he belongs. Ugh. I hate when Spencer does this stuff. Dex says he’s got a ticket like everybody else, when Trina and Josslyn walk in. Spencer says, a ticket his Uncle Sonny bought Dex. He’s an employee, so how about if he gets back to work? Trina asks Spencer what he’s doing.

Bobbie is checking things off a list backstage, when Sonny comes in, and says, the Ball’s going great. She asks if he needs something, and he says he was thinking about starting up an Epiphany Johnson scholarship fund for the nursing students, so he wanted to add to his donation in the name of Stone Cates. He gives her an envelope, and she looks at the check inside. She says she’s never been okay with the way he treated her daughter, but he’s always been very generous when it comes the to the Nurses Ball. And the way he took care of Stone was nothing short of heroic. He says, Stone was a special person. They did everything they could for Stone, and when Stone lost his fight with AIDS, Sonny vowed to continue in his memory. Giving the Nurses Ball donation for AIDS/HIV research is the least he can do. She says, damn him. He has his moments, and this is definitely one of them. He laughs, giving us dimples, and she says, Stone would be very proud of him.

Victor says, he wants the Ice Princess necklace; the real one. Valentin says, last he heard, it was destroyed by fire, and Victor says, this is Valentin’s very last chance. He wasn’t able to claim Valentin as a child, but he watched over Valentin all along, smoothing the way for him. He’s the one who got Valentin into the WSB. That turned out to be a bad mistake, since that’s when Valentin first became fixated with Miss Devane. Valentin says he proved himself worthy of the WSB on his own merit, and Victor says he’s sure Valentin would like to believe so, and it’s true, Valentin was a brilliant analyst. But this life he’s so proud of building for himself was built with Victor’s influence. Valentin did nothing without his help. So imagine his disappointment after stepping forward to claim Valentin, after acknowledging Valentin as his child, Valentin rejecting him. Valentin lied, he manipulated Victor, he sided with Victor’s enemies. Valentin even faked his own death, for God’s sake. Victor spent weeks arguing with French bureaucrats trying to claim Valentin’s body. Weeks consumed with guilt, mourning his son, who wasn’t even dead. He should kill Valentin right now and be done with it. But he won’t. He’ll give Valentin one more chance to redeem himself, to step up as a Cassadine. Do what’s right for his family, and give him the necklace.

Dex says, if they’ll excuse him, he’s due backstage. He leaves, and Trina asks Spencer, what was that, calling Dex an employee? Spencer says, that’s what he is. He’s supposed to be protecting Spencer’s Uncle Sonny, not drinking tequila shots. Trina tells him, stop. She can’t believe this. He says, listen… but she says, you listen. She hates when he acts like this (we high-five in my head); like some ugly, entitled jerk, lording his privilege around. She thought he was done doing that. She guesses she was wrong. She hates that she’s always wrong about him. She flounces out, and Spencer says, wait. Josslyn says, nice work, Spencer. Once again, he’s hurt Trina. He says, like she does with Cam, and she says, like he’s in any position to judge. Ever since he got back to Port Charles – bringing the lovely Esme with him – he’s caused nothing but misery. Why doesn’t he do them all a favor, especially Trina, and go back to Europe and stay there.

Dex asks how Dante’s table is doing, and Dante suggests he pull up a chair. Dex thanks him, but says he can’t. He tells Cody, it’s time, and Jordan asks, time for what? Cody says, she’ll see, and leaves with Dex. Gladys fingers the bracelet.

Finn tells Elizabeth to wish him luck, and she asks why he needs it. he says, let’s just say, there are things you’d do for your family that you wouldn’t do for anyone else. He goes onto the stage, and Maxie gives him the mic. He says, when he joined the staff at GH seven years ago, he was amazed at the way the city of Port Charles shows up for the hospital, the way they’re all showing up tonight. He says, one of their next two performers is very dear to his heart, and asks them to welcome to the stage, Harrison Chase and the fabulous Blaze. Blaze and Chase sing a song that the closed captions say is Arrest Me, but I think they might be screwing with me, since that phrase isn’t in the lyrics. It’s good, but nothing will ever beat Chase’s rendition of Feel it Still.

Everyone cheers, and Blaze says, their new single drops Wednesday. Don’t forget to download it. Linc grabs a microphone, and says, weren’t they great? He puts his arm around Blaze, and kisses her cheek. Brook runs up on stage, and tells him to get his hands off of Blaze, calling him a disgusting creep.

Valentin says, Victor has been very upfront about his life and accomplishments. Does Victor mind if he returns the favor? Victor says he’d rather Valentin return the necklace, but Valentin says, it was never Victor’s necklace. Victor says, he is head of the Cassadine family. The Ice Princess, by rights, belongs to their family. Valentin says, Victor has a tendency to equate his megalomania with the family. Whatever his grand plan, no other Cassadine cares. Not Spencer, not Nikolas – wherever he is – not Alexis or her daughters. And certainly not him. This is just a giant waste of time. He doesn’t have the necklace. Victor says, Valentin is going to make things difficult. He’d have expected nothing less. He has to admit, he’s going to enjoy the next part. Watkins grabs Anna, lifting her up by her neck, while one of Victor’s goons holds back Valentin. Victor says, unless Valentin gives him the necklace, Watkins will break the lovely Anna’s neck, and leaves her paralyzed. Valentin says he doesn’t have the damn necklace, and Anna gasps, Valentin… no… necklace… Victor says he thought of killing Anna, then he thought, what is the fun in that? He wonders how long Anna’s boyfriend will go on loving her when she can no longer stand. Wow. He doesn’t give Valentin much credit for being a decent human.

Brook says, this man deserves no credit for Chase and Blaze’s appearance here tonight, nor for their talent. He calls himself a manager; he’s a parasite. Linc tells her to watch herself, and she says, he latches himself onto young talent and exploits them, both financially and sexually. Ned gets up, but Olivia holds him back. Brook says, Linc told her that he’d kill her career if she didn’t sleep with him, which he tried to do. He held all her songs, and the only way she could get them back was to sign a non-disclosure agreement. But she’s breaking that agreement here tonight. She refuses to remain silent about whom and what Linc Brown is – a sexual predator. Linc snatches the mic back, and says, these are obvious lies. No one will corroborate a word.

A man tells Spencer that he’s here to deliver a message. His uncle will be contacting him soon. Be ready when he does, and do as he’s told. The man leaves.

Linc says, Brook could have been a star, but now she’s just a jealous has-been, making up stories to try and keep herself relevant. Maxie says, it’s time to clear the stage, but Blaze grabs the mic, and says, she’s not lying. Everything Brook said has happened to her. She cries, and says, Linc Brown is a predator, and he’s been holding her career hostage. Gladys slips out, and Blaze says, but she didn’t sign a non-disclosure agreement, and she’s going on the record tonight. Linc says, don’t get caught up in her hysteria, and Blaze says, go to hell. Chase puts his hand on Linc’s arm, and says, it’s time to clear the stage, but Linc shakes him off, saying, Chase isn’t a cop anymore. Dante says he’s a cop – he walks up on stage – and Linc is creating a public disturbance. Let’s go. He takes Linc’s arm, and walks Linc out to applause. Ned stands up as Dante goes past, and Chase looks at Brook.

Spencer comes back, and sits with Sonny. On stage, Nina says, it’s a great night, isn’t it? She thanks them for being here, and says, as co-owner of the MetroCourt – Carly and Olivia roll eyes at each other – she’s happy to be able to be able to use this ballroom for a worthy cause. It also affords her the privilege of announcing the next two performers. Please welcome to the stage, Georgie Spinelli, James West, and their oma, Liesl. Obrecht comes out with James and Georgie, and Georgie says, ladies and gentlemen, tonight you’ve seen singers and dancers… James says, llamas, and Georgie says, and now it’s time for some real magic. Tonight, with the help of their incredible assistant… James says, they’ll perform wizardry to surprise and delight them. Georgie says, now for their first illusion, and Obrecht picks up a large tube. James says, they have an empty tube, and puts his hand through it. They can see there’s nothing inside or outside. But they add a little bit of magic… He and Georgie touch the tube with their wands, and he pulls out a long strip of material in different colors, which I suspect is coming from Obrecht’s sleeve. There’s applause, and Obrecht drapes it around her neck. James says, for their next illusion, they’ll make water disappear. Obrecht wheels over a cart with a pitcher and two Solo cups on it. Georgie says, they have a pitcher of water; nothing unusual. She pours some water into one of the cups, and says, before they make the water disappear, what’s Obrecht’s favorite color? Obrecht looks at the colors around her neck, and says, blue. Georgie tells James, a little magic please, and he taps the cup with his wand. She pours the water into the other cup, and it’s blue. James says, now to make the water disappear. They need some more magic. Georgie taps the second cup, he turns it over, and it’s empty. The audience applauds, and they bow. Georgie says, for their next illusion, they will make their assistant disappear. Obrecht feigns surprise, and wheels over a large cabinet. Georgie opens it, and Obrecht gets in, waving to the audience as the door closes.

Gladys sneaks around backstage, and ducks behind the costumes. Walking past, Dex says, he’s seen combat, but this seems scarier, and Cody says he’s fallen off a bull and a whole bunch of stupid other stuff. When they’re gone, Gladys finds a hanger with Cody’s name on it, and slips the bracelet into his jacket pocket.

Georgie opens the cabinet, and it’s empty. James says, now they will bring their assistant back. Georgie closes the door again, and James taps on the cabinet with his wand. Georgie opens the cabinet, but all that’s there is the material from the first magic trick. Everyone laughs because they think the kids just messed up the act.

Obrecht lies in the trunk of a car, out cold. Victor’s messenger closes the trunk, and walks away.

Valentin comes out with the necklace, and Victor says, finally. That’s more like it. He whips out his jeweler’s loupe, and checks it out. He says, release her, and Watkins lets go of Anna. Victor says he and Valentin could have done this together, father and son. Instead, he’s had to choose another heir to carry on the Cassadine name. Valentin’s betrayal broke his heart. So it’s only fair he returns the favor. He takes out a gun, and shoots Anna. Maybe.

Tomorrow, Bobbie says, the next act is the one they’ve all been waiting for; Victor says, make sure things are prepared for their guests; Trina tells Spencer, that’s the wrong answer; and Sasha asks where Gladys’s bracelet is.

💃🏾 Behind the Ball…

Amy with the behind the scenes gossip.

Go Behind the Scenes for the GH Nurses Ball Opener with Risa Dorken!

And all those sequins.

GENERAL HOSPITAL Nurses Ball 2023: The Fashions

🕶 A Visit From Granny…

Ha-ha! Her hair in the 70s, or 80s, or whenever that was.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/jane-elliot-reveals-why-she-returns-to-general-hospital

🗽 Fanatics For Sprina…

I would definitely stop and look at it, but not if I had to wait an hour.

GH Fans Celebrate “Sprina” With a Billboard in Times Square!

🏆 Daytime’s Due…

June 16th, 9 pm ET, CBS. Be there or be a rectangle.

Daytime Emmy Awards 2023 to Air on CBS!

🤼‍♀️ What Happens In Jersey…

The main thing this clarifies is, there are awful people in New Jersey.

https://www.distractify.com/p/dolores-dina-manzo-feud-explained

🍸 Not a Day Goes By…

Buffoonery. I love it.

Lala Kent Claims Tom Sandoval Refuses to Leave His and Ariana’s Home, Slams Tom Schwartz After Erratic WWHL Interview, and Talks Ariana’s Weight Loss Amid Scandal

He had to see it in hindsight to know he handled it wrong?

Tom Sandoval Talks Vanderpump Rules Reunion, Affair Backlash, Regrets on How He Handled Things With Ariana, Plus Business Impact, and What’s Next For Him

🐔 Madder Than a Pissed On Chicken…

No doubt the insurance companies were involved as well, but I hope to see my Boat Daddy sail the seas again.

Captain Lee Admits He Was Fired From Below Deck Ahead of Season 11, Shares How He Found Out, and Talks Health Issues, Plus If He’ll Return Next Season

🐶 Squee Time…

Pets cuter than the celebrities who own them.

https://www.rover.com/blog/favorite-celebrity-pets/

🍶 Potent Potables For 200, Alex…

Take a break here tomorrow for some soap, the latest in tea, random quotes, and specific music. Until then, stay safe, stay leading by example, and stay following your instincts, wherever they may lead.

Apr6

April 5, 2023 – Victor Is Taking Someone With Him, Schwartz Picks Forbidden Fruit & Radioactive

Posted on by
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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Maxie asks if the opening number is ready. Is everyone seated? She asks Bobbie to make sure everyone’s together for the opening number, when Nina walks backstage and looks askance at the llama. It occurs to me that we have no idea what the llama does, much like Sonny and Victor. Nina tells everyone that they look great, and Maxie says, when it’s all over, she’ll think it was worth it. Nina says, and now? and Brook says, the llama is one of their more professional artists. We see the llama eating from the snack table, and Maxie says she’s sorry, but they really have things to do. Nina tells her, save the drama for your llama. She just came back to say good… Brook makes a silence motion… break a leg. Nina leaves, and Maxie asks if Brook is just going to stand there or help her.

Linc walks into the dressing room, and Blaze asks if he doesn’t knock. He asks, what’s the fun of that? and she says she has to get changed. He tells her not to let him stop her.

Watkins tells Victor that the car picked Lucy up at Marigold and Chestnut. They’re checking the houses nearby. Victor says, discreetly? and Watkins says, of course (🍷). Victor says, where Lucy is, there Anna and Valentin shall be, along with what’s left of the Ice Princess, and the key to saving the world.

Lucy squeals as she picks up the remote, and Anna and Valentin run in. Anna asks if she’s okay, and Lucy says, the Ball… is about to begin.

Bobbie and Maxie come out and introduce themselves. They tell the audience, welcome to the Nurses Ball, and there’s more applause than there are people. Bobbie thanks them for coming out to support HIV/AIDS research and patient services, so they may soon eradicate this virus and disease for good. Maxie says, this year, they’ve turned things up a notch in order to celebrate the 60th anniversary of General Hospital. Bobbie says, anything can happen at the Nurses Ball… and Maxie says, and usually does. Tonight is full of surprises. So let’s get on with the show. The nurses come out to do the opening number, TJ, Amy, and Deanna singing lead, with the rest of the nurses as the back-up dancers they really are.

Sonny asks where Gladys got her bracelet, and Sasha says, it’s on loan. Deception used it in a photo shoot, and she made arrangements for Gladys to wear it tonight. Gladys says, it even comes with its own bodyguard, and nods to a serious looking guy. She tells Sasha, with the dress and bracelet, Sasha has really made her first Nurses Ball special. Sasha says she’s really grateful to everyone who helped her when she was struggling, and no one’s helped her more than Gladys. Sonny asks if Sasha isn’t struggling anymore, but Sasha says, she has her days, but she’s ready to get back out into the world and live life again. Sonny says he guesses that means the court will revoke Gladys’s guardianship. Sasha will be standing on her own two feet in no time.

Cody wonders, who pays for all this? and Sam says, the vendors donate all the products and services, and the money that’s raised goes to a charity that supports HIV and AIDS research. She’s really impressed Cody agreed to perform. Cody says, every once in a while, he does the right thing, and looks over at Gladys.

Chase tells Elizabeth that she looks absolutely stunning, and she thanks him, and says he looks good himself. She can’t wait for the big duet. She thanks Finn for walking the red carpet with her, and he says he’s just glad he could be there. She tells him to enjoy the Ball.

Finn and Chase go over to the bar and order drinks, and Finn tells Chase, don’t. Chase says, but… and Finn makes a zipping motion across his lips, and says, don’t.

Brook knocks at Blaze’s dressing room door, and Blaze says, come in. Brook sees Linc leaning against the makeup table, and he asks, how’s his favorite former songbird? Isn’t this the room where that psycho slashed her? Brook says, yeah. It fills her with nostalgia. Where’s Blaze? Blaze comes out, and Linc says, just look at her. Isn’t she just… Brook says, get out, and he says, Blaze needed help with her zipper. Brook says, not from him. She’ll help Blaze with whatever she needs. Linc says he’s her manager, but Brook says, right now he’s leaving. Go. He leaves, and Brook asks what the hell he’s doing in here… Did Linc try something?… Is she okay?

Lucy, Valentin, and Anna sit on the sofa, and Lucy says she’s just so proud of everybody. It’s breaking her heart she can’t be there. Valentin says he’s devastated. If only their lives didn’t depend on staying away from the Nurses Ball. Lucy says she knows. He’s made that very clear. So if they’ll excuse her, she’s just going to finish the Ball in the bedroom. She leaves, and Valentin says he’s sorry. He knows this is difficult for Anna too. Anna says, being there makes her feel close to Robin, but she understands it jeopardizes everyone’s safety. She wonders if Victor just left town, but Valentin says, he wants to get his hands on the Ice Princess necklace, and he’s not going to give up until he finds it.

Watkins says, they checked all the houses in a three-block radius. No sign of them. Victor says, of course (🍷) Lucy Coe is savvy enough not to be caught right outside the house she, Valentin, and Anna are hiding out in, along with his necklace. Widen the search; again, discreetly. Watkins says, of course (🍷), and Victor says, when he finds the house, no one is to approach without his direct order.

Nina says she couldn’t help notice Curtis’s little traffic jam, with him, Portia, and Jordan. How’s he doing? He says, she looks stunning, and she says, way to get off the subject. As does he. He suggests they make a deal. Neither one of them will ask the other how they’re doing. Just sit back and enjoy the festivities. She says, deal.

Mac says, Felicia was always the prettiest girl at the party, and at another table, Austin gets up. Ava asks what he’s doing, and he says he thought Mac should see them. She pulls him back down, and says, they just want to give the cops an opportunity to notice them. He asks how they do that, and she says, very easy. They act like they’re having fun. He says, ha-ha-ha-ha! Like that? and she says, perfect.

Trina orders a club soda at the bar, when Spencer approaches her. He stares at her, and she tells him, stop it. He says, stop what? and she says, looking at her like she’s… He says, beautiful? He’s sorry; he can’t help it. He’s still kicking himself for letting Sydney Val Jean tell her how beautiful she looked before he could. She says, he got there eventually, and he says, the only reason he hesitated was because he was speechless. He should have offered to escort her, so he could have arrived with her on his arm. She says, as an accessory? but he says, she’s no one’s accessory. He thought she might want to arrive with him because… just because. She wonders why he didn’t, and he says, she told Sydney Val Jean that they were just friends. Trina reminds him that he said the same thing. They were on live TV with a microphone in their face. What were they going to say? He asks if she meant it, and she says, did he? Sonny joins them, and says, Trina looks amazing. She thanks him, and says he looks very stylish himself. He asks if she’d mind if he has a second with his nephew, and Spencer says, actually, they were just… Trina says, getting a drink, but hers just came, so she’ll let them talk. She leaves, and Sonny wonders if he can ask Spencer a question. He needs Spencer to answer honestly. Spencer says, all right, and Sonny says, where’s Victor?

Gladys is walking with the bodyguard, when Cody calls to her. She asks what he wants, and he asks where she’s going. She says, like it’s any of his business. She’s headed to the ladies room. He asks if she’s sure she’s not headed to a pawn shop to see how much she could get for that bracelet, and she says, this bracelet is on loan from the jeweler’s; it’s not hers. He says, Brando’s garage wasn’t hers either, and she sold that.

Spencer says he thought Victor would be in attendance tonight, but he hasn’t seen him, and Sonny asks, when was the last time he talked to Victor? Spencer says, a few hours ago, and Sonny asks, where? Spencer says, what’s going on? and Sonny asks if Victor told Spencer that he checked out of the MetroCourt. Spencer says, no, and Sonny asks if Victor said anything about leaving town. Spencer says, not a word.

Valentin walks in with a toy piano, and Anna asks what he’s got. He says, a piano. He found it in the attic, and tidied it up a bit. It might have been Morgan’s or Michael’s. She says, a very baby grand, and asks what he intends to do with it. He says, they can’t be at the Nurses Ball this year, but they can have their own. She asks if he’s going to sing for her, and he says, from the tiny piano on the floor to her, the one he adores. He plays the tiny piano as he sings, although I suspect there’s some musical help in the background. They imagine themselves all dressed up, and dancing in a room filled with candelabras and fancy floor lamps. They kiss at the end.

Josslyn goes over to Dex at the bar, and he says, she looks amazing. She thanks him, and he says, they shouldn’t be seen together. She says, they’re not together; they’re just two people waiting for the bartender. He says, it could be a while, and they surreptitiously touch hands. She says, she’ll have to talk to management, and he puts his hand on hers.

Jordan says, here’s to TJ; he was great up there. Molly says, cheers to that, and they clink glasses. Jordan asks if TJ is on call, and he says, no; why? She says, that’s not his usual beverage… or Molly’s, and he says he and Molly are obtaining from alcohol. Jordan says, any particular reason? and he puts his arm around Molly, saying, they’re going to try and get pregnant. Jordan asks if they’re giving her a grandchild, taking Molly’s hands, and Molly says, that’s the plan.

Sasha is looking around, and Sam asks if she lost something. Sasha says, her mother-in-law.

Gladys says, first of all, jackass, how she handles her business is none of his, so stay out of it, and Cody says he’ll stay out of it if she tells Sasha the truth. She says, and if she doesn’t? and he says he’ll tell Sasha that she can’t stay away from the poker tables, and she’s using Sasha’s assets to settle her debts.

Chase approaches Finn, who’s wearing earbuds, and asks, what exactly happened between him and Elizabeth at Cameron’s goodbye party? He asks why Finn is ignoring him, and turns Finn around. Finn asks, what’s going on with Chase? and Chase asks, what’s going on with Finn? Finn says, wait, and takes out the earbuds, and Chase says, earplugs? Really? Finn says he’s listening to a message from Violet. Why is Chase sneaking up on him? Chase says he wants to get in Finn’s business. Finn asks if he didn’t tell Chase not to, and Chase says, he and Elizabeth seemed pretty… you know. Finn puts his earbuds back in, and says, go ahead. Chase says, good talk, and leaves. Elizabeth and Finn smile at each other.

Blaze says she’ll be fine, and Brook asks if she’s sure. Blaze says she’s handling this, but Brook says she can help. Let her accompany Blaze to any and all meetings with Linc, especially the ones not public. Blaze says she appreciates that, but Linc is her manager; how would that work? Brook says, Blaze and Chase are collaborating, and she’s Chase’s manager. She has a legit interest. Blaze says, that’s a stretch, but Brook says, it’s better than going it alone. What does she say? Blaze says she’ll think about it, when Chase knocks at the door. Blaze nods to Brook, who opens it, and he asks if everything is okay. Blaze says, fine. She tells them that she has to make a call and leaves. Chase says, she was obviously upset, but Brook says, Blaze will be fine; just leave her alone. He asks if she wants Blaze to live her life the way she does; everyone for themselves.

On the phone, Victor asks if someone has gained access to the backstage area… Then he takes it, it’s done… Good. Oh my God, he’s not kidnapping the llama, is he? He says, now it’s just a matter of time, and Watkins asks if he sent Ambrose to the MetroCourt, but Victor says, he’s on a special errand. When Victor leaves Port Charles, he’s taking someone with him.

Maxie introduces Elizabeth, who says, many of you know, a few days ago, we lost a beloved member of our GH family, Nurse Epiphany Johnson. The curtains open and there’s a giant photo of Epiphany, and Elizabeth says, Epiphany did everything with her heart and soul. She was most passionate nursing, healing people, saving them when she could. She also had a gift for music; a gift she shared with them through her many spectacular performances right here at the Nurses Ball. So tonight, we dedicate this Ball to our friend. Epiphany, we love you, we miss you, you will never be forgotten. Everyone is all somber.

Dante says, that was a nice tribute to Epiphany, and Sonny says, losing Epiphany was a blow. She could put anybody in their place; him, Jason, even Carly. He’s going to miss her. Dante says, Sonny’s going through a lot right now, and losing a friend on top of it… Sonny says, don’t worry about him; he’s good. Dante tells Sonny that he’s said it before, and he’ll say it again. He’s Sonny’s son, and he’s here for him. They hug.

Backstage, Maxie tells a man that they need to be extra careful about people walking off with their body mics. Tackle them if he has to. Amy gives Maxie some water, and says, Maxie is doing a wonderful job with… Maxie says, wait a minute. There were three chainsaws there a few minutes ago. Now there are only two. She hears the buzz of a chainsaw, says, oh no, and runs off. Amy asks the llama if he heard that.

Anna thanks Valentin, and he says he’s written several songs for her. He can’t believe he got to sing her one. She asks how he makes earnest appreciation seem sexy, and he says, considering who he’s appreciating, he thinks the question answers itself. Her phone dings, and she says, it’s Sonny. He said, Spencer saw Victor at the MetroCourt, and he checked out. Lucy says, knock, knock, and asks if it’s safe, and Anna tells her to come in. Lucy says she wasn’t overhearing on purpose, but Valentin’s song was beautiful. She didn’t want her extreme need for snacks to ruin an intimate moment. They thank her, and Anna asks if Maxie is following Lucy’s micromanaging. Lucy says, so far, so good, but they should have seen the chaos this morning. It was madness. An army is only as good as its general. Anna asks, what chaos? and Valentin asks how she would know what was happening at the MetroCourt. Lucy says, maybe she did a little bit more than just text Maxie.

Brook tells Chase that she’s not an everyone for themselves kind of person. She doesn’t want to be alone, but sometimes life just works out that way, obviously. He says he’s sorry, and she says she is too. She’s sorry she ever signed that NDA with Linc to get her songs back. She knew it was selfish, but she did it anyway. The worst part is that she let down all the women who’ll have to deal with Linc, but she let down Chase too. That’s what hurts her the most. He says, what hurts him the most is that she let herself down. Blaze comes back, and thanks him for waiting. She thinks they should run through their steps one more time, and he says, sure. Brook says, let her know if they need anything before they go on, and leaves.

Spencer says he’s sorry he and Trina got interrupted before. He was going to bring up their kiss. He takes it that’s something they’re both in favor of doing again, and she says, yes. He says, that’s great; great choice. She laughs, and he says, so for clarity’s sake, that would mean that they… that she is… that they’re together. She says, yes, together, and they move closer, when Josslyn calls to Trina. Spencer says, she has the worst timing, and she says, they have to get backstage. They’re almost up. Spencer says, to be continued, Trina says, definitely, and leaves with Josslyn.

Bobbie says she’s proud to introduce the next act. She’s known one of the performers since the day she was born, but they’re both in every way exceptional. She presents Trina Robinson, and her very own granddaughter, Josslyn Jax. Trina and Josslyn do a song and dance number, accompanied by unknown nurses. What’s interesting is how they start off with handheld microphones, and lose them at some point and switch to secret ones. The crowd goes wild, Spencer and Dex among them.

Victor says, Ambrose is in position at the MetroCourt, and Watkins says, Minerva is at the house where Valentin, Anna, and Lucy are holed up. Victor says, instruct them to surround the house. They move on his signal. Watkins says, rules of engagement? and Victor says he needs his son and Anna Devane alive. Lucy Coe is just a nuisance. Eliminate her.

Elizabeth says, Trina was so wonderful, and Portia says, she was. She’s so proud of Trina. Elizabeth asks if Portia has made any progress with Trina, and Portia says, just a little bit. Elizabeth says, she’ll come around, and Portia says, she will eventually, because she’s never giving up on her daughter.

Bobbie says, Josslyn was fantastic, and Josslyn thanks her, and says, they were, weren’t they? Bobbie says, good for her. False modesty always makes her want to grind her teeth. She says she has to get back to her hosting duties, and tells Josslyn that she’s a star. Linc slithers in as Bobbie leaves, and says, she’s right. He knows talent, and Josslyn definitely has it. In his hands, she can go way over the top.

Lucy says she could see Maxie was in way over her head, and she had to act. So yes, she went to the MetroCourt, but she promises nobody recognized her. She tries to walk out, but Anna grabs her and says, wait. She went to the MetroCourt? Lucy says, just to the lobby, no further. She got there, solved that problem, then made it back here quick as a little bunny. Valentin asks how she got there, and she says, don’t worry. She didn’t give the car service her exact address. She walked half a mile down, and coming back, she had them drop her at the far corner way down the street. Everything’s fine. Anna says, we have to leave now.

Sasha asks if Cody is ready for the spotlight, and he says, he and the spotlight are old friends. Gladys joins them, and asks what they’re talking about. Cody says, old friends.

Nina walks in, and she and Sonny smile at one another. Spencer tells Trina that she was amazing. She was so much better than Josslyn. They hug, and she says, he’s being biased, but he says, not at all. Carly runs up, and hugs Trina, saying, she was amazing. Spencer says he was just telling her the same thing, and Carly asks, where’s Joss?

Josslyn thanks Linc, but says she’s not interested in a music career. He tells hernot to say no to something before she hears all the reasons to say yes, when Brook walks in. She looks like she might possibly kill Linc.

On the phone, Victor says, excellent… Thank you. He tells Watkins, now.

Valentin says, come on, let’s go. As they pull on their coats, Anna tells Lucy that her trip to the MetroCourt cost them their location, so Victor can find them easily. Lucy says she doesn’t want to go. The Nurses Ball isn’t even on a break yet. Valentin says, if they don’t get going now, they’re dead for real this time. Got it? Lucy asks if she can just get some snacks, and Valentin says, hurry up. Anna drags Lucy out of the house, and sees a red dot on Valentin’s chest. She tells him, move! and we hear a gunshot.

To Be Continued…

Tomorrow, Josslyn tells Spencer that he’s caused nothing but misery; Victor says he’s not going anywhere until he gets what he came for; and Linc asks Brook, what the hell was that?

Vanderpump Rules

First, my bad, Kristina did sit at the table at Scheana’s dinner. Lala asked her to come, unaware it was a wedding dinner. Or so she says.

Ally has wisely walked out, and James says, she’s probably upset because she’s not used to confrontation. Kung Fu Sandoval says, sometimes having real power is having the power to do something and not using it, and Lala says, James has a lot to lose. She doesn’t want to see him react that way. In Ally’s interview, she says, it’s hard to watch the way James is acting, and the way he’s screaming. Scheana goes to make the rounds, and Schwartz heads for the restaurant, where he has reservations for Bubba, and feels the need to explain the name to the staff. Katie arrives, and he says he’ll use the more platonic Bub. In Schwartz’s interview, he says, Bubba has lost some meaning, but he still feels like they’re both Bubbas. Schwartz tells the server that they’re celebrating, and the server asks if it’s an anniversary, but Schwarz says, they’re divorced. The server is like, that’s nice? and Schwartz says, they just sold their house. The server seems confused, and Schwartz tells Katie that he’s not going for romance. In Katie’s interview, she says, romance isn’t Schwartz’s strong suit. We flash back to the ring on a string, and other times Schwartz missed the romance mark. She says, if he couldn’t romance her when they were married, she doesn’t think he’s going to romance her now. Schwartz toasts to getting back on the hedonic treadmill, and Katie says, how about the closing on the house as bittersweet as it is? And to all the memories, and to them. Schwartz says he wants to maintain a good friendship, and doesn’t want to ruin the moment, but he feels guilty not going to Brock and Scheana’s dinner.

James asks if he and Ariana can hug it out, and they do. Katie tells Schwartz that she feels bad, but he says, this is on him. He wanted to celebrate with her. After their divorce, he’s more apt to defend her. She says, no, he’s not. He pulled the groomsman card and defended Scheana’s ass. We flash back to him asking Katie to switch resorts, and he says, she pulled the wife/husband card. She abused it. he was a great f***ing husband. In her interview, Katie says, what? She asks when Schwartz has defended her honor, and he says, toward the end he didn’t because she’d abused that early on. In Katie’s interview, a producer asks why she thinks Schwartz never takes her side. She says, the only thing she could come up with is, he doesn’t like her. He might have loved her, but he never liked her. She tells Schwartz not to gaslight her, and he says, that’s her favorite term. Katie wonders where they go from here. Does he not want to be friends? Does he want to be friends with Brock and not her? She tells him to be real, and the server brings their meals. Schwartz says he didn’t want to ruin dinner, and Katie starts to cry. She says, he’s being great friends to the people surrounding him, when they’re being awful to her. He tries to protest, and she tells him, save it. He says, she was a provocateur in many of those situations, and she says, all right, gets up, and walks out. The server asks if he should take her dishes away, but ball-less Schwartz says he thinks she’s just going to the bathroom. The server leaves, and Schwartz says he’s finishing his steak. This was a bad idea.

James says, the group is used to intense group conversations, but Ally isn’t. Ally comes back with Brock, and asks if they’re safe. Scheana invites Ally to her bachelorette party, and James wonders why Lala isn’t going, since it’s a group event. What could Raquel do to make her not feel safe? Scheana is confused – her stance on most things – and Sandoval suggests going to some bar for drinks. Scheana says she’s going back to her room, and Lala tells James, that wasn’t his place; Scheana didn’t know how she felt. She was going to sit Scheana down. She follows Scheana outside, and tells her that it wasn’t James’s place to bring that up. She wants the energy to be amazing for Scheana, and was going to have a conversation about it. It’s where she’s at; she’s not great at being in fight mode right now.  Scheana asks why Kristina is there, and Lala says she didn’t know it was a wedding dinner. Scheana says, Lala should have asked her, and in Lala’s interview, she says, Scheana wanted things to be drama free, and she’s trying to give Scheana what she asked for. She’d rather hang out with her crew than being stuck on a boat at sea with Raquel. She’s going go on the boat, but they’re going to be screaming, bitch overboard, and it ain’t going to be her. Scheana says she’s going to put Summer down, then go to the bar.

Katie texts Kristina about meeting Schwartz, and Schwartz calls Katie, asking her to come back. He wants to end things on a positive note. She hangs up.

Kristina asks, what happened? and Katie says, it started off good. She was excited, but once again, Schwartz will defend literally anyone except her. Whoever she’s having an issue with, he’ll side with them. Kristina says, it’s a reminder of why Katie isn’t with him, when there’s a knock at the door. Katie looks out the peephole, and says, it’s Raquel. Raquel asks to come in for a quick second, and Katie asks why she’s here. Raquel says, Scheana wanted her to come over and tell them, because they didn’t book their room through the hotel’s preferred something-or-other, they have no access to the preferred pool. We see a clip of Scheana asking which bridesmaid is going to let Katie know that she’s not allowed in the preferred area. Raquel says, they can’t be in the area when the rest of them are there for wedding festivities, and Kristina and Katie laugh. In Katie’s interview, she says, so Raquel is going to tell her not to do something. Self-awareness is so lacking all over this place. Raquel says, it’s the only pool with a swim up bar. Kristina wonders if it’s her too, or just Katie, and Raquel says, Scheana was uncomfortable when Kristina was at dinner. Katie says, she’s a bitch, and Raquel says, to be blatantly honest, they don’t want either of them around. Kristina says she’d like to have a conversation with Scheana. There are 600 rooms, and she’s supposed to not go somewhere? She’s not being a prisoner. Raquel says, so they’re going to do it anyway? and Katie says, yeah. Kristina says, they won’t swim up to the bar, and Katie says, although she might be too drunk not too. Raquel leaves, and Katie says, what a dumbass.

Raquel reports back to Scheana, and says she told Katie and Kristina about not being allowed in the preferred areas; point blank, so it was black and white, and there was no confusion. In Scheana’s interview, she says, her telling Raquel to tell them they weren’t allowed in the preferred areas was a joke, but that Raquel actually listened is savage, and she’s here for it. Scheana says she’s going to bed. The car will be arriving at 9:30 for the bachelorette party, and the guys are having a party at the resort.

The girls leave for the bachelorette, and in James’s interview, he says, the thought of Brock and his friends… I’m a barbarian. Let’s take some Viagra and f*** a couple kangaroos here. The guys swill liquor and have what looks like a frat party for guys too old to be pledging. Katie and Kristina go to the – gasp! – preferred pool, and Katie says she held her breath a little giving her room number, but no problem. She has a do-not-disturb sign on her forehead now. They get in the water and swim up to the bar. At the bachelorette, Scheana says she’s in her happy place; on a boat with her favorite people. Scheana thanks the girls for coming, and toasts to the next fun few days. In his interview, James says he considers himself a man of the world, and he’s all for different cultures, but he’s never been the type to smack another guy’s ass in a speedo. Brock’s speedo has a face on it – Scheana’s? – and it’s creepy looking. Schwartz says he loves this place, and eyeballs one of the girls in the pool. He wonders why he feels it’s illegal to check girls out. Tom says he checks out girls all the time, and the viewers check a red flag on their playing cards. While Lala talks to Ally, Raquel tells the other girls that Lala was afraid they’d get in a fight, and she’d be stranded in the ocean. She claimed she didn’t feel safe. Raquel says she could have been a bitch, and say she didn’t want Lala on the catamaran, but that’s not who she is. Apparently, no one told her this also is not her wedding, and she says, she’s not giving off Lala energy. Ally asks Lala how she feels, and Lala says she had a moment, but she’s good. She says she doesn’t want what happened to her to happen to Ally. Ally needs to retain her power. Last night was tame. She needs to learn to tune James out, and know she’s not responsible for how he acts. In Lala’s interview, she says, you could be the smartest bitch in the world, but if you fall under someone like James, he’ll make a whirlwind of your life, and you’ll come out wondering how it happened. She tells Ally that she has her whole life ahead. She feels the need to protect Ally; she has a good heart. In her interview, Lala says, look at her and Raquel. Red flags were flying, and they had tunnel-vision because this persona was amazing at creating the illusion. Well, I don’t see it, but maybe you had to  be there. James just seems annoying and rude to me.

In Sandoval’s interview, he says, Schwartz needs to put himself out there. He’ll get over his marriage faster. Sandoval introduces Schwartz to the girl he was eyeing, and Schwartz tells her that she’s got great eyebrows. In his interview, Sandoval says, when Schwartz moved to L.A., he was awkward, but he got in the stride, and could be cool at times. He thinks Schwartz is out of practice. It’s been so long, he believes Schwartz thought he would never have to deal with this again. Schwartz says he’s going to make out with so many people tonight.

Meanwhile, at Villa Rosa, Lisa and Ken are expecting Pandora, Jason, and Baby Teddy for dinner. Lisa says, Scheana texted that they’re having a blast. Puffy! She says, Greg is probably going to criticize the boys for going off, but they grew up with Scheana, so they’re not sitting here while everyone else is celebrating her wedding. She asks if Ken likes Greg, and Ken says, Greg clearly doesn’t understand who he’s in bed with. The boys have no clue about the business. Lisa thinks the Toms should meet with Greg. They want to open in ten days, and don’t have a kitchen staff. She thinks they’re weeks away from opening. In Lisa’s interview, she says, the Toms want to open on August 31st, and have no path forward. Where’s the plan? She doesn’t see it. We to her last meeting with the Toms, and she says she wants to help them, but she’s not sure she wouldn’t be treading on Greg’s toes. She tells Ken that she’d go in like a steamroller, and he says, as she’s done before. The boys never had experience. He asks what she’s thinking, and she says, what she’s been thinking a thousand times. She doesn’t think they know what they need to open. Greg needs to pull his finger out of his ass and get it done.  

In Scheana’s interview, she says, tonight is the welcome white party. She’s zen and happy, and not letting Katie and Kristina ruin anything. James tells Ally about the guys’ party, and makes fun of them. She says she talked to Lala, and he asks what Lala said. Ally says, Lala just wanted to check on her after last night, and James suggests Lala take a look at her own life. In James’s interview, he says, Lala was engaged to a fat man, and they haven’t seen each other in ages. She did it for a pickleball court. Okay. I looked it up. James is 31, and while there’s never an excuse for fat-shaming, he’s too old for this to be his go-to insult. He tells Ally that he’s never loved anyone as much as he loves her. She’s kind and caring, but has a spark in her butt. Is she gaseous?

There are tons of people at the white party, Peter among them. Peter tells Schwartz that he had no idea Katie wasn’t invited, and Scheana says, she came anyway. Lala meets Kristina and Katie for dinner, in an adjoining pavilion. In Lala’s interview, she says she knows she’s here for Scheana’s wedding, but there’s a lot of sh*t happening; they don’t need to be meeting for dinner. Like the catamaran, spa day, the breakfast, the dinner, the dinner before the dinner, the rehearsal dinner to rehearse for the rehearsal dinner… They see Scheana, and Katie says, maybe the resort is smaller than she thought. In Katie’s interview, she says, they chose the restaurant because the menu looked good. She didn’t know they’d be next to Scheana’s party. Scheana thinks she did this to spite her, which she didn’t. Katie smiles. Scheana grumbles that they didn’t need to have dinner there, and in Raquel’s interview, she says, Kristina and Katie are like those two old guys on The Muppets. She then proceeds to use her sleeves, cuffed in marabou feathers, like puppets. I have no words, except she can’t pull off that dress anyway, so why not? Katie says she’s not bringing bad energy. The only bad energy is coming from Scheana’s guests. In her interview, Raquel uses her sleeve puppets, and says, I hate love. Bah, humbug.

Instead of the standard photo op, there’s some weird camera that projects them spinning on a big screen. It seems like something Scheana would have. Kristina says she had a conversation with Scheana, and we see a clip of her telling Scheana, at the end of the day, she’s never done anything to Scheana, but Scheana has never given her a chance. Katie sighs, and Kristina says, they’re getting the benefit of the entertainment. There are fire dancers, and drummers playing on weird lit up drums that are partially filled with water on top. It kind of looks like a fountain with colored lights when they’re hit. Ariana, Sandoval, Brock, and Scheana sit at a table in the water, and Ariana says, it’s the best party ever. There are also swings and other tables in the water. I can see the swings, but why I would want to sit at a table in the water is beyond me. Scheana says, not once was there drama or bad energy. Inside, Lala asks what Katie and Kristina are doing later, and Katie says, drinking. She wants to turn up. Lala doesn’t know if she has the energy to go to the white party. There are so many people, she doubts Scheana will notice she’s gone.

Ariana wonders where Lala is, and Scheana points out that she’s having dinner with Kristina and Katie. Brock says, her loss, and Ariana says, Lala told them she didn’t want to come to anything intimate, but this is the biggest party. We flash back to Lala saying she’ll come to anything with a larger group. Sandoval says, when Schwartz went to dinner with Katie, they got in a fight, and Ariana calls Schwartz over. Scheana asks if he’s making out with anyone tonight, and in Ariana’s interview, she says, Raquel’s ears perked up when she heard Schwartz making out. Scheana asks why he went to dinner with Katie, and he says, closure. Ariana asks, how many more closures? and he says, Katie is still his girl. Scheana says, she’s not his Bubba anymore, but Schwartz says, it’s Bub, the platonic version. Scheana says, Katie’s not his Bub or Bubba. She’s his ex-wife. In Schwartz’s interview, he says, being single, he didn’t think people would tell him how to think and feel, and now he’s feeling attacked. Sandoval says, no offense, but he doesn’t want Katie around, and in his interview, Schwartz says, he’s still allowed to care. He’s not ready to let Bub go.  

Kristina asks if Lala has talked to the Don, and Lala says, all the time. She’s skeptical about people, especially men, and when she asked if he was a good dude, he asked if she hadn’t gotten his background check back. She told him she hadn’t done one yet, but she does them because she has a lot at stake. Schwartz comes to the table, and says he has a favor to ask Katie. He tells the others, earmuffs, and Lala says, she loves him, but she’s not earmuffing. He asks if Katie will trim his armpit hair, and in his interview, he says, it grows alarmingly fast. Maybe he’s being too clingy. He needs to create separation, and do self-empowerment. Katie tells him to have Brock do it, and Schwartz says he’ll just cut his own hair. He leaves, and Lala asks if he really came over here to ask that. Katie says, he’s drunk. He’s in pest mode. Lala says she doesn’t like that he sh*ts on Katie, then acts like everything is fine, but she kind of feels bad for him right now. Katie says, no one feels bad for her, but Lala says she’s protective of Katie. Katie is never going to win them over.

Raquel and Schwartz go to a small table in the pool and sit. Seriously, it even looks stupid. Katie tells Lala and Kristina that she and Schwartz get in a fight every time they talk. Their dinner was supposed to be a celebration for selling their house and anniversary stuff, but it turned into a fight. Brock yells, make out! to Schwartz and Raquel. Schwartz says, the others trying to coerce them into making out makes him kind of want to. She asks when he came to this realization, and in Schwartz’s interview, he says he feels he’s been a good divorcee; super sweet and supportive. Schwartz says, now it’s forbidden fruit, and Raquel says, Katie made it a thing. In his interview, Schwartz complains that Katie imposed arbitrary restrictions on what he can and can’t do. Um… No, she didn’t. She said, no one in the friend group, and L.A. is a big place. Raquel says, now she can’t stop thinking about it, and in her interview, she says, there are lots of reasons she’s attracted to Schwartz. He’s sweet and kind, and she loves his sense of humor. Her attraction to Schwartz outweighs her desire to be friends with Katie. They kiss, and the crowd cheers, and we know now this is bullsh*t.

To be continued…

👣 Reducing My Carbon Footprint…

Drop in tomorrow for more Nurses Ball and a cup or two of tea. Until then, stay safe, stay not setting thirst traps, and stay not saying no to something before you hear all the reasons to say yes. Hey, even snakes have good advice once in a while.

Apr5

April 4, 2023 – How Dare They, Teresa Has a Meditation Moment, Drama Detail, A Pawn, CMA Stuff, Barbie, Over 90 & Taxi

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Since this happened…

https://abc7ny.com/general-hospital-schedule-change-preempted-abc/13084825/

GENERAL HOSPITAL Preempted Nationally Today

…let’s go directly to the awful.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey

In Dolores’s interview, she says, Paulie is recovering well, but has a different idea of what a nurse should be, since he wants her to dress up in a hot nurse outfit. She tells him about her conversation with Frank at the luau, and how he took it personally that she didn’t stay at his house. Paul says, Frank needs to grow up. He and Dolores had a good relationship, but now it’s gone. In her interview, Dolores says, Paulie has a good relationship with his ex-wife, but she and Frank are closer. Paulie wonders if Frank realizes he made a mistake, but in her interview, Dolores says, Frank realized he made a mistake before he walked out the door. It’s about change, not a personal attachment. She tells Paulie that she’s having lunch with Jennifer, and we flash back to their whatever-it-is, and in Dolores’s interview, she says, it’s like being in a hamster wheel. She feels like enough time has passed, and they can have a real conversation. She tells Paulie that Jennifer needs to stay in her lane, and he says, meet Paterson Dolores. I’ve never been to Paterson, so I’m not sure exactly what that means. I assume it’s a tough, earrings off town.

I think Rachel should escape this show, and possibly New Jersey, immediately. In her interview, she says she’s a perfectionist. She comes from a corporate background, while her husband comes from the streets; that’s why she’s handling buying the school supplies. Why? Would he just give the kid a stick and a rock? She tells John that she wants another baby, but stepson Jaiden isn’t crazy about the idea. In Rachel’s interview, she says, Jaiden is going off to college in a few years, and it’s scary. She reminds John about wanting to adopt Jaiden, and he says, there’s a process they have to go through. Jaiden’s biological mother would still have to sign off, even though he has full custody, and he doesn’t feel like dealing with her. In her interview, Rachel says, her few interactions with Jaiden’s mother were uncomfortable since Rachel is parenting her child. To have to tell somebody’s birth mother about their kid’s life is sad. She knows the best thing is for his birth mother not to be in Jaiden’s life, and she wants to protect Jaiden and their family, so she feels like she’s earned the title. John suggests they sit with an attorney.

Dolores meets Jennifer, and it’s all how are you and you look cute. In Jennifer’s interview, she says she thought they were good friends, but didn’t receive their recent interactions that way. Fighting got her nowhere, so she can find another way forward or not be friends with Dolores. Dolores says, Paulie likes Jennifer, and felt bad when they were fighting, and Jennifer says, what broke the camel’s back last year, and made it hard, was Dolores becoming close with Marge. She felt like Dolores wasn’t defending her, and joining their ship. Little things bothered her. I double check, and Jennifer is 45; a little old for high school. Dolores tells Jennifer that she should have said something, and in her interview, Jennifer says she let her anger get the best of her, but she doesn’t want to keep fighting. Dolores suggests they call a truce, and promises to watch how she speaks to Jennifer in the future. In her interview, Dolores says, if Jennifer had told her instead of just getting angry, she would have curbed herself. Jennifer talks about raising the kids, and how Bill thinks therapy is unnecessary. She says, even when he’s home, he’s not home. When he does have free time, he’s still not choosing to spend it with the family. Dolores says, she and Frank weren’t married when she raised the kids, and lived separately, so it wasn’t an issue. In her interview, Dolores says she remembers hitting the breaking point. She was tired of catering to Frank, when he thought his job was more important than hers. Jennifer says she avoided Marge at the luau, and Dolores says, the fighting is getting bad amongst all of us. Jennifer says she knows a woman who reads Turkish coffee cups, and she was thinking of getting the girls together for a reading. She wants to invite everyone, but doesn’t want Marge at her house. Dolores suggests doing it at her house, since it’s neutral territory.

Melissa and Antonia go to the new house, where Joe #2 is working. In Melissa’s interview, she says she feels like she’s finally seeing what the house will look like. She’s sick of living in Disney princess houses, and she’s ready for something more sophisticated and classy… like her personality. She laughs. She suggests Joe send the molding back to 1999, where it belongs, but he tells her to let the builder build, and stick to fashion. She says she’s doing a pop-up at Envy for Danielle’s children’s line. She sees herself in Danielle, having little kids and wanting to get into business. If she can help, she wants to.

Danielle calls Teresa, who’s sick. Teresa says, her immune system is low from dealing with Melissa, and Danielle asks ,what happened at the luau after she left? Teresa says, it was terrible. Louie wanted Melissa’s mother’s phone number so he could invite her to the wedding, and Melissa refused to talk to him. I don’t think it went quite that way, but moving on. Teresa tells Danielle that Joe said she was miserable, and she said, he and Melissa were miserable, then Joe and Melissa left. Louie went out to talk to them, and came back crying. Louie always comes back crying. He and James Kennedy could have a cry-off. And I’m by no means making fun of anyone having feelings, but these two are drama kings. We see a clip of Louie bawling and saying, he feels Joe and Melissa’s pain, and it sucks. Teresa says she feels bad for Louie.

At the house, Melissa tells Joe that Marge said, Louie was sobbing after they left. Joe says, Louie only needs to fix one person – himself. He’s two-faced with that kumbaya stuff; it’s fake. Then it came out in the press that Teresa had a falling out with Dina. We see a headline about Dina’s husband having beef with Louie over business, and in his interview, Joe says, Dina’s husband David called him because they’re friends. It was Pizzagate, part two. Louie f***ed up another relationship in Teresa’s life. He tells Melissa, Louie says he wants everyone to be nice, but he needs to be real. He comes in like he’s God.

Theresa tells Danielle, that’s the only family she has, and they’re being mean to Louie. Louie needs to draw a line in the sand. Danielle says, Teresa has a built-in excuse not to go to the coffee reading, so she’ll bring Teresa’s feelings along with her own, and unleash for both of them. She tells Teresa, Rachel told Marge what she’d said, but she was only talking about what she heard other people say. Why was she the bad guy? Rachel was just as catty. It became her against Marge and Rachel. In Danielle’s interview, she says, she was bullied in high school because she was an athlete and hung out with the guys. The girls bullied her, and she has a lot of trauma from not being accepted (she’s 37, BTW). She tells Teresa that Rachel caused this and messed her up. Then the women were gossiping about her and her brother, saying there must be another side to the story. She doesn’t like to leave a situation, so it’s been bothering her. In her interview, she says she’s worked hard not to let people affect her, and she’s pissed that she let it. She’s not letting them get away with it. Teresa says, they’re all showing their true colors. I dunno. Is it me? Teresa whines that Joe is her only family, yet she continually bashes Joe and Melissa, and excludes them. Danielle decides to repeat something negative that may or may not be true about Marge, then gets pissed because it’s repeated to Marge. Is this Bizarro New Jersey?

Dolores tells the caterers, if things start going crazy, pretend it’s not happening, which is probably the best advice I’ve ever heard on this show. In Jennifer’s interview, she says, Angie saw N in her coffee reading, and Bill’s real name is Nebil. What better way to bring the women together than telling their futures? Jen walks into Dolores’s house, and in her interview, she says she’s trying not be jealous, but it’s Fifty Shades of Grey, and she’s desperate to find the red room. In Melissa’s interview, she says, Dolores is doing something right. Frank built her a house. David built her a house. Now she’s sitting pretty in this house. If they were playing Monopoly, Dolores would be winning. Melissa asks why Dolores and Jennifer are throwing a party together, and Dolores says she suggested a truce, and Jennifer wanted to have a party, but didn’t think everyone would come to her house. Yeah. That’s believable. In Marge’s interview, she says, she knows Dolores doesn’t want any negativity, but does she really like Jennifer? Does anybody really like Jennifer? They talk about Danielle leaving the luau, and in Jennifer’s interview, she says, if someone is in pain, she’s not going to play Inspector Gadget. My mind boggles. Maybe she has short term memory loss. Jennifer says she never would have wondered what Danielle did to deserve it, and Marge says, nobody thought that. Danielle shouldn’t have said she had an arsenal. Jennifer says, she just repeated stuff she’d heard, and Marge says, don’t be seeding this around. Danielle arrives, and in her interview, she says she’s happy to be here. She actually lost sleep over leaving the luau. It’s her vindication day. Dolores tells everyone that Teresa has covid and won’t be attending, but while she was meditating on her wedding, she pictured Dolores and Jennifer being in the wedding party. We see a clip of Teresa asking them to be bridesmaids. Marge drops that Dina is out, and Melissa says, Dolores wasn’t even invited to the engagement party. Again my mind boggles, wondering who is really the most awful in reality TV when there are so many candidates.

In Dolores’s interview, a producer asks if she thinks she wasn’t invited to the engagement party because Dina was, but Dolores says she’s not talking about Dina – ever. (She later changed her mind, saying on Watch What Happens Live, that were no problems between her and Dina, and they just grew apart.) In Melissa’s interview, she says, Dina’s husband and Louie argued over business, and now Dina isn’t Teresa’s friend or bridesmaid. The meditation moment is convenient. They sit to eat, and Danielle is seated next to Marge. In her interview, Danielle says, she’s uncomfortable right now, but they were seating themselves, and she’s not glued to the chair. She tells Marge, it’s awkward, and Marge says, Danielle stormed out of the luau. In Danielle’s interview, she says, Marge is lucky she needs energy before she rips heads off. Geez. Maybe she was ostracized in school for some other reason. Dolores says she thinks they’ve all been under stress, and they haven’t been away in a long time as a group. She went to Ireland with Paulie for Valentine’s Day, and came back a different person. She’d like for them all to go. In Dolores’s interview, she says, since she’s going to be a bridesmaid, she wants to plan a trip for Teresa, and put the other stuff behind them. They should do something different to bring different energy into the group. She tells them, it’s also the bachelorette party capital, and I’m pretty sure that’s Las Vegas and she’s making that up. Cup reader Angie arrives, and in Jen’s interview, she says she’s been to psychics, but they’re not often looking into a cup of Nescafe. Angie says, Dolores’s reading is short and sweet; a ring is coming soon. In Melissa’s interview, she says she thinks marrying Paulie would make Dolores happy, but Frank would be sad. Paulie isn’t going to suggest going on playdates. Angie tells Rachel that she’ll have a big victory in the next three months or three years. Something significant is going to happen. Rachel says she wants to adopt her stepson, and Angie says, she’ll win at the end. In Marge’s interview, she says, that’s the way she feels about her kids. They needed her because their mom didn’t live here. She needed a family to love, and someone to love her. Angie tells Marge that she’s sees something about a close friend Marge grew up with. She’s seeing the letter L, and seeing a knife in Marge’s back. In her interview, Marge says, how convenient, when Jennifer has been talking non-stop about Laura. Angie says, they went from friendship to fighting, and in Jen’s interview, she says she’s gullible, but not that gullible.

Angie says, the friendship is going to be rekindled, but Marge says, never. In Jackie’s interview, she says she knows she’s cynical, but come on. Jennifer is next, and asks Angie if there’s anything about her life with her husband. He’s been putting a lot of pressure on her, and she’s struggling. Angie says, he loves her a lot, and she sees Jennifer is all about family. She sees people offering Jennifer endorsements, and we flash back to Jennifer at Jen’s house, saying she was more in demand than Marge, and Marge asking what endorsements she had. Jennifer then tells Marge that she turned them down because her family is her endorsement. In Marge’s interview, she says she’s never seen such a set-up in her life. In Melissa’s interview, she says she’s embarrassed for Jennifer. Angie says, when Jennifer’s youngest is older, the endorsements will start coming her way, and in her interview, Marge says, no one’s endorsing Jennifer. Maybe Charmin, since she has 16 bathrooms and is full of sh*t. Jackie says, that felt obvious, but Jennifer insists she barely knows Angie. In Jennifer’s interview, she says, it’s ridiculous. They’re just mad that somebody is saying she’ll have good vibes in the future. Angie says, not everyone believes, and that’s fine, which annoys me. She says, in Danielle’s cup, she sees a conflict between Danielle and her brother. She sees him in a wedding, but doesn’t see her. This hurt Danielle, and they both cry about it, but there will come a day his anger goes away. It gets better, and they make a connection. Danielle says she didn’t like everybody questioning her about this, like she must have done something, but Rachel says, that wasn’t it at all. Jackie says, they just felt there was something missing in the story, and Jen says, she didn’t understand it. Danielle says she doesn’t get it herself, and it should be done. Period. In Melissa’s interview, she says, it’s enough. Leave her alone. Danielle says she doesn’t like to walk away from situations, but she felt blindsided, especially after Rachel made it sound like she was sabotaging Marge. Rachel says, that’s not what she was doing, but Danielle says, Rachel threw her under the bus. In her interview, Marge says she was upset at Danielle repeating negative things, when she’d never been anything but good to her. Rachel says she doesn’t care, and Danielle says she does, nearly launching herself over the table. Everyone is like, whoa, and Rachel says, just because she repeated it, doesn’t mean she was using it against Danielle. In Rachel’s interview, she says, she didn’t take anything out of context, and she wanted Marge to know what was being said. Danielle says she learned she can’t talk to Rachel that way, and in her interview, she says, guilty, insecure bitches aren’t capable of apologizing. If you want to be on your high horse, go ahead. I hope you fall off. Dolores says, I love you all but… get out.  

Next time, Danielle calls Rachel a rat; look out Ireland; Danielle asks Jennifer what Laura told her that she won’t repeat; and Jennifer says it’s about someone they all know.

🍕 Break It Down…

A blow-by-blow of Pizzagate, part two, although there’s still not much detail about what the business was.

‘RHONJ’ Recap: Joe & Melissa Say Teresa Giudice & Dina Manzo Are ‘No Longer Friends’, Luis Is To Blame

🍸 The Plot Thickens…

Peter had to get in here somewhere. I don’t blame him for being pissed though. Raquel used him as a beard.

Peter Madrigal Hints James Was Involved in Brawl at Vanderpump Rules Reunion, Slams Raquel for Using Him as “Pawn” in “Illicit Affair,” and Suspects Sandoval Will Cheat

🐎 A Little Bit Country…

CMA winners.

https://people.com/country/cmt-awards-2023-complete-winners-list/

And the fashion. Maybe some of these looked better in person?

https://www.etonline.com/gallery/2023-cmt-music-awards-red-carpet-arrivals-201768

🩰 In a Barbie World…

The latest Barbie trailer. I can’t wait. I love Barbie. Those tiny shoes…

https://www.avclub.com/watch-margot-robbie-ryan-gosling-in-the-barbie-trailer-1850209634

🎭 Holding Up Well…

National treasures, all of them.

https://pagesix.com/article/celebrities-over-90-then-and-now/

📺 Please Don’t Be Televised…

See you tomorrow for (hopefully) soap and hunting for VanderEggs. Until then, stay safe, stay balancing productivity with some fun stuff, and stay not getting involved in business dealings with Louie.

Apr4

April 3, 2023 – Walking the Nurses Ball Red-Carpet, Chris Is Initiated Into Awfulness, Another Return & Mercy

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Describing fashion isn’t one of my talents, so let’s just say there were a lot of sequins. So. Many. Sequins. All the men are wearing tuxes.

Maxie gets everyone’s attention backstage, and Bobbie says, the doors are open, and the show’s about to begin. We see the infamous llama, and Brook says she doesn’t want to freak anyone out, but she doesn’t think the accompanist has the updated sheet music. Bobby gives it to Brook, who hugs her, saying, they might pull this off after all. Maxie’s phone rings, and it says, crazy person – do not answer. Maxie says, wherever she is, she’s sure Lucy is smiling down on them.

All dressed up with no place to go, Lucy says, Bobbie and Maxie will never pull it off. They’re in over their heads. They have no idea of everything that could go wrong – and surely will – tonight at the Nurses Ball without me to guide them. She makes a call.

Maxie says, excuse her; she needs to take this. She steps away, and tells Lucy that she doesn’t have time to talk right now, but Lucy says, do not hang up or ignore her, or else… Maxie says she’ll talk to Lucy after they wrap, and she and the llama lock eyes. Frustrated, Lucy calls again, and says she will not be ignored.

Michael says, their little girl can sleep through almost anything… until two am, and Willow says, then they should be able to watch the Nurses Ball. They sit on the sofa, and Michael says, it’s okay too, if Willow falls asleep on his shoulder. Tomorrow’s a big day, and she needs all her strength. She says she doesn’t want to think about tomorrow and the procedures. She just wants to watch their friends and family dressed to the nines and performing for a great cause. He turns on the TV.

Sydney Val Jean introduces herself as co-editor of Crimson, and says, they’re live on the red-carpet at the 2023 General Hospital Nurses Ball. She’s back and flying solo tonight to talk to the arrivals, critique their fashion, and get the downlow on their personal lives. But first, she wants to pay tribute to General Hospital itself, which opened it’s doors on April 1st, 1963. That’s right, our beloved General Hospital is 60 years old. This place has meant so much to so many over the years, herself included, and she’s honored to be here to celebrate it’s 60th anniversary. On a more somber note, tonight is dedicated to the life of head nurse Epiphany Johnson, and the late Lucy Coe, whose time here at the Nurses Ball was more than an event; it was her life’s work. In the safehouse, Lucy says, they love me; they really love me. She raises her glass of champagne, and Sydney says, don’t touch that dial, since she lives in 1973, and promises we’re in for a night of thrills, excitement, and mystery. Victor watches on his laptop from a limo as Sydney says, at the Nurses Ball, anything can happen, and probably will. He chuckles, and says, you have no idea.

Sydney says, now to get this party started is the dynamic duo, the driving forces behind the Nurses Ball; her former colleague at Crimson, Maxie Jones, and the one, the only, the awesome nurse, Barbara Jean Spencer. Lucy asks if Bobbie thinks this is really her best look. Did she even think of consulting a stylist? Sydney greets Bobbie and Maxie, and Maxie thanks Sydney for being here. Sydney tells the audience that she was supposed to be in Milan, but when Maxie reached out and told her that the date had been moved up to sync with the hospital’s anniversary, Milan had to wait. There was no way she was going to miss this. Bobbie says, they’re glad Sydney could adjust her schedule. Tonight is a very special evening, and she makes it even more special. They talk about who they’re wearing, and Sydney says, they should be congratulated, both for their spectacular fashion, and for coordinating this in record time. That’s quite an achievement. Maxie says, they followed the example of Lucy Coe after many successful years of the Nurses Ball. It’s safe to say, Lucy’s spirit is guiding us tonight. She only hopes they can make Lucy proud. Lucy thanks her, and says, that’s so sweet. Sydney says, credit where credit is due. It’s their extraordinary talent and commitment that are making tonight happen – Lucy makes a face – and Bobbie says she’s just happy and grateful to be here tonight. Sydney says, since they’re staying humble, she’s going to brag. She’s been told by multiple sources that this is going to be the best Nurses Ball ever. Lucy laughs, and says, really? The best Nurses Ball ever – without me?  I don’t think so.

Michael says, next year, he and Willow are going to walk down this red-carpet, and she’s going to be the envy of every fashionista from here to Manhattan. She says she doesn’t want to think that far ahead. Tonight, she’s just where she wants to be. They kiss, and there’s a knock at the door. Michael says, come in, and Drew walks in. Willow says, she heard they were looking for a new James Bond, and Michael says, that’s high praise coming from his fiancé, but he has to agree. Drew thanks them, and says he didn’t want to go to the Nurses Ball without telling them that they’ll be missed. Michael says, he and Willow were just talking, and they’re right where they want to be. Willow takes Drew’s hand, and tells him to have a wonderful night tonight.

Maxie thanks Sydney again for hosting, and says she’s got to get backstage. Maxie leaves, and Sydney says, it’s a red-carpet reunion, as Josslyn and Carly walk in. Three generations of Spencer women are here with her tonight. It’s Bobbie’s daughter, Carly Spencer, the ex-Mrs. Sonny Corinthos, and her gorgeous daughter Josslyn Jax. Drew tells Michael that his mom looks gorgeous tonight.

Sydney says, there have been some changes for Carly in the last year, and Carly says, a few. Sydney says, she seems to be weathering them in style, and Carly says, with her mother and daughter by her side, and the love and support of her family and friends, she’s up for any challenge. Sydney says, everyone knows Carly is a fighter. Any interest in reclaiming what was once hers? Carly says, to quote a great man, success is not final, and failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts. (Since Carly couldn’t be bothered to say who the great man was, I looked it up; it’s Winston Churchill.) Sydney says, poetic, but short on details, and Carly says she’s truly always gotten what she’s wanted, and doesn’t expect that to change. Sydney says she’s heard Josslyn is a lot like her mom and grandmother, and Josslyn says she hopes so. Sydney asks if Josslyn always gets what she wants, and Josslyn says, so far, so good. Sydney tells them to enjoy the show,  and the three of them go over to the photo op. Sydney says, the night keeps getting better. Sonny Corinthos has just joined them. Sonny comes in with Dex, and Josslyn and Dex sort of smile at each other.

Michael says he hopes he didn’t need to be there to run interference for his mom and sister. Like Sonny has really been bothering them. Drew says, they don’t need anyone to stand up for them. He tells them he has to get going, and Willow tells him, have so much fun. Michael says, give everyone their best, and Drew leaves. Willow says she knows Drew and Michael’s mom have to keep their relationship a secret because of the insider trading thing, but she hopes his mom is better at hiding her feelings than Drew is. Michael says he likes that Carly and Drew don’t have to hide their feelings around them, and Willow says, because they’re family. He tells her, you said it, and they settle in to watch the show.

Bobbie says, let’s all play nice tonight, and Carly says she will on her end. They get their photos taken, and Sydney greets Sonny. She says, this is the highlight of her evening. He gets handsomer every year. He tells her that she just gets more gorgeous, and she says she appreciates a man who knows how to give a compliment- with dimples, even better. She asks who Dex is, and Sonny says, Dex is his bodyguard. She tells Dex to do a good job guarding Sonny; he’s very valuable to a lot of people. Dex says, understood, and Sydney says she’s surprised Sonny is here with just his bodyguard. Where is her former red-carpet co-host, the gorgeous Nina Reeves? She sees Nina come in with Curtis, and says, there she is, with a very fine, unexpected guest.

At the hospital, Austin confers with Portia at the reception desk, when Ava approaches, carrying a garment bag. She says she’s sorry to interrupt, but Austin seems to have forgotten he has plans tonight; her, him, and the Nurses Ball? He says he doesn’t know how he’s going to manage this. Dr. Robinson just asked him to do a consult. Ava says, no, handing him the bag. Go make himself handsome. They have to walk the red-carpet and make a splashy entrance. They don’t want to be late. Portia says, it’s okay; she can hold down the fort. He leaves to change, and Ava asks why Portia isn’t ditching her lab coat and slipping into her sexiest gown, but Portia says she won’t be going. Curtis will be there, and that’s why she picked up another shift tonight. Ava says, Curtis filed for divorce? but Portia says, not that she knows of. Ava says, then he’s still Portia’s husband, and Trina is still her daughter. So she made a mistake… a big mistake, but it’s not like she burned the city to the ground. Her unsolicited advice; use that ticket. Ava always looks great, and right now, she’s wearing a pair of the most fabulous silver/gold earrings I’ve ever seen.

Sonny tells Sydney, always a pleasure, and moves on to the photo op. Sydney greets Nina, and says she was sorry to miss Nina at both New York and Paris Fashion Week. Nina says she hated missing out, but Sydney represented Crimson brilliantly, and Sydney thanks her. She says, Nina is dressed beautifully, as is her escort, Curtis Ashford, the hottest nightclub owner in Port Charles. The last time she and Nina were on the red-carpet together co-hosting, this was Carly’s hotel and she was married to Sonny. Now the hotel is Nina’s, and she heard the man is too. Comment? Nina looks over at Sonny.

Backstage, Brook is jotting something down, and Chase says, it’s a little late to change anything, doesn’t she think? She asks if it’s really too late, and he says, it’s her music. It matters more to her than anything. She made that clear. So if she wants to change anything, she has every right. She says, he’s right. She’s just second-guessing herself like she always does. It wouldn’t be fair to him or Blaze to change anything now. It’s too late. Go out there and have fun. Break a leg. She starts to leave, but he says, wait. He thinks she’s incredible. They way she’s thrown herself into the rehearsals, helping Bobbie and Maxie out. She has a special touch. For most of the performers, this isn’t exactly their day job, and she’s convinced every single one of them  to perform to the best of their ability, and have fun doing it. She says, anything for the Nurses Ball, when Linc comes in and says, tonight’s the big night. Brook’s music, Chase and Blaze in the spotlight. It’s going to be an incredible win-win for everybody. Chase says he’s going to change, and leaves. Linc asks if it was something he said, and Brook tells him, yes. It’s always something he said.

Curtis and Nina’s photos are taken, and Sydney says, ladies, this next arrival is just for you, as Spencer walks in. In his limo, Victor says, that’s my boy, and Sydney says, hitting the red-carpet is Port Charles’s most eligible young bachelor, the one and only Spencer Cassadine. Spencer tries to walk past, but doubles back, and says he doesn’t know about most eligible young bachelor, but he’s certainly happy to be here to represent his family. Victor says, that’s more like it. tell everyone what character and good breeding looks like. Spencer’s father may have failed them, but not Spencer. Show those good people of Port Charles a glimpse into what the future is going to look like.

Sydney says she understands the Cassadines are one of the Ball’s biggest underwriters. Is that his doing? He says, his grandmother always taught him that being an important member of this city and this community is being of service to others, and that means giving back. Lucy says, well said, Spencer, and might I add, you look good.

Curtis and Nina run into Sonny and Dex, and Curtis says he’ll leave them alone. Sonny says, damn. She looks good, but she always does. She thanks him, and says he looks pretty good himself. He says, it’s a long way from the firehouse dance in Nixon Falls, and she says, yeah. She misses that old firehouse and the simplicity of that dance.

Bobbie and Josslyn tell each other how amazing they look, and Bobbie says she has no regrets about agreeing to be co-chair, but after this week is over, she’s going to sleep for another whole week. It was a huge amount of work. Josslyn catches Dex’s eye for a moment, and she says she can only imagine. Carly says, Bobbie outdid herself, and Bobbie thanks her. Bobbie notices something, and says, one minor adjustment. She’ll be right back. She leaves, and Carly asks if Josslyn is thinking about a certain someone who has to work, so they can’t be together tonight. Josslyn says she doesn’t know. Is Carly thinking about someone who isn’t here tonight?

Sydney says, Spencer comes from a fascinating legacy. Rumors about the Cassadines range from serious and ruthless to… He says, megalomaniacal, and she tells him, so they say. Meanwhile, his uncle is Sonny Corinthos, and his grandmother is one of her personal heroes, the legendary Laura Baldwin Spencer Collins. Any chance she’ll be joining Spencer tonight? He says, unfortunately, Laura got held up on official business, but she wants everyone to know she’s with them in spirit, and hopes tonight is a huge success. Sydney asks if someone will be joining Spencer tonight, and he nods to Trina, who smiles at him. Trina comes over, and Sydney says she looks nothing short of spectacular. Spencer says she took the words out of his mouth, and Sydney says, just between the three of them, are they an item? There’s certainly been online buzz. Trina says, they’re just friends, and Spencer says, good friends. Sydney says, now that Spencer has graced the red-carpet, will they also be seeing his father, the elegant and mysterious Nikolas Cassadine? Ava walks in with Austin, and tells him to play his part, and she’ll play hers.

Ava goes over to Sydney, who says, hopefully, she can answer the question, and introduces her as Ava Cassadine. Ava says, Sydney is behind the times. She and Nikolas divorced months ago, so she’s back to Ava Jerome. But please give her ex-husband her regards… if she can find him. It’s not her job anymore to keep track of his comings and goings. Sydney asks who this inspiring gentleman is, and Ava says, this is Dr. GH himself, General Hospital’s Dr. Gatlin-Holt. After the tumultuous year she’s had, she’s just grateful to be here. She feels so lucky to have a friend like Austin to lean on. Sydney asks if Austin has anything to add, and he says he’s the lucky one, and as they leave, Sydney says, yes, about six thousand times. Spencer and Trina, and Ava and Austin get their photos taken.

Lucy says, this is the Nurses Ball red-carpet, not an episode of The Bachelorette. Sydney is fabulous, but they don’t want the gossip to overshadow the cause. Maxie would have known this had she just asked Lucy, but no, she had to do it her way.

Sydney says, look who it is, PCPD Commissioner Jordan Ashford, looking dazzling and glamorous, and Jordan thanks her for the kind words, but says, tonight she’s off the clock. She’s just here as one more fan of the Nurses Ball and its efforts to make money for a terrific cause. Sydney admires Jordan’s professional dedication, as well as her killer gown, and Jordan says, on the rare occasion she gets to dress up, she jumps at the chance. Her phone rings, and Jordan says she has to take this. She leaves, and Sydney says, so much for off the clock.

Jordan asks if they’ve heard from the Medical Examiner… So it’s almost certain Eileen Ashby died from a fall?

Sydney says, speaking of gorgeous, it’s General Hospital’s own Dr. Portia Robinson. She says, Portia has something in common with her last guest, Jordan Ashford, and Portia says, they do? Sydney says, they’re both committed to public service, and Portia says she thinks that’s a good thing to have in common. She walks over to Jordan, and Jordan says, she knows that woman did that on purpose. Jordan says, that woman is fierce, but she makes for some good television. They get their photos taken.

Josslyn says, Trina looks amazing, and Trina says, so does she. It looks like a certain bodyguard is looking at her from across the room. Josslyn says she’s surprised Trina noticed, with all the looks going on between her and Spencer, and Trina says she was just behind him on the red-carpet, but Josslyn says, it looked like Spencer was waiting for her. Trina says, he wasn’t. It was just… Josslyn says, coincidence? Manipulation? She’s sorry. She gets that Spencer is different when he’s with Trina, and she’s in no position to judge. Just be careful. Trina says, if she gets hurt, it’s not going to be because… She sees Portia, and switches positions with Josslyn. She asks what they were talking about, and Josslyn sees Portia. She says, their performance, and how there’s nothing to worry about because the number is perfect, and they have it down cold. Trina says, right, and they hug.

Portia goes over to the bar, and she and Curtis both reach for the same glass of champagne. He says, sorry about that. After her. She says, no, she’s sorry. She didn’t look where she was grabbing. They both look over to see Jordan.

Sydney is thrilled to introduce the next guest. One of Port Charles’s most dynamic couples, PCPD Detective Dante Falconari, side by side with his lady love, Private Investigator Sam McCall. Sam almost trips coming in, and tells Sydney that she’s a little nervous. Sydney says, it’s proof she can scale buildings and dodge bullets, but there’s nothing more dangerous than the red-carpet. Sam says, lucky for her, she has someone to catch her fall, and Dante says, for the record, Sam’s the one catching his heart. They go to the photo op, and Sydney says, they’re a living, breathing relationship. Drew walks up, and Sydney says, welcome the President of Aurora Media, publisher, Mr. Drew Cain. Drew says, it’s nice to see her, and she says, it’s always nice to see him, and she’s not just saying that because he’s her boss. Did he really come here alone? Is he waiting for a special someone? He says, you never know, and keeps walking. Sydney says, the ladies are in for a treat. Please help her welcome one of their signature performers tonight, former PCPD detective turned pop star, Harrison Chase, and his equally dreamy brother, world renowned Dr. Hamilton Finn.

Brook messes with a microphone backstage, and Linc slithers up, saying, a nice night for a Nurses Ball, wouldn’t she say? She tells him to leave her alone; can’t he see she’s busy? He says, there’s no need to be hostile. They can play nice together, can’t they? She signed that non-disclosure agreement. She got her songs back, and gave them to her boyfriend to sing. She says, Chase isn’t her boyfriend. Those songs came at quite the high price; never telling the world what kind of serial predator he really is. He grabs the mic, and says, be careful,  but she says, don’t worry; it’s not on. He says, that’s a good thing… for her. Because if she breaks their agreement and breaks her silence, she loses everything. I still don’t get why Brook never considered what Maxie told her; that the NDA didn’t apply to that.

Sydney says she’s all for family togetherness, but these two handsome unattached bachelors could be making better use of their time. Isn’t there someone besides their brother that they’d want to be with tonight? She shoves the microphone at Finn, who says, uh… and looks over to see Elizabeth come in. Chase says he’ll wait for Finn over here, and leaves. Sydney says, everyone wondered if Nurse Baldwin would be making an appearance tonight, and here she is. She tells Elizabeth that she looks lovely, and Elizabeth thanks her. Finn says, beautiful, and they leave together.

Finn says he wasn’t sure Elizabeth would come tonight, and she says, he’s not the only one. He asks if he can escort her, and she asks if he’s sure he wants to be seen with her. He says, it would be his honor, and she takes his arm. They watch Chase have his photo taken, then get theirs done.

Sonny asks Sam and Dante how they’re doing, and Dante says, it’s a special night; they wouldn’t have missed it. Bobbie tells Carly, at least Sonny had the good grace not to walk the red-carpet with Nina. Or is there another reason he showed up with a bodyguard and no date? Carly says, Sonny’s got a situation, and Bobbie says, Sonny’s always got a situation. He’d better not bring it to the Nurses Ball. Carly says, Sonny wouldn’t do anything to mess up the Nurses Ball; Bobbie knows it’s important to him. Bobbie says she’ll give him credit for that, but that’s all she’ll give him credit for. Carly says, Bobbie doesn’t have to be mad at Sonny on her account, but Bobbie says she’s not mad on Carly’s account. She’s mad on her own account… and maybe a little on Carly’s. It’s actually hypocritical. She’s actually glad Carly’s away from Sonny. She wishes Carly would find somebody who treats her with all the love she deserves. Carly says, she just might get her wish.

Lucy stuffs candy in her mouth, and Sydney introduces the Face of Deception, Sasha Gilmore, arriving solo… Oh, too soon. She’s being escorted by… Lucy says, Cody Bell. She’s being escorted by Cody Bell. Sydney says, Cody Bell, and Lucy says, her producer should have prepped her; she would have prepped her for that. She props her fuzzy slippered feet on the coffee table, and swigs champagne from the bottle.

Willow dozes against Michael, and he reaches for the remote. She tells him not to turn it off, but he says he’s just muting it during the commercials. Although he’s wondering why they don’t just record it and go to bed. She says she wants to stay up and see it. It’s exactly what the doctor ordered.

Sydney says, they’re just a few minutes from the start of the 2023 Nurses Ball. It’s been her pleasure to serve as host and catch them up on the movers and shakers of Port Charles. While the glitz, the glamour, and the gossip was smokin’ hot, this night is really about raising money to fight HIV and AIDs. Whatever you can give, a lot or a little, it all helps.

Everyone is schmoozing, and drinking champagne, when Maxie’s voice announces that the 2023 Nurses Ball is about to begin. 2023 marks the 60th anniversary of General Hospital. Think about it. Our beloved GH has been a home and haven for 60 incredible years. And since 1994, the Nurses Ball has been a way to support the life-giving work GH does. The Nurses Ball is a night of music, dancing, and laughter. Okay, and maybe a tear or two. So let’s open those doors, and have a celebration to remember. The doors open, and everyone files in.

Watkins knocks on the limo window, and Victor lowers it. He says, well? and Watkins says, they traced the car that the late Lucy Coe recently hired.

Lucy says she refuses to let tonight turn into a total disaster. She gets up, and says, what do they say? The show must go on. And I’ll be damned if I let it go on without me.

Victor says, now they know where to find Lucy Coe. And where they find Lucy, there they find Anna and Valentin. Time to teach them a lesson, doesn’t Watkins think? Watkins says, Victor’s the boss, and hands Victor a gun. Victor says, that’s right, he is, and puts the gun in his suit jacket pocket. It’s showtime, folks.

To Be Continued…

Tomorrow, Maxie says, this year they’ve turned things up a notch; Curtis suggests he and Nina make a deal; Cody tells Gladys that he’ll stay out of it if she tells Sasha the truth; and the Ball is dedicated to Epiphany.

🏖 On the God awful Summer House, Danielle nagged Lindsay about not drinking, and insisted she was pushing Lindsay to be a better person. A better person by drinking more. See why these people are awful? In Lindsay’s interview, she said, compromise went along with being in a relationship. She was doing the best she could for Carl, and still trying to have fun. Danielle operated like she was single because her boyfriend was nowhere to be found. While the girls were out, Carl told Chris that he had to take something from each girl’s room that they would need to pack for the week, and he had three minutes to do it. After lingering over a particular thong (ew), he brought a bunch of stuff to the living room, and Kyle pointed out that Chris included his hairdryer. At the restaurant, Paige said, before they moved on, did anyone feel like they needed to say anything? I’ve seen this move at Bravo dinners before, and I don’t get why they always think now – on a night out when they should be having fun and bonding – is the right time. Gabby said she and Ciara had never had a one-on-one, and she didn’t know where she stood. Ciara tended to stick to established friendships. Ciara agreed, but thought Gabby was only trying to get to know her on a surface level, and it came off as arrogant. She wanted to know Gabby on a deeper level. In Gabby’s interview, she said she wasn’t sorry. She wasn’t sacrificing how she felt about herself to make someone else comfortable. Danielle said she hadn’t been afforded this years ago, when she and Ciara weren’t clicking. We flashed back to Ciara throwing a glass of wine at Danielle during dinner, and Danielle says she’s mad that they wasted time. She’d never even had beef with Ciara. They headed to a bar to meet the guys, and meanwhile, Carl said Chris had to kiss Ciara as soon as they got there. If he accomplished his tasks, they could be brothers in the South Hampton Awful Brotherhood.

As soon as they got to the bar, Chris took Ciara’s shoe off and kissed her foot. She asked, what the f*** is going on? He didn’t even say hello. She felt like the others had something do with it. Lindsay told Carl that the night went different than she thought it would. The housemates were back by 12:30, and in lieu of a bar, Sam danced on the kitchen island. Danielle thought Lindsay took her for granted, and Amanda said Danielle was like a supporting character. Danielle said, in her life, she was a main, but she was down for being supporting in friendships. That actually seems like it would be normal procedure. Why would you be the main character in someone else’s life?

The next day, everyone stumbled around, and tried to get it together to set up Kyle’s birthday party. Chris said he’d enjoyed the hazing. It was the reason he’d joined the marines at 18; it was in his blood. This was just a different version. Okay… Ciara called Mya, who said she gave a wedding speech, but didn’t know what she said since she was blacked out. Gaby told Lindsay that Danielle was upset about the state of their friendship, and Lindsay said she accepted responsibility for half of that. Danielle had to make a trip to the city now and then. Gabby said, Danielle claimed Lindsay was the common denominator in the house fights, and Lindsay said she’d never questioned Danielle about her job or her boyfriend. She’d supported Danielle no matter what. Yet Danielle didn’t seem to think she was a capable, smart adult. Sam said, it felt more accusatory than tough love, and in Sam’s interview, she said, if Lindsay was trying to support her partner who was battling a demon, who the f*** is she to have an opinion? Danielle and Lindsay needed to find another way to navigate their friendship. If they needed to party for it to survive, that said something else about their friendship. Packing for the week commenced, and when Sam couldn’t find her slippers, Chris thought it was reveal time. He asked if anyone was missing anything, and Paige said she was missing her toothbrush. Chris gave out the missing items, and in his interview, he said, somehow, Ciara’s thong was missing, and he didn’t know where it was. A producer asked if he’d stolen it, but he insisted he had no idea where it was at. In Danielle’s interview, she said she’d never left the house feeling not sure of what was happening between her and Lindsay. She wasn’t sorry about how things went down. It was the opposite. She was upset about how Lindsay was treating their friendship; what she thought was a sisterhood for many years.

Back in the states NYC, Amanda visited Paige, who presented her with some colorful cupcakes. Amanda said she needed help with some crafty stuff for Kyle’s party. She was making haybales and a couch. In Amanda’s interview, she said, Kyle was turning 13 40, and the party was going to be a western theme inspired solely and only by Kyle’s mullet. Paige asked how Amanda felt about Kyle turning 40, and Amanda said she didn’t feel any way, but Kyle did. Paige said she thought new decades were scary, but Amanda said, Kyle was no less energetic, and Paige said he didn’t look like he was 40; he was aging backward. Amanda asked if things were good with Craig, and Paige said, he’d asked for more closet space. Things were crumbling.

Ciara walked with Mya, who was walking her dogs, and Mya said she couldn’t relate to the western party theme. Ciara said she loved it, and lived for the day everyone wore cowboy boots and listened to country music. She told Mya that Craig and Kory were coming for the weekend. Mya hadn’t met Kory, and Ciara said, Kory was a good time. She thought she could hook up with him, but that was for another day. Mya suggested a day this weekend, and in Ciara’s interview, she said she allowed herself to throw the possibility around… in her head strictly.

Danielle and Robert threw out all the expired stuff in their fridge, and Robert said, it was sad; there were starving kids. I could relate, since I hate throwing food out. He wished they could spend more time at home, and Danielle pointed out that his job was the core reason they weren’t there. She loved their place, but when they were continuously in Montauk or Aspen, it didn’t make sense. In Danielle’s interview, she said, when she and Robert met, he was living out of a gargantuan duffel bag. She unpacked even if it was one night in a hotel room. She’d started creating homes for them, and Robert seemed to gravitate to that. He loved it, but still had a chef mentality and wanted to be everywhere. Danielle said she wasn’t pushing for getting married, but thought they should buy property. Mortgage over marriage. Robert said he wasn’t much of a long term decision maker, so it was hard to say. In other words, he’s a fence sitter. I see why she wanted out.

Everyone returned to the house for Kyle’s birthday weekend. I love how they greet each other every weekend the same way your dog greets you after you’ve been gone for five minutes; they act like it’s been a year. Danielle said it was the first time she and Lindsay hadn’t spoken in a week, and in her interview, she didn’t know what to think about it, since it had never happened. Kyle told Ciara and Gabby that he hadn’t thought about being 13 40 right at midnight. Amanda had some wine and fell asleep. Then the clock ticked down, and he got nervous about turning 15 40 by himself. He was in tears, and didn’t want to make Amanda feel weird when she woke up. He hasn’t gone out during the week in a long time. I swear, these people are on a different planet from me. Even in my 20s, I rarely went out on a weeknight unless it was to a class. It’s called work, and I had to get up early for it. Ciara told Kyle that he had to find a work/life balance; he could die tomorrow. He wondered if he might die at his party, and Ciara said, enjoy the life he was living. The three joined hands and vowed to be more social.

Kory arrived, totally harried, and said he thought it was going to be a 20 minute drive and it was three hours. Wow. This guy must never drive to the Hamptons, or anywhere else in or near NYC. An hour’s drive can take you four on a bad day. He told Kyle that his mullet looked amazing, and asked how long Kyle was going to let it go. Kyle said, until Amanda cut it off when he was sleeping. Sam told Lindsay that she thought Kory was cute, and she liked that his first instinct was to be funny. Lindsay said she only knew him for a couple of days in Vermont, but he seemed like a good guy. She was trying not to ruffle Danielle’s feathers, and they hadn’t spoken all week. Danielle had been amazing, being Lindsay’s backbone during her last bad news relationship. Now she was with a guy who legitimately made her happy, and she makes him happy, and Danielle’s not supportive. Nothing else should matter.

The housemates went out to dinner, and Sam chattered to Kory, while Ciara didn’t look happy. They toasted to Kyle, and Amanda suggested they all say something about him. Danielle said he was the best house dad and late night warrior, and Chris said he was making 4-0 look like 3-0. Craig talked about his and Paige’s long distance relationship, and said it made their time together more important, but it had been a year, and he was getting lonelier quicker. In Paige’s interview, she said, he just wanted her around more, but she didn’t want to go to South Carolina. You couldn’t even get Uber Eats after 10 pm. I can relate to this too. It’s better now, but when I first moved here, the local diner closed at 7 on the weekend. Kory said he was seeing Jess – we flashed back to them flirting in Vermont – but he was staying 100% single.

After dinner, Kyle asked Carl how things were going with Lindsay, since he hadn’t been around them. He’d known them for so long, when Carl told him they were together as a couple, he broke down. Carl said it was nerve-wracking in the beginning, figuring out what they were doing, and Kyle said he’d thought they were just having fun. Carl said they were a couple of years ago, but it wasn’t what Lindsay wanted. Kyle said it was beautiful, and Carl said he appreciated Kyle saying that, since he was going to propose be the end of the summer.

On the awful meter, this episode was relatively low key, but that doesn’t mean it’s not brewing beneath the surface. We have a party to get through. There was also that mullet. That alone is pretty awful.

This season, parties; a food fight; dancing in strobe lights; Sam and Kory hook up; Paige doesn’t want to go to South Carolina; Carl doesn’t know how to recover from this; Lindsay says she’ll marry Carl 1000 times; Danielle says, they’re beyond crazy; and Danielle tells Kyle, there’s nothing left to salvage.

👠 This Couldn’t Wait…

GH is certainly pulling out all the stops for its 60th.

Constance Towers Returns to GENERAL HOSPITAL!

✨ Playing Among the Stars…

Join me tomorrow for soap and the appalling side of New Jersey. Until then, stay safe, stay using as little plastic as possible (I live near a beach; it really does wash up there); and stay remembering that success is not final, and failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts. And that Winston Churchill said it.

Apr1

March 31, 2023 – Nurses Ball Prep, Ball Preview, Uneven, Awful Eric, Back Then, Go Already, Rankings, Bad Business, Scandovaling, New House, Dead Talk, 90 Match, Pup (!), Half a Dozen Quotes & Because

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Anna says, they never should have let Eileen go without wearing a wire, but Valentin says, it’s not like they had a choice. She refused to go otherwise. She was just supposed to drop off the counterfeit necklace and get out of there. Anna says, she pushed her luck. Now she’s dead. Drew says, assuming Victor killed her, and Valentin says he doesn’t think the Deputy Mayor went swimming fully clothed. The real question is, how much information did she give up before he killed her? Anna says, she couldn’t have told Victor where they are; she didn’t really know. Drew says, either way, they can’t stay here. It’s not safe. Valentin says, they’ve got to get out of here, but Sonny says, if they leave now, they’ll be signing their death warrants.

Lucy gets her popcorn ready, and turns on the TV. Reporter George says, we’re here at the MetroCourt hotel, when in just a matter of a few hours, the curtain will rise on Port Charles’s benefit of the year, the annual General Hospital Nurses Ball. Lucy looks wistful. And adding to the significance of this year’s ball, is the hospital’s 60th anniversary. It’s safe to say, tonight is a can’t miss event. Lucy says she’s missing the can’t miss event, and George says, with us now is the co-chair of the Nurses Ball Planning Committee, Maxie Jones. He asks Maxie what it’s like being part of this spectacular event, and she says, it’s been an honor planning this night’s festivities. The Nurses Ball is known for philanthropy, and entertainment; their contribution to GH’s 60 years of caring for the community will be talked about for years to come. George asks how it’s been, organizing this even without the guidance of the late Lucy Coe, who was known of course (🍷) as the force behind previous Balls, and Maxie says, Lucy is irreplaceable, and tonight is dedicated to her. She believes Lucy is with them in spirit, trusting her, and her co-chair Bobby Spencer, to make her proud. George says, on that note, there has been some backstage buzz. What does she think Miss Coe would make of the talk there’s been a hiccup in tonight’s acts? Lucy gets up, the popcorn bowl falling from her lap, and says, what hiccup?

Near a bench in the park, Spencer thanks Victor for meeting him, and Victor says, anything for him. Mystery man skulks around, and Victor asks if he’s to understand from this that Spencer is willing to do what needs to be done. Spencer says he’s not willing to sit back and let Esme call the shots. She was less than cooperative when they took Ace to the hospital. Victor asks if anything is wrong with the baby, but Spencer says, according to the doctor, Ace has cholic, and it’s nothing serious. Grandmother thinks they should be patient, exercise caution, and gain Esme’s trust. He’s done waiting. Victor says he needs to hear Spencer say it. He needs to hear Spencer say the actual words. Spencer says, let’s move forward with your plan. Esme must be dealt with.

Esme comes out of the exam room to see Ava coming out of the elevator. Ava says, hello, and Esme says she hasn’t seen Ava since… Ava says, since the night Esme’s lovely parents held her hostage, but Esme tells her, she was going to say, since the night she went into labor and gave birth to this guy. Ava says, what’s his name? and Esme tells her, Ace. Ava says, he looks like his father… my husband.

Carly strides into the gatehouse, seeing Willow on the sofa, and Nina standing over her, saying, please, answer me. Carly asks, what the hell happened?

Maxie laughs, and tells George, there are always hiccups for any live performance, and their performers and team members behind the scenes at the Nurses Ball are committed to executing tonight flawlessly, and giving a performance that’s worthy of it’s reputation. He asks if she’s found a dancer to replace the one that dropped out of the popular Magic Wands act, and she says, Dex Heller has agreed to step in, and he’s going to be great. George says he’s sure, but he was referring to the latest vacancy – the one yet to be filled. Lucy wonders, who dropped out? She doesn’t even know who’s in. She kicks the popcorn bowl, sending kernels everywhere, and says, the Nurses Ball is toast.

Maxie says she doesn’t know where George is getting his backstage buzz, but she guarantees tonight’s Nurses Ball will be the best yet. She thanks him for his time, tells him that he looks very nice, and jets.

Lucy makes a call, and says, Maxie, pick up the phone. She gets voicemail, and hangs up. She says, this is not what they’d said they’d do. Not what they’d planned. And she’d better answer the phone. Lucy calls again.

Nina says she was just asking Willow if she needed to call an ambulance, and Willow says she’s fine, really. Carly asks what Nina is doing here, and Nina says she was dropping off a care package of Deception products for Willow. She was putting it at the front door, and Willow asked her in. Willow says, to tell her that the bone marrow transplant’s a go, and Nina says she heard it from Aunt Liesl, but hearing it from Willow is wonderful. Carly says, Willow’s very generous, and Nina says, she is, and she doesn’t need Carly jumping to the wrong conclusions. Carly says she thinks she’s in a better position to know what Willow needs than Nina.

Esme says she heard Ava divorced Nikolas, and Ava says, he was her husband when Esme conceived their child. Esme says she doesn’t regret having Ace, but she’s sorry about what happened, and Ava says, what about everything else she did? Setting fire to Ava’s car, leaving behind a hospital ID belonging to her late daughter. Framing Trina Robinson. Those things didn’t just happen. Esme says, if those allegations are true from the old Esme, it’s some truly awful acts, and Ava says, referring to herself in the third person. How grandiose. Esme says she’s no longer that Esme Prince. Does Ava think it’s easy, constantly apologizing for some person she used to be? Ava knows nothing about that. Ava says, they’re all judged by their worst mistakes. It can be possible to overcome them. Esme asks if Ava has ever had to live with someone who constantly reminds her of all the wrong things she’s done. Spencer thinks he can’t forgive her past, and he thinks she’s a liar, and that Nikolas is some deadbeat runaway dad. Ava says, Spencer is basing his impressions on his experience. His father is not here for him, or for Esme’s baby. She’s truly sorry that Nikolas isn’t here to help Esme raise her child. Esme says she’s not. As far as she’s concerned, he can stay gone. She walks off with Ace.

Victor says, the last time he and Spencer met to discuss the Esme dilemma, Spencer was loathe to employ alternative tactics. What changed his mind? Spencer says, Esme mentioned getting a job. When she’s got a little bit of money saved up, she’s going to move out; maybe move on. He’s not sure about leaving the country, but he thinks she can legally leave the state, and he doesn’t love the idea of this brother being 2000 miles away from him. Victor says, Spencer may not have a choice, especially if Esme manages to acquire a veneer of respectability, and Spencer says, a judge may buy it, and look on Esme favorably when granting custody of her son. Ace is his brother. Victor says, and he’s willing to try this less than orthodox route? and Spencer nods. Victor says, Spencer shouldn’t hesitate for a second to prioritize the welfare of his baby brother. Should they talk about broad strokes? Spencer says, here? and Victor asks if he has a problem. Spencer says he’s used to meeting at the MetroCourt, but Victor says, that’s not possible, and Spencer says, why not? Why are they meeting here?

Sonny says, it’s too risky to make a move now, but Valentin says, it’s too risky to stay here. Victor’s already left the MetroCourt; he could be on his way here. Sonny says, give him time to make arrangements for a new place. When it’s safe, he’ll get them. They only want to relocate once. Valentin says he knows how to disappear, and Anna says, they have Lucy with them. Drew says, Eileen definitely didn’t know the location? and Anna says she doesn’t know. They were very careful about this, and took every precaution. She was blindfolded, they took different routes to get here, the phone was switched off. She doesn’t know what to say. Valentin says, it’s not impossible that she picked up some information she gave to Victor. Are they willing to risk their lives finding his father before his father finds them?

George tells Maxie, good luck, and she thanks him for all the Nurses Ball support. He leaves, and Felicia says, congratulations. She really kept her cool with that reporter. Maxie tells her, Lucy always says, never let them see you sweat, and Felicia wonders how he knew there was another Magic Wands drop out. Maxie says, before she did? She wishes she knew who was blabbing backstage. Who is she kidding? She knows it’s Amy Driscoll. That girl is so sweet, and has a killer voice, but she couldn’t be discreet to save her life. Felicia says, Maxie has bigger problems, like finding a Magic Wands replacement, when Maxie’s phone rings. She sees her phone says, crazy person, do not answer, and says, and maintaining her sanity.

Leaving a message, Lucy says she knows Maxie sent the call right to voicemail, and that’s not the deal they had… Never mind. She hangs up, and says, why does she even bother? She throws the phone down, and says, okay. Deep breath… and eat a gummi… Deep breath, and eat a gummi. She puts a gummi bear in her mouth, and says, mmm. You’re overreacting. So Bobbie and Maxie are going to be just fine. They know exactly what they’re doing and the Nurses Ball is fine. It’s in good hands. She turns and says, it’s not. You’re the only one who has the connections. You’re the one with the imagination. And they need you. She eats another gummi bear, and makes a call. She says she needs a car, and they can put it on the Deception Cosmetics account… They don’t need an address. Have the driver meet her at the corner of Marigold and Chestnut. She’ll be the striking woman in the fake fur coat… and tell them to hurry please. Ta! Wow. Deception’s car service isn’t too discriminating. No money, no name, no address, from an unknown number, and she’s getting a ride.

Carly says, Nina knows about the transplant and dropped off the care package. As she can see, Willow’s really weak. Willow says, it took her forever to settle Amelia for her nap, and Carly suggests she rest. Willow says she will, when Michael and Wiley come back from the store.  They’re getting snacks for when they watch the Nurses Ball pre-show. Carly says, why doesn’t she nap until then? She can show Nina out, and wait for Michael and Wiley. Nina asks if that isn’t for Willow to decide.

Anna says she has to make a couple of calls. Robert’s going to know by now that Eileen is dead, but Felicia may not be aware. Sonny says, tell them to stay away, and after he and Drew leave, no more visitors. Drew says, Sonny’s right. What’s most important now is not risking more exposure.

Victor says, spring has sprung in all its glory. Doesn’t Spencer appreciate the fresh air? Spencer says he should have brought his binoculars so they could birdwatch, and Victor says, Spencer must be relieved to be rid of the stultifying air of his grandmother’s apartment, and Spencer says, Victor Cassadine, nature enthusiast. Will wonders never cease? Victor says, Spencer can mock, but he really appreciates all the park has to offer. Besides, it’s really more secure than the MetroCourt, particularly now that it’s teeming with guests for the Nurses Ball. Spencer still thinks they should have met in Victor’s suite, but what are the next steps in getting his brother away from Esme? Victor says, they need to find evidence in all the dormant cases against Esme; evidence compelling enough to force the District Attorney to prosecute her. (Really? This is the guy with the big plan, and that’s all he can think up?) Spencer asks what Victor needs from him, but Victor says, just sit still. Leave it to him. If Spencer’s father had trusted him, they wouldn’t be in this mess, would they?

Ava asks if Esme is sure she’s not upset that Nikolas is out of the picture. At the very least he could have helped her out financially. Esme says, Nikolas didn’t want to help. Actually, he tried to get her to sign away the rights to her son. Nikolas came to Spring Ridge, all smiles and sweet words, and paperwork to legally strip her of her parental rights. She and Ace are better off without him. As far as she can see, so is Ava. Ava says, Esme doesn’t know anything about her marriage to Nikolas, and Esme says, she knows that Nikolas slept with her while married to Ava. Ava says, doesn’t she mean he slept with the old Esme? and Esme laughs, saying, touché. She knows she sounds insane, trying to distance herself from… herself, but she has changed. And she intends to do what she can to make up for the things she’s done. Ava says she’s glad to hear it. So how does Esme plan on making it up to her?

Willow asks how preparations for the Ball are going. Are Bobbie and Maxie losing their minds? Carly says, they insist that everything is under control, but she just got a text from Josslyn who said it was unorganized chaos, which is no one’s fault. Even if Lucy were still with them, she’d have a lot less time to prepare. The Ball is usually the last week in June or the second week of September. Nina says, she and Olivia had to do a lot of juggling to get the ballroom at such short notice, and Carly says she’s sure they did. Willow struggles to get up, and they both fuss over her, but she says she’s fine. She wants to do a little prep before showtime. Carly says, if she needs anything… Willow says, she’ll be sure to yell, and goes to the kitchen. Nina says, it breaks her heart seeing Willow try to appear normal, and Carly says she prays the bone marrow transplant goes well and is a success. Willow deserves all good things. Nina asks if it wouldn’t benefit Willow if they put aside their personal differences with each other, and presented a united front for Willow.

Maxie says, what about the one who works with Mac with the amazing arms? but Felicia says, he moved to Las Vegas two months ago to dance in an all-male review. Maxie says she should have been a career counselor, and Lucy slips in, wearing sunglasses and a faux fur coat. Felicia’s phone rings, and she says she has to take this, but don’t worry. They’ll think of someone. She leaves, and Maxie flips through a binder. Lucy comes up behind her, and says, no. Maxie yelps, and says, Lucy? Lucy says, shush, and Maxie asks what she’s doing here. Lucy says, what she was born to do, and Maxie puts her hand to her forehead.

Felicia says, dead? and Anna says, yeah. So as she can imagine, they’re reevaluating their safety measures. Felicia says, but Eileen couldn’t have told Victor their location because she didn’t know it. They were extremely careful. She had a blindfold and a bag over her head every single time they took her to the safehouse. They even confiscated her devices. Anna says she knows, but they have to err on the side of caution. They have to assume that Eileen told Victor that they’re all working together. To that end, no one can come to the safehouse in the next few days. Felicia says, they could be followed.

Victor tells Spencer, building a case against Esme will solve their problem, particularly if she’s basically friendless and without resources. He’s concerned Spencer doesn’t look convinced, and Spencer says, if Esme goes to prison, she’ll take his brother with her, but Victor says, only for the first eighteen months. Or would he rather wait until the boy’s too old to go with her to prison? But then he runs the risk of her suddenly deciding to take him with her and run to another state, or changing her name and both of them disappearing. It’s still his first choice to take Esme out of consideration altogether. Spencer says, no. His friends need to see justice done in the form of a trial and a guilty verdict. Victor says, fine. They’ll just have to find good enough evidence before Esme decides to leave town. Spencer says, let’s do that, and Victor says, but if they can’t find evidence compelling enough for the DA to rearrest Esme, he’s going to go with his first instinct. Whatever happens to Esme, baby Cassadine will remain in the family fold.

Esme asks how she can make it up to Ava, and Ava says, the change in her has to be genuine. Esme says, it is, and Ava says, and permanent. Esme tells Ava that she can’t say her memories will never come back, and Ava says, that’s why she can’t be trusted. She believes Esme really lost her memory, and she’s sorry for the ordeal Esme’s monstrous parents put her through. Esme even cares about her little baby. Esme says, but Ava still doesn’t trust her, and Ava says she’ll never forget what Esme did. She believes the old Esme, the one who delighted in inflicting pain on others, is still inside her, and Ava believes one day, she will come back. She doesn’t wish Esme ill, but the moment Esme remembers who she really is, she will recognize it, and she’ll finish what Esme started. Austin walks up, and asks if he’s interrupting something, but Ava says, no. She and Esme have said all they need to say. Esme asks if the bag he’s carrying is for her, and he says, it sure is. There are samples of the formula they talked about, and the probiotics. Call him if it’s not working, or if she has any questions. She thanks him for treating her son after everything that happened, and he says, his pleasure. Esme tells Ava that she knows Ava and Spencer don’t believe her, but she has changed… for good. All she wants is what’s best for her baby. She leaves, and Austin asks what Ava thinks. Does she believe people can change? She says she does… for the worse. Look at them. He asks what she means, and she says, they’re covering up a crime. He says, oh, that. He has a confession. He doesn’t always recycle. She says, normally, she would think that was funny, but nothing is normal. They’re constantly lying and looking over their shoulders, and there’s no end in sight. She just lied through her teeth to the wife of the Chief of Detectives.

Maxie pushes Lucy down the red carpet, and asks how she got here. Lucy says, the same way she got here the other night. She climbed out a window, walked a half a mile, and took a car. Maxie says, only cats have nine lives. Every time she escapes the safehouse, she increases her chances of getting caught. She heard what Anna said. If Victor Cassadine finds out, he’s not going to pretend to shoot her; he’s going to really shoot her. Lucy says, okay, but if Maxie would have just answered her texts, answered her phone calls, taken an email from her, she wouldn’t have had to risk her life. Maxie asks why she’s here, and Lucy says, she was watching the TV and saw Maxie talking to that reporter, and she came up with the perfect solution to Maxie’s Magic Wand conundrum. An older man with a cane hobbles up, and Maxie asks how she can help him, as Lucy quickly turns away. He says he has lunch plans with his niece, but the garden patio’s deserted, and Maxie says, the garden patio is closed today for a special event, but the MetroCourt restaurant upstairs is open. She sees Felicia, and calls to her. She asks if Felicia will help this nice gentleman up to the MetroCourt restaurant, and Felicia says, sure. If he’s never been up there, he’s in for quite a treat. She leads the man away, and Lucy says, that was so close. What if Felicia had seen her and known it was her? Maxie says, she would have notified Anna that Lucy had gone rogue – again. But that’s the least of their worries. All the people coming to the Nurses Ball know who she is. She has to leave now. She grabs Lucy’s arm, but Lucy won’t budge, and says she’s not leaving now. Not until Maxie hears her out. She does have the perfect suggestion for a Magic Wand. This is a man who’s used to coming to the rescue.

Carly says she has no intention of letting her feelings about Nina impact Willow, and Nina says, again? Carly asks if she didn’t just suggest to play nice, and Nina promises to do better if Carly will. Carly doesn’t say anything, and Nina pretends to be busy with stuff. She says, it must be disappointing for Donna not being able to stay at her daddy’s, but Carly says, she just explained to Donna that her father’s busy and she won’t be visiting Sonny for a while. Nina says, it must be hard for a child to understand, and Carly says, that’s life with Sonny; constant conflict and danger. Nina is a long way from Nixon Falls, isn’t she?

Valentin says, as long as they’re in possession of the necklace, Victor is dead in the water. He has the decryption key, but nothing to use it on. Drew says, which is only going to make him more desperate. If he wasn’t following Robert, Laura, and Felicia before, he will be now. Anna says, they need to find Victor before he finds them, and Drew says, the man is not an island. Somebody’s got to know where he is. Who is he close to in Port Charles? Anna says, his great nephew; Sonny’s nephew. Sonny says he’ll speak to Spencer and see if he’s heard from Victor, and Valentin says, assuming Spencer will cooperate. Victor Cassadine is a master manipulator. Spencer’s young. He’s not match for Valentin’s father. Sonny says, Spencer’s made a lot of mistakes, but he’s got a good head on his shoulders. He’ll do the right thing. Did Sonny just come to Port Charles?

Spencer looks at his phone, and tells Victor that Esme’s probably wondering where he is. He’s supposed to pick up her and Ace at the hospital. Victor says he’ll put their plan in motion. When he has an update, he’ll give Spencer a time and location to meet. Watkins (mystery man gets a name!) will supply Spencer with a number to reach him; he’s going to dispose of his old phone. Spencer says, Victor’s avoiding the MetroCourt, setting new meeting locations, and now he’s changing phones. He’s ramping up security, isn’t he? Victor says, you can’t be too careful, and Spencer thanks him. He owes Victor one, and won’t forget it. Spencer leaves, and Victor says he’s counting on that. Watkins says, Victor didn’t tell Spencer that he’d be leaving Port Charles, and Victor says his intentions are always on a need to know. It’s more imperative than ever. Watkins says, his nephew’s custody fight? and Victor says, will soon be irrelevant. His great nephew is giving himself all kinds of anguish about something that will never see the light of day. If he knew the truth of Victor’s real plan, he’d never go along with it. If he has to keep lying to the lad, so be it. He needs Spencer on board.

Maxie tells Lucy, wait just a second. Lucy wants her to ask Mac to perform with the Magic Wands? Lucy says she can’t very well do it, and Maxie says, because she’s dead. Lucy says, think about it. Mac is such a well-known, well-respected member of this community. And to be perfectly honest, he’s a fox too. She’s often what’s underneath those button-down… Maxie says, stop. Mac’s her stepdad. Lucy says, he’s a daddy all right (missing the opportunity to use mack daddy), and Maxie says, that’s so inappropriate. Why couldn’t Lucy just text her requests instead of risking her life and coming in person? Lucy says, she tried. Instead of yelling at her, Maxie could thank her for saving the Nurses Ball. Maxie asks why she can’t stay away. Is it her need to control, or does it go deeper? And don’t hide behind some inappropriate remark or dumb excuse. Lucy says, okay. She does realize how everybody sees her, including her current roommates. That she’s vapid and silly, and selfish – she takes off her sunglasses – but the Nurses Ball, when she’s putting on that show, it’s the one time of year everybody takes her seriously. Despite all her business success, she’s running that show. She feels like she has a purpose. Like she’s fulfilled, like she’s needed, like she’s useful. It’s magic, and it’s so incredible that every single person in Port Charles is somehow putting on the show, or performing in the show, or donating to their cause. It’s like that one moment we all come together. She tears up, and says, Maxie knows there’s nothing else like it. Maxie says, the Nurses Ball is very special, and it’s mostly due to Lucy, and Lucy thanks her. So… Mac? Maxie says, what part about Mac is her stepdad does Lucy not understand, and Lucy says, what part doesn’t Maxie understand about, the show must go on? Maxie says she knows who would be a perfect fit, and Lucy says, who? Maxie asks if Lucy’s car is waiting for her, and Lucy says, of course (🍷). Who? Maxie says she’ll walk Lucy to her car, and Lucy follows her out, saying, who?

Sonny says, when he finds another safehouse, he’ll have his people come and get them, and Anna thanks him. Drew walks out with him, and Sonny says, Luke Spencer was his great friend. He loved Luke, and respected him. Victor is going to pay for Luke’s death, and Sonny has to stop him before he does any more damage to Spencer. He’s going to make sure of that. He gives Anna a quick smile, and he and Drew leave.

Nina says she knows who Sonny is and what he does, and Carly says, intellectually, sure. But when Nina was so eager to have Sonny all to herself, did she stop and think about what she’d have to give up? Nina says she’s not discussing her relationship with Carly, but Carly says, Nina doesn’t have to; she can see it in her eyes. And eventually Sonny will too. Nina bit off more than she can chew, and she’s not the first. Nina says she’s going to say goodbye to Willow. She has to get back to the hotel and oversee preparations for tonight. Carly says she’s only going to say this because Sonny’s the father of her kids, and if Nina is going to be with him, there’s something she needs to know. Sonny needs to be with someone who knows the good, bad, and ugly about him and his business. Who will stand beside him no matter how dirty things get. Does he share his entire life with Nina, or does he shelter her? Nina says she and Sonny have an understanding that works for them. It’s not the same relationship Carly had with him, and that’s what appeals to Sonny. Carly says, Nina didn’t want Mike to know his real identity when he was in Nixon Falls, and now that Sonny’s back, she wants to turn a blind eye to his business. Ignorance isn’t always bliss, and in this case, it looks like it’s the beginning of the end. Wow. Carly reads a lot into not much.

Willow comes back, and says, preparation finished. Is everything good? Nina says she was telling Carly that she has to get back to the hotel and get ready for the Ball. Is Willow going to be okay? How is she feeling about tomorrow? Willow says, nervous. The Nurses Ball will be a nice distraction. Still, she can’t stop thinking about everything that could go wrong. What if the transplant doesn’t take? What if Liesl’s bone marrow isn’t compatible with her after all? Carly says she’d be feeling the same way if she were Willow, but that doesn’t mean any of that’s likely. Nina says, Willow’s come too far to be disappointed. And if success can be guaranteed by sheer will, she and Carly have Willow covered. Tomorrow’s a fresh start, and she won’t be alone.

Anna says, it’s all going wrong, and Valentin says, every operation has it’s fair share of unknowables. He takes her hand and they sit on the sofa. She says she enlisted another civilian as an asset, and it’s too dangerous. She doesn’t know what the hell is wrong with her. He says, she tried to steer Lucy clear of this, and she wouldn’t go. Eileen Ashby was on borrowed time the moment she started working for Victor Cassadine. In fact, he thinks they gave her the best chance at survival. She couldn’t follow instructions. It isn’t Anna’s fault. Anna says, it is her fault, but he says, don’t do that. There’s only one person who’s going to pay for all of this, and he’s Valentin’s father. And he will. Somehow.

Spencer goes back to the hospital, and Esme says, there he is. He’s been gone forever. He says, not quite that long, and tells Ace that his mother’s a very impatient woman. She says, the doctor was very helpful, but they’ve been waiting a while; he said he’d be back. Spencer says, here he is. He had to take care of something. She asks, what’s more important than his brother? and he says, nothing, magically getting the elevator as soon as he presses the button.

As they walk through the halls, Ava tells Austin that Felicia was asking what he was doing on Spoon Island the night Ryan, Heather, and Esme showed up. They need an explanation as to why he was there. A good one; one they can sell. He says, any idea of what that explanation might be? and she asks if he owns a tux.

Lucy pulls of her coat, and says, unforgivable, Maxie. You shoved me in that car before even telling me who the replacement for the Magic Wand was. She bets Maxie doesn’t even know who the replacement is. She slumps down in her chair.

Maxie asks why she ever agreed to plan the Nurses Ball, and Felicia says, because she’s the best event planner in New York state, and nobody handles a crisis better than her. They will find a suitable replacement for the Magic Wand act. Maxie says she thought of a replacement… and it’s better than the alternative. Felicia says, alternative? and Maxie says, it’s a story for another day. Hopefully, it never comes to that. They leave, and the guy with the cane comes back. He straightens up, leans the cane against the wall, and makes a phone call.

Victor says, you have something for me? and cane spy says he tailed Felicia Scorpio to the MetroCourt. Victor will never guess who showed up in the lobby. Victor says, do tell, and cane spy says, Lucy Coe. She left here twenty minutes ago in a luxury sedan; hired car judging from the stickers. Victor thanks him, and says he’ll take it from here. He tells Watkins, once again, Lucy Coe proves herself invaluable. He’s got them. Anna and Valentin can hide no more.

On Monday, Willow says, tonight, she’s exactly where she wants to be; Sonny says, he and Nina are a long ways from dancing in Nixon Falls; and Lucy says, without her? She doesn’t think so.

🎤 Welcome To the Nurses Ball…

A little pre-show preparation.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/general-hospital-nurses-ball-preview

💵 And We Work Twice As Hard…

Obviously though, everything worked out.

Kelly Ripa Reveals Mark Consuelos Was Paid More Than Her on AMC

🤦🏽‍♂️ Once a Dipstick…

Not sure what this guy’s problem is, but every once in a while he comes out from his cave and causes a ruckus.

https://ew.com/tv/eric-winter-roselyn-sanchez-defend-eva-longoria-eric-braeden-drama/

📆 Yes, I Know the Date…

I’m including this because it includes a great picture of alien Casey and a very small Robin.

Five Things That Happened On March 26 In Soap History

💎 Hasn’t Left the Building…

That’s what I keep saying.

https://pagesix.com/2023/03/30/garcelle-beauvais-shades-lisa-rinna-after-rhobh-exit/

💬 Love Bubble Language…

These are pretty funny.

https://tvline.com/lists/teresa-giudice-quotes-rhonj-ranked/im-being-raw-as-as-a-cucumber/

🍕 Nonna Is Rolling…

A blow-by-blow about the pizza oven incident.

https://people.com/tv/rhonj-joe-gorga-claims-teresa-fiance-louie-screwed-me-250k-business-deal/

🍸 In Today’s VanderNews…

More on the Scandoval front and the Reunion.

Pump Rules Cast Questioned Raquel & Tom’s Relationship After Club Tryst as Schwartz Reveals Raquel’s Coachella Make-Out Guy and Lawyer Discusses Restraining Order Impact on Reunion

https://www.eonline.com/news/1369980/lala-kent-shares-details-on-explosive-vanderpump-rules-reunion-taping

https://www.etonline.com/scheana-shay-says-ariana-madix-assassinated-raquel-leviss-at-vanderpump-rules-reunion-201958

What drove them to make these decisions is, they’re awful people.

https://people.com/tv/tom-sandoval-raquel-leviss-at-center-very-loud-very-enraged-vanderpump-rules-reunion/

I don’t blame her.

VIDEO: Ariana Madix Tells Tom Sandoval to “Die” in Vanderpump Rules Midseason Trailer After Learning of Raquel Affair, Plus Schwartz Mentions “Open Relationship,” & Scheana Admits to “So Much Rage” as James Considers Proposing

And the good news.

https://people.com/pets/ariana-madix-plans-on-keeping-dog-she-shared-with-tom-sandoval-sources/

🏖  Why Oh Why…

Here’s hoping Awful People Syndrome isn’t catching, and these people act like grown-ups.

https://www.essence.com/gallery/summer-house-marthas-vineyard-cast-exclusive/

⚰️ They’re Coming…

Mark your calendars: June 18th, after the mid-season finale (please) of Fear the Walking Dead.

https://undeadwalking.com/2023/03/31/walking-dead-city-not-coming-spring-2023/

And after that…

https://undeadwalking.com/2023/03/30/new-walking-dead-spinoff-whats-coming-next/

💍 Random I Know…

But I was wondering.

Are ‘90 Day: The Single Life’ Stars Veronica and Jamal Still Together? Relationship Status Update

🐶 It Beats the Gym…

Technically, she did not break the rules.

https://people.com/pets/woman-carries-white-samoyed-dog-backpack-new-york-subway/

🐣 Quotes of the Week

I’d rather see my face aging than a face I don’t recognize at all. – Cameron Diaz

Walk with the dreamers, the believers, the courageous, the cheerful, the planners, the doers, the successful people with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground. Let their spirit ignite a fire within you to leave this world better than when you found it. – Wilferd Peterson

Persons of high self-esteem are not driven to make themselves superior to others; they do not seek to prove their value by measuring themselves against a comparative standard. Their joy is being who they are, not in being better than someone else. – Nathaniel Branden

Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult. – Charlotte Whitton, Canadian Politician

A person is not given integrity. It results from the relentless pursuit of honesty at all times. – Unknown

I want to ride a camel with you every day. – Debbie, 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way

🛴  Cash Me Inside…

If you’re in the neighborhood, stop by on Monday really Tuesday for soap and trash talking the awful people on Summer House. Until then, stay safe, stay away from making excuses, and stay knowing that it’s possible to overcome your worst mistakes, even if people have judged you by them.

Mar31

March 30, 2023 – The Llama Is Running Late, In Addition, Extra Info, Another, His Status, Emo Reunion, Salty Talk, VanderGossip, Reaction, Pets (!) & Like Us

Posted on by
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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Dex tells Sonny, the security sweep is complete, and Sonny walks out on the pier. He thanks Dex, and says he needs competent people around him during these times. Dex says, hopefully they’ll find out who’s targeting Sonny, and Sonny says, they will. Nobody’s interfering with the Pikeman deal. Dex asks if Sonny thinks she’ll deliver, but Sonny shrugs. Selina walks out with Li, and asks if Sonny hasn’t told his people, she always brings the goods.

Josslyn and Trina practice a dance for the Nurses Ball, and Josslyn suggests they go again. Trina says, they’ve done it five times, but Josslyn says, practice can’t hurt. Trina says she’s going to pass out from dehydration, and Josslyn says, five minutes. They get some water, when Maxie walks in, arguing with someone on the phone, and asks what they’re doing here. Josslyn says, they’re practicing their performance, and Maxie says, the show is tonight, and they still need to practice? This Nurses Ball is going to hell in a handbasket.

Violet and Finn are with Elizabeth in her kitchen when the doorbell rings. Elizabeth answers, and Laura says she’s, sorry she’s late, but Elizabeth says she’s right on time, and they hug. Aiden and Jake run in, and Jake says, Cam’s coming. They all line up, and Cameron comes downstairs, asking if he heard the doorbell. They shout, surprise! and he asks, what’s going on? He thought just the four of them were having breakfast. Laura says, he didn’t think they’d let him leave for California without a proper send-off, did he? and he says he feels like the luckiest guy right now.

Esme comes into the hospital carrying Ace, with Spencer following. She tells the reception nurse that she called ahead, and the nurse asks who her pediatrician is. Esme says, they don’t have a regular one; she gave birth outside the hospital. She asks if Portia is here, but the nurse says, she’s not available, and gives Esme some forms to fill out. Esme says, please. Her son is sick and needs to be seen right away. Spencer takes the clip board and thanks the nurse. Spencer tells Esme, yelling at the nurse isn’t going to do Ace any favors, but Esme says she doesn’t care. Ace needs medical attention, and she’ll fight for him, no matter what. Spencer tells her not to fight with the wrong person. She needs to fill out these forms. She asks what he’s even doing here. She didn’t want him here, so if he’s not on her side, he can leave now. He says, this isn’t about her or sides. This is about Ace, and he’s not leaving her alone with his baby brother.

Anna loads her gun, and Valentin asks if there’s something he should know. She says she’s just making sure she’s prepped; the situation is deteriorating. He says, something happened to make Eileen bolt. Now Victor’s after her, and will more than likely find her. Anna says, she can’t outrun Victor. She knows too much; enough to bring this whole thing crashing down. There’s a knock at the door, and they both ready their guns, Valentin ducking down behind the sofa. Anna flings open the door, and aims her gun.

Maxie asks if Josslyn and Trina knew there was a 10% chance of rain tonight. Water stains silk. Rain deflates hair. And what if the ground gets slippery? One slip or fall, it will be all over social media. Five or six are a catastrophe. Trina says, 10%’s not much, and Maxie says, and the llama has the nerve to be running late. Now they’re telling her that they’re also not ready? Josslyn says, they’re doing just fine. They were just doing a few run throughs and adding some finishing touches. Trina says, they’re beyond ready, and Maxie says, that’s great, but they’ll need to leave when the Wands get here; it’s a closed set. Josslyn says, got it, and Maxie leaves, already arguing with someone else on the phone. Trina says, six-minute break? and Josslyn says, fine. The Nurses Ball is about having fun after all. Trina says, that’s her plan. She’s all about fun tonight. Josslyn says, with Spencer?

Spencer says, Esme wouldn’t happen to remember Ace’s weight when he was born, and she says she does, snatching the clipboard from him. She says, and his length, and his Apgar score from when they first got to the hospital. Ace is sick, and if filling out this stupid form will get him seen, that’s all she cares about. If he wants to make himself useful, why doesn’t he fill out this part where they ask for payment. She tells Ace, it’s okay, and Spencer says, grandmother doesn’t seem to think that it’s anything serious, but Esme says, mommy knows it’s not right. He asks how long she’s going to keep up this angelic mother act, and she tells him to get over himself. She’s sick of trying to prove she’s not the person she used to be. She needs to be a good mother to Ace. He’s what matters, not Spencer. Spencer says, it seems she lost her memory, but not her personality. She’s not going to be able to hide behind Ace forever.

Cameron thanks everyone, and asks Aiden if those are banana chocolate chip muffins. Aiden – suddenly having made an age jump – bye, little dude! – says, his best batch yet. He hopes Cameron likes them. Violet says she made the toast, and Cameron says, fantastic. He loves toast. She says, it’s the only thing her daddy would let her make, and Finn says, she can move on to things that involve a flame when she’s a little older. Aiden says he could teach her some simple dishes, and Elizabeth tells Violet to take him up on that, since she hates Finn’s spaghetti. Cameron says, it’s so very cool of everyone. He doesn’t know what to say. Jake suggests, let’s eat, and Laura agrees they eat while it’s still warm. Elizabeth says she’ll get the orange juice, and heads for the kitchen. Laura motions that Finn should follow her. He asks if there’s anything Elizabeth needs, and she says she doesn’t want to bring down the mood. It’s been an intense two days. Finn says he’s here; whatever she needs. She says, just the strength to say goodbye to her firstborn, and she smiles at Cameron.

Felicia meets Ava at Charlie’s, and asks how she’s holding up. Ava says she’s hanging in there. A lot has come to light, hasn’t it? She wasn’t entirely surprised Esme turned out to be Ryan and Heather’s daughter. That girl is just as twisted as they are. But finding out Ryan was colluding with Esme to destroy her life shook her up a little bit. Felicia says, fortunately, they never have to deal with Ryan again, and Ava says, thanks to Felicia’s husband. That Esme though, she has yet to pay.

Anna lets Drew in, and he says, Felicia told him how to get here. He wasn’t followed, and took every precaution. Valentin asks, what’s happened? and Drew says, Victor disappeared. I get confused since I was expecting him to say Eileen disappeared.

Sonny asks if Selina found out anything about the contractor who tried to kill him, and she says, as she suspected, no one in her organization frequents The Highsider, nor did anyone recognize the gunman. However, she sent Li to make inquiries with the staff at The Highsider. He had a very interesting conversation with the bartender. Sonny asks if she got an ID on the shooter or not.

Everyone is talking and laughing at Elizabeth’s house, and Laura helps with the dishes. Elizabeth says she knew this was going to be hard, but it just got real all of a sudden, and Laura says she wishes she had some magical words to make Elizabeth feel better. It’s hard sending your kids out into the world. And Cam’s her first, so it’s a particular kind of pain. Elizabeth says, she’s happy for him, and proud, but she feels like a part of her is missing, and he’s not even gone yet. Laura says, that’s the sad part, but remember, there’s wonderment and joy in watching your children forge their own paths, become adults, and live full lives. Trust her, it’s a blessing, and Elizabeth will always be his mother. Elizabeth watches everyone in the other room.

Esme tells Ace, good job. He gained two pounds and grew almost an inch. That’s good, right? The nurse says, right on target, and tells Esme that the doctor will be with her shortly. She leaves, and Spencer says, the nurse seems to think he’s okay, and Esme says, they both have their reasons for not trusting each other, but it’s all in the past. He says, is it? and she says, can it be? Ace is her present and future, and whether she likes it or not, Spencer’s his brother. He says, what she did to him and his friends isn’t something he can easily forgive, and she asks if he can try. She’d hate to see him missing out on Ace because of it. He asks if that’s a threat, but she says, no. It’s just not good for Ace if they’re fighting all of the time, and the longer Spencer keeps seeing her as her old self, the more damage it’s going to do to him. He says he guesses he doesn’t see it like that, when Austin walks in. He says, I know you, and Esme says she knows him too. He’s the man her mother tried to kill the night her son was born.

Trina says, she and Spencer will see each other at the Ball, but they’re not going together, and Josslyn asks, what’s going on with them? The last time, she heard they’d kissed. Did something happen? Trina says, no, they’re fine. They’re definitely more than friends. It’s just… complicated. Josslyn says, that’s Spencer, he’s complicated, but Trina says, it’s not just him. She feels like they’re some kind of cosmic joke. Just when she thought, finally, they’re lives blew up. The night they kissed, she just found out her mother lied to her about her father. Then Ryan Chamberlain and Heather Webber showed up on Spoon Island, nearly killing Ava. Esme had her baby, and now Esme and her baby are living with Spencer in his grandmother’s apartment. Josslyn says, because of the baby, and Trina says she totally understands Spencer wants to be close to his baby brother, but it just feels weird that he, Esme, and the baby are living together like some sort of pseudo family. She really wants to be with Spencer, but now it feels like she should take it slow. Josslyn says, slow sounds like the right idea, but Trina says, it doesn’t feel that way. But what about Josslyn. It’s been months since she broke up with Cam, and now he’s leaving for California. Is she ready to get back out there?

Selina says, the bartender recognized the gunman, and Sonny asks if she got a name. She says, unfortunately, no. The bartender said the gunman came in only once and paid in cash, but he recalled the man was staying at a nearby hotel. So she sent her men to search the establishment. The shooter’s belongings were relegated to storage – Li tosses a duffle bag down – when he didn’t return. They were able to acquire them. Sonny says he appreciates that, and she says she hopes it restores his faith in her. Please let her know if she can be a further assistance. She leaves with Li, and Sonny says, looks like they found the guy. Now they have to find out who hired him.

Anna asks when Victor disappeared, and Drew says, within the last few hours. Ever since Robert broke into Victor’s hotel room, they’ve had the MetroCourt under surveillance, and he hasn’t returned. Drew even decided to search Victor’s room himself, in case somehow he slipped by them. Valentin asks how he did that, and Drew says, he asked Olivia for assistance. Both Valentin and Anna protest, but he says, time was his main concern. He knew Olivia wasn’t going to ask any questions, and it doesn’t matter anyway, because she said Victor checked out. He can tell them, Victor didn’t do it personally. Valentin says, this can only mean one thing, and Anna says, Victor’s on to us.

Josslyn says, it’s been months? Feels more like minutes. But Trina says, no fair. Josslyn doesn’t get to grill her on her love life, and she gets nothing back. Josslyn says she’s been swamped with classes, and has no time for dating, and Trina asks if she’s sure it’s a time thing. Break-ups are hard, but Josslyn can’t let it paralyze her. She’s got to get herself back out there. Hey, she knows Nolan. Josslyn says, water polo Nolan? What about him? Trina says, he’s in her Renaissance Art class, and they’re pretty cool. Maybe she could set them up. Josslyn says, thanks, but no, and Trina says, he’s one of the hottest guys on campus. Can’t she even have coffee with him? Josslyn asks what they’d talk about, and Trina says, they’re jocks. They could swap stories of the thrill of victory or something. Josslyn says they need to get back to rehearsing, but Trina says, they do not need to practice. Is Josslyn not interested in Nolan because she’s seeing someone?

Cameron says, Scotty is still stuck in court, and Laura says, that’s too bad. She knows he wanted to be here. Cameron says, Scotty told him that he’s due a visit on the west coast so… Laura says, he means it. Cameron is very important to him. Cameron says he feels very grateful having her and Scotty as his grandparents, and she tells him that she knows she speaks for both of them when she says, it’s been a privilege to watch him grow into the fine young man he’s become. He says he owes a lot of it to her. She’s always supported him, whether things were great or terrible. He thanks her, and she says she loves him so much. Her heart is bursting with pride right now. She hugs him, and says she can’t wait to see what he’s going to do next. It’s gonna be great.

Felicia asks if Ava is planning on making Esme pay, but Ava says, don’t worry about that. She’ll leave it to the authorities. Although she wasn’t happy to hear that Felicia’s brother-in-law isn’t going to prosecute her. Felicia says, timing is everything, and Ava says, what about all those months Esme terrorized her? She made Ava fear for her daughter’s life; she destroyed Ava’s marriage. She’s not excusing Nikolas’s actions, but they were building a life together before Esme showed up. And to find out she manipulated the whole situation… She’s just as rotten as her father, may he rot in hell. Now all she has left is that big old drafty castle. Felicia says, she’s not completely alone, and Ava says she has Avery, but not all the time. Felecia says, what about Austin? and Ava says, what about him? Felicia says, he was there the night Ryan and Heather made their appearance. Wasn’t he also there when Dante and the police were searching for Nikolas? Ava flashes back to telling Austin that she’s sure Nikolas was dead, and Austin asking, then where is he? Felicia says, he seems to be with Ava a lot.

Esme says, Austin has to believe her. She didn’t know that woman was her mother. Please don’t take Heather’s actions out on her son. Ace is innocent. Austin says, that’s his name, Ace? He loves that. (Me too!) She says, he’s not mad? and he asks why he’d be mad. Hhe certainly wouldn’t be mad at her or Ace. He’s Dr. Gatlin-Holt. She says she’s Esme Prince, and he says, nice to meet her under better circumstances. He addresses Spencer, and asks, what’s going on with Baby Ace? Esme says, he’s been fussier than usual. Crying when he’s not hungry and doesn’t need changing. She kept track of the episodes, and also noticed he’s been flushing. She has some pictures… He says he wishes all his first-time moms were this organized, and she smiles.

Dex asks if Sonny wants him to examine the contents, but Sonny says, no. They’ll look through it at the office. He’s going to have Frank bring the car around. As they walk past the water, Dex says, there’s a body in the water, takes off his jacket and shoes, and jumps in.

Valentin says, Victor suspects Laura and Robert are working together, because Laura told him the other day that Victor accused her of making a move against him. Anna says, if Victor already realized the necklace is fake, he’ll assume Robert knew, gave it to Eileen to hand off to him. Drew asks if Eileen would give them up, and Valentin says, if Victor pressured her, in a heartbeat. Anna says, she was just supposed to go in, give him the necklace, then get out. But she decided to take it on herself to make a play for the decryption key. Then something happened. Something spooked her enough to make her get out of town. Drew says, Eileen Ashby is definitely gone, but she did not leave on her own.

Dex places Eileen’s body on the dock, and Sonny says, of all the bodies he could fish out of the harbor. Dex says, he knows her? and Sonny says, yeah. She’s the Deputy Mayor.

Trina says, Josslyn is seeing someone, isn’t she? Don’t lie. Josslyn says she doesn’t want to lie to Trina. Yes, she is. Trina says, that’s great. How long has this been going on? Josslyn says, a few months, and Trina says, so not long after she broke up with Cam. Is that why Josslyn didn’t tell her? Did Josslyn think she’d judge her for it? Josslyn says, no, and Trina says, because she’d never. Josslyn told her last fall that she was starting to feel distance between her and Cam. Josslyn says she didn’t want Trina in the middle. Cam is her friend too, and Spencer definitely felt a way about her breaking up with him. Trina says, that’s on Spencer though. Of course (🍷) she felt bad for Cam. He was hurting, and he’s a great guy, but things worked out. Cam is going to play soccer at Stanford. He’s starting this major new phase in his life, and even if he wasn’t, Joss is her girl. She wants the best for both of them. They hug, and Trina asks if it’s someone she knows. Josslyn says, not really, and Trina asks if she has a picture. Josslyn says she’s really sorry, but she can’t tell Trina who it is right now. There could be really serious consequences if it became public knowledge.

Elizabeth thanks Finn for coming, and bringing Violet. He says, she loves her cousins. He’s glad they could stay a part of each other’s lives. She says, it’s the connections you make that matter the most. That’s what Epiphany used to say. Finn tells her that what she said at the memorial was really beautiful, and she says, as devastated as she is, one burden has been lifted. She found out Epiphany did write a letter to the Ethics Committee, and intended to deliver it herself. Finn says, Epiphany stuck by her, and Elizabeth says, thinking she had disappointed Epiphany was a weight on her; thinking she’d let down her mentor and friend. She’s incredibly grateful that wasn’t the case.

Aiden, Jake, and Violet come downstairs, and Violet tells Cameron that they got him something. Jake, now. Jake holds up a drawing of the four of them, with symbols of Cameron’s life, like a guitar and a soccer ball, pasted on it. Jake says he did the drawing; Aiden and Violet pasted on the cutouts. Violet says, so Cameron can take them with him to California. Does he like it? Cameron says he’s not sure like is the word to use here… He loves it. Violet runs to him and hugs him, and he says, thank you so much.

Esme asks Austin to just tell her what’s wrong, and he says, nothing’s wrong at all. Ace is a totally healthy baby. What we have here is a classic case of cholic. She says she’s read about that. Is Ace in pain? Austin says, he’s got gas, so probably more uncomfortable than in pain, and he’s just crying because he can’t tell her since he can’t talk yet. So he’s sending Esme home with some soothing techniques and samples of formula that might be easier on Ace’s stomach. He’s going to start Ace on a probiotic if a change in diet doesn’t help. Esme asks if that’s safe for babies, and he says, absolutely. Ace is fine. Whatever she’s doing, just keep doing it. She’s doing a great job. He says he’ll be back, and leaves. Esme asks if Ace heard that, and Spencer says, they’re going to get him fixed up, as he rubs Ace’s back.

Ava tells Felicia that she and Austin do have something significant in common. Nothing forges a bond like being victims of the same lunatic. Felicia says she hopes they have some peace of mind now that Heather’s locked up, and Ava says she’ll have peace once Esme’s dealt with. She has to run, and tells Felicia, it’s been a pleasure. Felicia asks if she’ll see Ava at the Nurses Ball later, and Ava says she wouldn’t miss it. Something big always happens at the Nurses Ball.

Drew says he went to Eileen’s apartment after Victor went missing. He wanted to question her, since she may have been the last person to see him. There were no signs that she made any preparations to run, with or without Victor. Valentin says, quick escapes don’t leave a lot of time to collect belongings, but Drew says, pet owners never leave their dog without making some provisions. Anna says she didn’t know Eileen had a dog, and Drew says, a very hungry, very thirsty dog that was barking before he even walked up to the door. This dog had not been cared for in some time. He took him to the Qs; the dog’s doing fine. I’m glad he says this, since I was already fretting about a fictitious dog. Drew says, the point is, she loved him. He was well-groomed, he had beds and treats, the whole thing, and toys. There’s no way she would abandon him willingly. Anna says, she’s not cold-blooded. He’s right. Eileen left under duress. Something really bad happened after she hung up that phone.

An officer puts a blanket over Eileen’s dead face, and Jordan says, imagine her surprise when she heard Sonny was the one who reported this. (Ha-ha! Yeah, right?) Sonny says, imagine how surprised he was when he came across her, and Jordan says, talk to her. How is he involved in this? He says he was just taking a walk, he saw something in the water, and it was the deputy mayor. Jordan says, he was casually taking a stroll, alone, on the docks, and a body just happened to wash up right by him? That is some timing. He says he told her everything that happened. If she wants to take it further, he has to call Diane, and then it’s going to be a waste of everybody’s time. He doesn’t think she wants to do that. Laura walks up, and says she came as soon as she heard. Is it true? Is that Eileen? Jordan says she’s sorry, when her phone rings. She steps away, and Laura says, oh, Eileen, as she looks at Eileen’s bare feet sticking out. Geez, dude could have covered those too while he was at it. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want my feet hanging out there for the world to see if I end up dead on the docks. She asks if Sonny knows what happened, and he says, no, but his guess is Victor Cassadine. Jordan comes back, and says, the coroner’s en route to get the body, and Laura says she’ll have to prepare a statement for the press. Jordan leaves, and Laura turns to Sonny, obviously shook, and says, she has to deal with this. If it’s Victor, then Anna and Valentin and Lucy are all in danger, and they have to be warned. She’s barely keeping it together, and he says, he’ll check it out. Be careful. He leaves, and she quietly cries.

Josslyn promises to tell Trina when she can, but right now the stakes are just too high. Trina flashes back to Spencer having a problem with Dex at Curtis and Portia’s wedding, and Josslyn defending Dex. Trina says, it sounds serious, and Josslyn says, hopefully one day soon, she won’t have to keep this from Trina. But until then, please forget about it. Trina says, okay, but only if Josslyn promises, if she’s ever in trouble, Josslyn will come to her, and Josslyn promises. Dex walks in, and says hello to both of them.

Spencer says he’s going to take off, and Esme says, he’s leaving them here? He says he has something to do. She still has to stay and wait for the doctor to get back. She says, he’s their ride, but he says he won’t be long. She says, whatever, and tells Ace that he can’t count on anyone except her. Spencer turns back, and asks what that’s supposed to mean, even though it’s pretty self-explanatory. Esme says she can’t keep relying on him and Laura. She has to do things for herself. Like get a job. He says, doing what? She’s never worked a day in her life. She says she’ll figure it out. She got an internship, right? He says, that she orchestrated so she could spend some time scheming with her deranged father, and she says, when she was a person she doesn’t even remember. She’s a mom now. She needs to be able to provide for her son on her own. He says, the idea of her being a working single mother is ludicrous to him. He just offered to pay for Ace’s medical bills. Face it. She has no idea what to do now that she’s out of prison. My Spencer meter slides all the way past negative. She says, which was all his doing. Cameron told her how they all orchestrated (WOTD) her release; all part of the plan to take Ace away from her. But it’s backfired. She will never give up her son. He starts to say something, and she tells him, just go. He leaves, smirking, and I want to smack him.

Finn tells Cameron, good luck in California. He’s a good man. Cameron thanks Finn for being here, and for everything he’s done for this family. Can he ask Finn one last favor? Finn says, name it, and Cameron says his mom will need her friends when he’s gone. Finn says, Cameron can count on him, when Elizabeth comes out with Violet, who’s holding a box. Elizabeth says, some extra muffins for the road, and Violet gives the box to Cameron and hugs him. She and Finn leave, and Aiden and Jake come downstairs. Jake asks when Cameron will be visiting. He’s thinking of turning Cameron’s room into an art studio. Cameron says, Jake can’t wait for him to leave. He’ll visit as much as he can. Aiden says he’ll miss Cameron. Even though he was sometimes a pain, Cameron always stood up for him. Jake says, Cameron is a great big brother, and he’ll do his best to pick up where Cameron left off. He’s going to take care of Aiden and mom. Cameron says he’s going to be gone, but not for good. He’s still their brother. If they need anything, just call him. Aiden says he knows, but it won’t be the same, and they have a three-way hug. Cameron says he loves them, and they say they love Cameron too.

Valentin says, Victor and Eileen both disappear on the same night they meet; that’s not a coincidence. Anna says, best case scenario, she figured out a way to escape, she got out of there, and ran as fast as she could. Drew says, or Victor found out Eileen was compromised, which is more likely, and Anna says, then Eileen told Victor everything she knows. In which case, Victor will know they’re alive, and Lucy… Valentin says, and that the real necklace still exists, and Anna says, it puts everyone at risk. Robert, Laura, Felicia. He’ll figure out they were all working together to stop him. Drew says, Eileen never knew about him and Carly. Did she know how to find this place? Anna says, no. That is at least something in their favor. There’s a knock at the door, and Sonny says, Anna, it’s me. She opens the door, and he says, it’s good to see her, like this is nothing new. Anna asks what he’s doing here, and he says, Laura got caught up in an emergency. Eileen Ashby’s dead. And I’m thinking, half of Port Charles is going to be in on this by the weekend.

Dex says he was told to come here for rehearsal, and Trina asks if he’s the new Magic Wand. He says he is; Maxie talked him into it. Trina says, go, Maxie, and he says, they’re performing, right? Josslyn says, they’ve been rehearsing all morning, and Trina looks back and forth at them like it’s a ping pong match. Maxie walks in, and says, there he is. Wardrobe needs him for a final fitting come on. She drags him out, and Trina says, no one she knows, huh?

Elizabeth tells Cameron, it’s a great picture. It really captures the four of them. Cameron says he can’t leave, but she says, yes, he can. He says, Aiden and Jake still need him. She still needs him. She says, what she needs is to know he’s pursuing his dreams, and he asks if she’s sure. She says, it’s been her and him since the very beginning. He’s been her rock, and Jake and Aiden’s too. I get momentarily distracted by her haircut, thinking I should take it to my hairstylist. She says, he’s always stepped up for them. Now it’s time he stepped up for himself. He says, it feels so selfish, just leaving, and she says, he has a big heart and he’s so loving. It’s been the greatest gift of her life having him as her son. He’s given so much of himself to her and his brothers; now it’s his turn. So go out there and live his best life, and they’ll be here cheering him on. They hug and say I love you.

Esme wonders how much longer Austin is going to be, and suggests she and Ace take a quick trip to the vending machines. She walks out of the exam room, and sees Ava come out of the elevator. They look at each other.

Laura asks Jordan, what really happened to Eileen? but Jordan says, they won’t know until they get the M.E.’s official report. Laura says, Jordan knows something. Did she drown? Jordan says, the M.E. will check for water in her lungs, and Laura says, but? Jordan says, the coroner said she had multiple broken bones, including her spine. He suspects Eileen died from a fall. Does Laura have any reason to believe Eileen would take her own life? Laura says, no. Eileen was all about survival.

Sonny says, Jordan gave Laura the information. Laura wanted him to come here and warn them. Drew says, they have to assume they’re blown, and Valentin says, Victor got Eileen to give up the info, then disposed of her. Anna says, he’ll come after them now.

Spencer waits in the woods, and someone walks out. He thanks them for meeting him, and Victor says, anything for him. Is he to understand from this that Spencer is finally willing to do what needs to be done?

Tomorrow, Victor says he needs to hear Spencer say the actual words; Maxie asks what someone is doing here; Sonny says, if they leave now, they’ll be signing their death warrants; and Carly asks Nina, what the hell happened?

🩺 A postscript about the Epiphany memorial episode. No doubt what made this episode extra moving was the fact that you knew those tears from the characters were real. Probably one of the saddest episodes ever for me was when Mike died, but I knew Max Gail was fine and living his life in reality. I can’t even fathom how difficult it must have been for the actors to keep control, knowing that even though the storyline wasn’t real, the death was. While the episode was perfection – having real life friend Yvette Nicole Brown play the accident victim, Milo and Emma coming back to town, the photos, the flashbacks, the whole thing – it would have been nice to see Sonja Eddy in the credits one last time. But I know you can’t think of everything, so kudos again.

👩🏾‍⚕️ Whys and Whos…

Why this storyline was chosen.

Why Epiphany Died on GENERAL HOSPITAL

All about Emma.

What Happened to Emma on GENERAL HOSPITAL

And Max and Milo.

What Happened to Max and Milo on GENERAL HOSPITAL

🥀 More Loss For GH…

It’s so sweet that they named The Savoy bartender after her.

GENERAL HOSPITAL Stars Mourn Their Dear Friend Nneka Garland

🏫 Not Going Too Far…

We won’t even notice he’s gone. And I hope he’s not bringing that hairdo.

William Lipton Clarifies His Status at GENERAL HOSPITAL

🏥 Proud Papa…

I’m going to watch this later, since it’s on in the wee hours here.

https://ew.com/tv/general-hospital-maurice-benard-cries-emotional-reunion-with-daughter-tamron-hall/

🧂 Passing the Salt…

Jen gets the good news.

https://people.com/tv/jen-shah-sentence-reduced-1-year-after-reporting-prison-telemarketing-fraud-case/

And the bad news.

Authorities Reportedly Want Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City Alum Jen Shah’s Jewelry For Forfeiture

🍸 You Know You Want It…

If anyone has the right to shade, it’s Ariana. Tom and Raquel look like they’re dressed for a funeral.

https://pagesix.com/2023/03/26/ariana-madix-shades-tom-sandoval-raquel-leviss-after-pump-rules-reunion/

Lala has a different kind of blackout.

REPORT: Lala Kent and James Kennedy “Went Crazy” on Tom & Raquel at Vanderpump Rules Reunion as Raquel’s Status With Show is Explained

Security was called? I can’t wait. I wasn’t a huge Raquel fan to begin with, although I felt sorry for her being James’s doormat. But now I can’t stand hearing her stupid baby voice saying she’s being young and living her life. I wasn’t aware that meant smiling in your friend’s face while you bang her longtime boyfriend behind her back. Normally, I’m with Trevor Noah and say, counsel, not cancel, but there’s no coming back from this.

Lala Kent Says Andy Could “Hardly Control” Cast at Vanderpump Rules Reunion Brawl, Slams Sandoval for Taking Raquel to Same Restaurant He Took Ariana

💎 Oh Oliver…

I doubt even Garcelle’s Black Girl Magic could bring LVP back.

Garcelle Beauvais Reacts to Son Oliver’s Involvement With Raquel Amid Scandoval, Reveals How She Almost Got Lisa Vanderpump to Film for RHOBH, and Talks Return of OGs

🐕 Recovery…

They make the world okay again.

Vanessa Hudgens and More Stars Share Cute Pics With Beloved Pets

🍳  Flipping Sides…

Stop by tomorrow for an end of the week cornucopia of soap, tea, words to regard, and music to enjoy. Until then, stay safe, stay balancing book knowledge with common sense, and stay knowing it’s the connections you make that matter the most. That’s what Epiphany used to say.

Mar30

March 29, 2023 – Saying Goodbye To Epiphany, Perfect, When Did It Begin, Jax Talks Brawls & Not Alone

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Elizabeth walks into the hospital carrying a spray flowers. Bobbie sees Deanna at the desk and hugs her. I want to cry already. Felix goes to his locker, then slams it shut, sinking to the floor in tears. Marshall looks at his phone, and Curtis looks at Marshall. Spinelli and Sam look at the photos on the GH memorial wall and join hands. Outside, Laura sees Robert and they hug. Alone in the safehouse, Anna cries.

Elizabeth brings the spray to the chapel, and looks at the portrait of Epiphany there.

Bobbie sees Carly with Willow in a wheelchair, and says, Willow does realize she’s only two days out from her procedure. Carly says she tried to tell Willow to stay home and rest, and Willow says, later. Right now, this is exactly where she needs to be.

Anna looks at a In Loving Memory tribute to Epiphany on her phone, when there’s a knock at the door. It’s Felicia, and Emma steps out from the side. Anna hugs her.

Obrecht says she’s officially cleared to donate her bone marrow to Willow, and Nina says, that’s such good news. God knows they can use that, especially on a day like today. She asks if Obrecht is going to the memorial, but Obrecht shakes her head. She says she couldn’t stand that people who openly wished Britta ill attended her service, and Nina says, Obrecht is many things, but a hypocrite isn’t one of them. Obrecht says, she and Epiphany did nothing but bump heads. She’s not happy Epiphany is gone, but she’s glad Epiphany died honorably. Nina says, just like Britt, and Obrecht says, we should all be so lucky. Amen to that.

Sonny goes out on the roof, when Milo joins him, asking if he wants company. They hug.

Marshall says, it doesn’t make sense that she’s gone, and Curtis says, unfortunately, a lot of things in life don’t make sense. Portia says, hanging out with Epiphany was often the highlight of her work shift, and Marshall says he’s sure it was. Portia says, they laughed so much when Epiphany was prepping for the MCATs, she’s surprised they got anything done, but she pulled through… with Marshall’s encouragement. Marshall flashes back to encouraging Epiphany to go for the MCATs, and telling her, a valiant effort is not a failure. Far from it. It’s courageous and he’s proud of her. He says, before Epiphany took the MCATs, she was scared, and said this was all his fault, and she was right. If it wasn’t for him, Epiphany would still be here.

Elizabeth looks at a photo collage of Epiphany in the chapel, when Finn comes in. He says he wanted to see how she was holding up, and she wonders if she should move the collage, but he says he thinks it’s perfect. The fact that she pulled this all together on such short notice is impressive to say the least. She says, it’s not like she had a choice. Epiphany had it in her will that she would organize the celebration. Finn says, still bossing her around from the afterlife, and Elizabeth says, although that was before everything had come out about what she’d done. Epiphany must have been so disappointed in her. She just wishes Epiphany could have focused on being at Johns Hopkins and her future, and not… He says, Epiphany was driving home, and there was an accident at the side of the road, and she jumped in to help, just like you’d expect her to. Elizabeth says, she was being the Epiphany they all know and loved. She just wishes she could have made it right with her. Finn holds her.

Brad goes into the locker room, and says he had the feeling he’d find Felix here. Back when they were almost kind of dating, he’d wallow in here when he was sad. Felix says he’s earned the right to a little wallowing, doesn’t Brad think? Epiphany was his friend. This vital presence, and now she’s just… gone. He flashes back to Epiphany telling him that he could do better than Brad, and Brad says, she’s not. No one’s really gone. As long as Felix holds on to her in here. He puts his hand on Felix’s chest, and Felix puts his hand over it.

Laura says, look at this place, caring for the people of Port Charles for 60 years, and Robert says, these walls have seen everything. She says she’s afraid today is going to be a hard one, and he says, General Hospital’s lost one of its best. She says she couldn’t agree more, but here they are; they’re still standing. He laughs and says, sometimes barely, and she says, still something to be grateful for. They have to keep going until they can’t anymore. He says he believes Epiphany would want that, when Diane joins them. Robert says he didn’t think they’d be seeing her today, and she says, Epiphany made her executor of her will. She just has one final thing to do before the memorial. Laura says, the grind never stops, does it? She can’t stay long either. She has to fill in for the Deputy Mayor while she’s indisposed. Diane asks if there’s any update on her whereabouts, and Robert tells Laura that he required assistance the other night, and Diane helped him. She can be trusted; she’s a friend. Diane says she’ll see them inside and leaves. Laura says, Robert seems a little happier. Does it have something to do with Diane?

Curtis asks, what’s Marshall’s fault? and Marshall says he pushed Epiphany into going to med school. Curtis says, that’s a good thing, but Marshall says, if she hadn’t taken the MCATs, if she hadn’t gotten into Johns Hopkins, she wouldn’t have been on the road that night and seen that accident, and she’d still be here with them. Portia says, no. Marshall reignited her dream and she attained her dream. She got to prove to herself that all those people were wrong all those years ago who said she couldn’t do it, and she actually did it. Think of how amazing that is, and how many people really get to have that satisfaction. Before Epiphany passed, any semblance of self-doubt and regret she’d been carrying around for decades lifted off of her. That’s a gift. And if she knows Epiphany, she knows in her heart that she wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. She hugs Marshall as he cries, and Curtis mouths, thank you.

Sonny says, it’s good to see Milo. He wishes it was under different circumstances. Milo says, Epiphany was one of a kind. He’s so lucky he got to have her in his life. Sonny says, Epiphany was lucky too, and Milo flashes back to telling Epiphany that he worries all the time he’s not good enough for her. She’s beautiful inside and out, and that’s why he asked her out. He wouldn’t change a thing. He cries, and Sonny asks if he’s okay. Milo says he’s just grateful for all the memories. What about Sonny? How’s everything going? Sonny says, he means the business? It’s been a little dicey. Milo says, if he needs more hands on deck, for old times’ sake… Sonny says he appreciates it, but Milo’s one of the rare ones that got out… and lived. Let’s keep it that way.

Diane sees Obrecht, and says, just the person she was looking for. As the executor of Epiphany Johnson’s will, she’s been given a very specific set of instructions for her. They are time sensitive and must be completed today. Obrecht says, by her? But she and Nurse Johnson despised one another. Diane says, be that as it may, Epiphany thought Obrecht was the only one who could be trusted with this job, and hands her a paper. Obrecht reads it, and half-smiles. Nina asks what it says.

Willow says, Epiphany was important to her. If she hadn’t had Epiphany’s support, she may never have gone into nursing. She flashes back to telling Epiphany that she’s thinking of changing careers, and Epiphany saying, if she wants to talk about it, Willow knows where to find her. Willow says, she doesn’t think she ever told Epiphany how much she appreciated that. She just wants to attend the service and light a candle for her friend. Then she promises to head straight back home. Can she count on Bobbie and Carly’s help? Carly says, of course (🍷). She can count on them for anything. Bobbie says, always, and Carly takes Willow’s hand. She says, Willow can always count on them.

Anna asks why Emma is here, and Emma says she wanted to see Anna before heading to Epiphany’s memorial. Mom and dad really wanted to come, but sadly, they couldn’t get away from work. Anna says, of course (🍷) not. Doctors are always so busy trying to save people’s lives. Emma says, just because they couldn’t fly out, didn’t mean she couldn’t, and Felicia says, so this young lady booked herself a flight. Anna says, of course (🍷) she did. She can’t believe Emma is sitting here in front of her. Emma says, happy surprise? and Anna says, absolute happiest. She hugs Emma, giving Felicia a thumbs up. I have to say, Emma still looks like Emma, but so grown up and young lady pretty.

Diane sees Milo, and asks how long it’s been. He says, too damn long, and she takes his arm and walks with him. She asks, how’s Max? and he says, doing good. She asks how he is, and he says, very sad today. She says she’s so sorry about Epiphany, and he thanks her.

Nina tells Sonny that she’s so sorry for his loss. She knows he and Epiphany had a very special relationship. He says, it really hit home how precious life can be, and how it can be over – he snaps his fingers – like that. That’s why they have to be careful. She says, it’s funny. When she thinks of life being like that, it makes her want to stay close to the people she loves. I’m not sure why that’s funny; makes sense to me. She says she knows they can’t spend a lot of time together until things settle down, but if he wants company to the memorial, she’d love to go with him. He says he’d like that very much, and takes her hand.

Elizabeth wonders if she should cut some things, giving people more time to speak, but Finn says, the memorial is beautiful. She says she just wants it to be perfect. She needs to make it up to Epiphany. She just wishes she knew what Epiphany was thinking at the end. A woman (Yvette Nicole Brown) approaches them, and says, maybe she can help with that. Elizabeth asks if she was a friend of Epiphany’s, and she says, Epiphany was more like her guardian angel. Their dear friend died saving her life.

Felicia brings Emma into the hospital, and Emma runs to Robert, hugging him.

The woman says she read about Epiphany’s memorial service, and doesn’t even know what she was hoping to find, but she jumped in her car and here she is. Elizabeth says, she was with Epiphany when she passed? They’ve been trying to piece together all the details. The woman says, it was late. She was driving home after a double shift; she’s a nurse as well. The roads were a mess, visibility was even worse. She didn’t even see the downed power line before she was practically on it. She swerved to get out of the way, then crashed into a utility pole. There was so much smoke and fire; she was terrified. She managed to get out of the car, but she was in so much pain… there was so much blood… Then she saw the headlights. Elizabeth says, Epiphany? and the woman says, she pulled over and Epiphany just ran to her. She was barking orders at 9-1-1 the entire way. Finn and Elizabeth laugh, and Finn says, sounds about right. The woman says, Epiphany knew if she moved her that she’d bleed out, so Epiphany put pressure on her wounds, and talked to her in that soothing voice she had. She promised not to leave the woman’s side until the paramedics were here… and she didn’t. If it wasn’t for their friend… She couldn’t stop thinking about her, so she asked her colleagues at the hospital what happened, and they said that she collapsed at the site. They said she had a problem. They said there was so much smoke, she had complications. Elizabeth says, she had a pre-existing heart condition, and the woman says, and she didn’t even think twice about risking her life to save a stranger? Finn says, that was her. Epiphany was a true healer. Elizabeth says, Epiphany was a hero.

Sonny shakes Marshall’s hand and says he’s sorry for Marshall’s loss. Marshall says, they all lost her; that means Sonny too. Sonny introduces Milo, who says, it’s nice to meet Marshall. He’s heard great things. She spoke highly of him. Marshall thanks him for saying that, and Nina tells Sonny that they should head to the chapel. She, Sonny, Milo, and Portia leave, and Marshall asks Curtis how that nice young man knew Epiphany. Curtis says, that’s Epiphany’s ex-boyfriend. She was full of surprises. Marshall says, wow, and they follow the others.

Finn thanks the woman for sharing with them, and Elizabeth says, it means everything. Finn says they’re very glad she’s all right, and the woman says, only because of Epiphany. Elizabeth says, it’s comforting to know she left this world doing what she loved, and noticing people coming in, Finn says, it looks to be about that time. Elizabeth asks if the woman is staying for the service, but she says she should probably get going. She just wanted Epiphany’s loved ones to know what a wonderful person she truly was. Elizabeth says, they already knew that, but please stay. She drove all this way. Epiphany would want her here. The woman says she’ll stay, and takes a seat. Marshall asks, who’s that? and Elizabeth says, just one of the countless people who owe their life to Epiphany.

Elizabeth thanks everyone for being here. As she speaks, the camera pans over the crowd, all the people who loved Epiphany. How do you sum up a life that’s touched so many people in so many different ways? People fall into different categories. She’s the heart of the hospital, she’s the life of the operation, the soul, the glue, the entertainer, the comforter. She was all of those things wrapped in the soul of one magnificent human being. She was firm, and tender. She was a pragmatist and a dreamer. She was a taskmaster, and yet she told her nurses to take as many mental health days as necessary. There was a whole host of contradiction that for some reason never really seemed to conflict with each other. Today is just another one of those contradictions; a celebration of her life while our hearts collectively break, mourning a woman who was a mentor, a best friend, someone we all consider family. Elizabeth flashes back to Epiphany insisting they go out for a drink the night before she married Franco. Elizabeth says she’s going to miss her, but she’s also flooded with gratitude because who’s luckier than them? To have known, and loved, and been loved by Epiphany. No one’s luckier.

Deanna says, Epiphany had a gift for connecting people. For telling them the truth, even when the truth was scary. When Deanna first became a nurse, she was afraid of caring for terminal patients. She didn’t know how to be with them. Epiphany showed her by example. She got Deanna to push past her fear, so she could help those who needed her. She was generous with her time, her spirit, and her wisdom. Deanna had her credentials when she got here, but it was Epiphany who taught her how to be a nurse.

Portia says she didn’t know Epiphany as long as a lot of people in this room, but the impact Epiphany had on her life was indescribable. They were work colleagues. They got along great. Epiphany got along great with everyone. But there was a time Epiphany risked everything to protect Portia’s daughter and her daughter’s father. Portia thinks that speaks to her character. They became great friends after that, and eventually she became a part of Portia’s family.

Sonny says, his father once told him, it’s the people who show up at your darkest moments who are your real friends. God knows he’s been through some dark moments. He flashes back to being in a wheelchair after he was shot, and Epiphany helping him take his first steps. He says, if that’s the measure of true friendship, Epiphany was his best friend.  

Emma says, it’s hard to imagine General Hospital without Epiphany. She’s certainly been here for as long as Emma remembers. It won’t be the same without her.

Carly says, Epiphany was a truth teller. If she liked someone, then they were worth having in your life, but if she didn’t, it was probably best to avoid them. But Epiphany allowed for growth. Carly thinks it was one of her best qualities, because she believed people could change. They could get stronger, wiser, just better, and that’s a good thing because she was one of those people. Epiphany ran to her rescue so many times; a lot of people’s rescue. She looks at Sonny.

Diane goes up to the front, and says, just a moment before they all rush away. One last piece of business. When she agreed to be Epiphany’s executor for her will, Epiphany gave her a small, but very specific set of instructions for today. Chief among them being that she escort them to the roof. So please follow her. The guests begin to file out, but Elizabeth is still sitting, and Marshall asks if she’s coming. She says she’ll be up in a minute, and he leaves. She looks at the portrait of Epiphany.

On the roof, Diane says she has a note for all of them from Epiphany. I have to imagine some nice things were said about me today, and tears were probably shed, which I appreciate of course (🍷), but that’s not how I lived my life. Even in the darkest of times, I held on to the joy whenever I could, so be sad if you need to be…

Obrecht says, safe travels, my worthy adversary, as she lights some rockets elsewhere on the roof. She steps back as they go off.

…But I would much rather go out with a bang. Fireworks appear in the sky, and everyone marvels. Marshall raises his fist, and says, go out with a bang in peace. Milo says, correct him if he’s wrong, but these fireworks… Sonny says, are highly illegal, yes. Laura says she couldn’t hear that; the fireworks were too loud.

As Elizabeth is about to leaved the chapel, her phone rings. She says, Monica, and Monica asks if she’s disturbing the memorial. Elizabeth says, it just ended. Is she all right? Monica says she’s fine. She’s just terribly disappointed she couldn’t be at Epiphany’s memorial. If she hadn’t been the keynote speaker, she’d have backed out. Elizabeth says, Epiphany of all people would have appreciated her keeping her commitment, and Monica says she imagines Epiphany would, which brings her to why she’s calling. Diane Miller paid her a visit just before she left, and brought her a sealed letter that was written by Epiphany a few days ago; one she’d intended to hand-deliver to the GH Review Board on Elizabeth’s behalf. Elizabeth says, she did write a letter of support? and Monica says she just finished reading it, and she had to share it with Elizabeth. Elizabeth Baldwin is an extremely talented and dedicated nurse, and watching her grow from rookie to leader amongst her peers has been one of the greatest privileges of my life. Her commitment to healing knows no bounds. And part of that commitment requires making snap judgements in the moment. I believe that’s what Elizabeth was doing when she made the choice to treat Esme Prince while in captivity. Was that choice the right one? Ultimately, no, as is often the case with snap decisions like that. But the thing that separates the good healers from the great ones, is accountability. Elizabeth didn’t run from her responsibility; she ran toward it, which makes her the best of us. In fact, it has always been my intention to recommend that she become head nurse when I leaved for medical school this fall. I stand by that recommendation now more than ever. Elizabeth has always made me proud, and she’ll make General Hospital proud too. Elizabeth cries silently, and Monica asks if she’s still there. She says she is, and Monica says, that’s quite a recommendation. And who is she to deny Epiphany’s last wish? Elizabeth asks if she’s saying… Monica says she’ll be glad to present the idea to the Board at the end of the month. Having another Hardy-slash-March run the 10th floor sounds right, doesn’t she think? Elizabeth thanks Monica, who says, don’t thank her. Thank Epiphany. She tells Elizabeth to take care, and Elizabeth says, thank you, Epiphany, for everything. I love you.

We hear Epiphany sing You’re Not Alone, and Elizabeth goes to the roof to join the others watching the fireworks. Sonny smiles at Carly; Milo puts his arm around Marshall, and vice versa. Brad holds out his hand to Felix, who takes it, and Portia smiles at Curtis. Laura and Bobbie put their arms around each other. We flash back to Epiphany over the years; with Robert, with Sonny, with Magic Milo. Singing, and getting together with Marshall. We flash back to Epiphany telling Obrecht that she wouldn’t dare mess with the Nurses Ball, and Obrecht saying, oh, wouldn’t I? We see her helping Felix, Carly, and Elizabeth. Elizabeth goes over to Finn, who puts his arm around her. Anna watches from outside the safehouse.

We see Epiphany’s picture, newly on the memorial wall.

Tomorrow, Maxie says, this Nurses Ball is going to hell in a handbasket; Austin knows someone; Cameron says he can’t leave; and Drew says, she did not leave on her own.

🌟 I don’t think they could have given a better send-off to Sonja Eddy. No wonder it took them so long. It was really perfect.

Vanderpump Rules

I get irritated even before the show starts. And why should Katie care about what Scheana wants anyway? Selfish twonk.

James’s dad Andros visits, and he’s impressed at how far James has come from the early days. In James’s interview, he says, back in the day, his dad was involved in the music industry, and was always his biggest supporter. James says, quitting drinking helped, and Andros says he couldn’t believe that James could DJ and not drink. Binge drinking is a rule of passage. James says his mom wasn’t happy, and we flash back to her telling James to proceed with caution. Drinking again is a dangerous game. He tells Andros that Ally is the light of his life, and Andros says he didn’t see James marrying Raquel. He can see it with Ally. They laugh about Raquel being on James’s turf now.  

At Schwartz & Sandy’s, the Toms get ready for the tasting. Schwartz says, they need balance on the menu. They went to dive-y. Manager Brett is hoping they can lock in the opening menu today, and tells them about the million and one things they still need. Schwartz says, they have so much sh*t to do, it’s unbelievable, and Sandoval suggests they ask Scheana to postpone the wedding so they don’t have to take the time off. Katie walks in, and in Schwartz’s interview, he says, after the pool party, they hugged it out; not literally, but verbally. They came to an understanding. He should have stayed out of it. He invited Katie to the tasting because he respects her opinion, and it’s also his way of saying he still cares and wants her to be part of his life. Greg’s wife JoLane and niece Gretchen join them, and in Sandoval’s interview, he says, they knew they’d have to swallow their pride and do what Greg wanted, and he was adamant about a more upscale food menu. The first thing that comes out is a lobster corndog, and I think, ugh, no. Love corndogs, love lobster, but hard pass on a lobster corndog. In his interview, Sandoval says, they want to open on August 31st, so they’ll say yes to anything Greg wants. Everyone applauds at the end, and Greg says he has a kickass chef in the back. The next thing they have to work on is desserts. Katie suggests they call her.

Scheana, Ariana, and Lala invite Ally out, and in Ariana’s interview, she says she’s hung out with Ally in group setting, but she feels Ally should be included more. She did let Raquel know she was inviting Ally. In Scheana’s interview, she says she’d love to get to know Ally more… if it doesn’t hurt Raquel’s feelings. In Lala’s interview, she says she doesn’t give a f*** if it hurts Raquel’s feelings. Scheana says she felt like everyone was arguing the other night, and Lala says, everyone got a don’t be mean text except Raquel. Raquel plans out how an argument will go, and when it doesn’t go according to plan, she short circuits. Raquel called her a mistress bimbo, when Raquel looked like a baby prostitute. Scheana says she heard Ally and James got a tarot card reading, and he’s her twin flame. Lala says she thought a twin flame could be toxic, but Ally says, not necessarily. It means a deeper connection; they’ve met in every lifetime. Ariana tells Scheana that Lisa wants to have a tea at her house, and Scheana says she swore off tea parties last year. We flash back to Lala bringing up Brock’s domestic violence charge at another tea party. Ariana says she thinks it will be fine, but wear flats if she has to run. Scheana says, nothing makes her run, and I desperately want to plop a big fat spider in front of her to test that theory.

Lala meets Brock and Scheana for lunch, and asks, how many people are coming to the wedding? Scheana says, the final count was 118, and Brock wonders how it will be with Lala and Raquel. Lala says, she told Scheana that if it was something with just bridesmaids, she can’t hide her energy, but if it’s in a group, she’s good. In Lala’s interview, she says, if she goes to events where she’s in close quarters with Raquel, there would be no escape. Unless she throws Raquel into the ocean, which she wouldn’t do because she’s afraid of prison. Brock says, the pressure Lala put on him changed his relationship with his kids’ mom, and in her interview, Lala says, she and Brock had a rough start, and we flash back to her berating Brock for not having seen his kids in years. She says, since then, she’s realized situations are not always black and white. Lala tells Brock that she’s happy he’s where he is, but it wasn’t her place. Brock says, that’s what friends do, and in her interview, Lala says, her and Scheana’s relationship changed and they got their kids together. She saw what an incredible husband Brock is to Scheana, and he’s an amazing dad. And the way he treats Ocean… She loves that dude a lot. Brock says he has a past, but he’s learned from his mistakes and won’t make them again. He doesn’t mind that Lala was holding him to a standard. Lala says she’s sorry for how she approached the situation, and gets all teary. In Scheana’s interview, she says, she and Lala even talked about raising the girls together, and having an unconventional family life. Brock would help with the kids, but the conjugal visits would just be hers. Is she confusing this with prison? Brock gets weepy.

Villa Rosa! Ponies! The tea party is on, and James says, it’s his first Pumptini in three and a half years. Lisa tells Ken that he’s on dog duty, and she’s on wild animal duty. After a false alarm lame shout of surprise! when Lala arrives, when Scheana gets there, they attack her ears with a worse rendition of Good As Gold than her own. In Ariana’s interview, she says, it’s next to impossible to surprise Scheana, since she has their locations on her phone. In Scheana’s interview, she says she was half-surprised. Her sister’s car kind of gave it away. Lala wonders if Ally wasn’t invited to the wedding because it would piss Raquel off, and James says, nailed it. In his interview, he says, it’s about what Raquel wants. He tells Lala, it’s an out-of-body experience having to be around his ex all the time. James wonders if he should ask Ally to marry him in Mexico, since Brock and Scheana got married during his engagement party weekend. Lala says, payback’s a bitch, and we flash back to that. It wasn’t a crass move unto itself, but their announcement of it was.

Lisa tells Scheana, since she can’t come to Mexico, she wanted to do something special. In Lisa’s interview, she says, if you want a successful marriage, don’t ask her to be involved. Scheana got engaged to her first husband at Lisa’s house, and Lisa officiated at Schwartz and Katie’s wedding. Her track record is 100% failure. Scheana points out that her anniversary is close to Lisa’s and Pandora’s, and suggests they share a trip every year, but Lisa tells her, slow down. Raquel and Schwartz sit in chaise lounges, and talk about Schwartz and Sandy opening on August 31st.  In Raquel’s interview, she says, she loves that she and Schwartz became tight, and maybe they’ll be tighter in the future. She tries to stick a vagina joke in there, but she’s no Lala. And I’m sure the viewers are collectively wondering if she’s already trying to divert attention. Schwartz tells Raquel about getting LVP tattooed on his ass, and in James’s interview, he says, Schwartz flirting with Raquel in front of him looks desperate and absurd. Hit the treadmill you fat f***. Apparently, some habits die hard.  

Katie had been invited, but said no, and gardens with Kristina instead. Katie tells her that tomorrow, she and Schwartz would have been married six years. Kristina thinks they should still acknowledge it to show they’re friends. Really? That sounds weird. Katie says they are having dinner in Mexico to celebrate the closing of their house. She’s been unpacking some strange emotions this week, and wasn’t prepared for how she’d feel. In Katie’s interview, she says she feels sad; the dream is over. Kristina asks about the sandwich shop, and Katie says, it’s in a holding pattern, but the owners haven’t said no. Kristina says she has a good feeling about it. Brock kicks around the bocci balls, obviously ignorant of how the game is played. James balances some of Lisa’s fine china, asking if he could do this if he was drunk, and nearly gives Lisa a heart attack. She asks how Lala can put up with him, and Lala says, he’s on a journey, and since she’s invested in him, she’s going on the journey with him. James says he thinks Ally is the one, and wants to put babies in there. Lala asks if he can say, create a family, and he says, make blond, blue-eyed gods and goddesses. Lisa says, he sounds like a dictator, and Lala says, he sounds like he’s 16. Bringing a child into the world is no joke. James says, if Brock can bring a baby into the world, it can’t be that hard. They all know how Brock left the country the first time. Lala says he’s acting out of pocket; bring it down. In Lala’s interview, she says, if you take time away from drinking because you think it’s a problem, then come back to drinking and think you can control alcohol, you’re wrong. Things are teetering on the edge right now.

They go to Schwartz and Sandy’s, and have a shot in honor of Brock and Scheana. Sandoval says, they’re looking forward to the opening, and James wonders how many soft openings they’re having. Raquel breaks the ice by saying hi to Lala, and asks if Katie is coming. Lala says, no, and we see Katie at home with her dogs, which seems preferable to hanging out with these people. Schwartz shows Raquel the sound bath, and James asks Scheana if Ally can come to the reception, since she’s going to everything else. He pulls the ace out of his sleeve, and says, remember his engagement party? In Scheana’s interview, all she says is, f***, and I laugh. Scheana says she’s visualizing the seating chart, and tells him, yes. He says he loves them, and in his interview, he says he’s glad they said yes, but if it was the final no on his final ask, it would have been his final f*** you. Raquel wonders if the men’s room has a vibe, and then decides she has to pee. Schwartz guards the door, and at least we know she flushes the toilet and doesn’t expect fairies to do it.

Everyone packs, and boom! we’re in Mexico. They all rave over the resort, and I want to go somewhere that has a welcome cocktail. Katie and Lala note how far apart their rooms are, and in Scheana’s interview, she says she had Katie moved to a different tower. Out of sight, out of mind. The group makes plans for dinner, and Schwartz says he’s having a mini celebration with Katie, then join them. Lisa and realtor Jamie call Ariana, who’s with Katie, and Lisa tells them, sometimes you can’t get what you want in business, and it can be disappointing… but don’t worry. This time it was a yes. I smelled that one coming. In Katie’s interview, she said, thank God they listened to Lisa. Because they did, they’re now business owners. Jamie tells them, enjoy Mexico, because it’s straight to work when they get back. They tell Lala, Schwartz, and Kristina, and Schwartz breaks the good liquor out of his duffel bag to celebrate.

Everyone checks out their suites, which are fabulous, no surprise. In Ariana’s interview, she says, now there’s nothing to get in the way of quality time with Tom. He’s her prisoner. Now the viewers feel collectively sick. The group meets for dinner, and Brock says, if they want, there’s a bar to go to afterwards. Kristina comes in the restaurant, but I blinked and missed her. In Scheana’s interview, she says, how dare Kristina walk into her welcome dinner uninvited? I double check, since she’s making it sound like Kristina sat down at the table. Nope. Scheana says, not only did Kristina and Stassi make fun of her first wedding dress, Stassi said it looked like it was from a skanky girl’s quinceanera, and Kristina laughed. Since Scheana is half-Mexican, making a tradition sound trashy hurt her. I don’t think she was trashing the tradition; just the dress. In Ariana’s interview, she says, when they were on the way to dinner, Brock’s drunk friend put his arm around James… In James’s interview, he says he’d never seen the guy in his life, and he was drunk, eyes rolling, falling all over… In Lala’s interview, she says, an annoying drunk hugged James, and James body checked him – hard. James says he should have Will Smith backhanded him. Ariana says she doesn’t want any fighting, but James says, it was no big deal. Ariana says, he’s already berating her, when he’s been rude and shoved a guy. In Raquel’s interview, she says, watching Ally cringe over James’s behavior makes her happy it’s not her. Lala tells James to disengage, and Ariana says, no fights is the only side she’s on. James says he didn’t punch the guy in the face, and Ariana says she doesn’t like him doing it period. In Ally’s interview, she says she can’t sit here. It’s making her question everything. Why is she in Mexico, and who is this person she’s dating? Ariana says she’s had enough – they’re done – and Ally leaves the table.

To be continued…

🍸 Scandovalish…

You figure it out.

https://www.yourtango.com/entertainment/when-did-raquel-leviss-tom-sandoval-affair-begin

🍿 It Don’t Feel So Good…

There was almost brawls.

https://extratv.com/2023/03/27/jax-taylor-confirms-near-brawl-at-pump-rules-reunion-exclusive/

🐻‍❄️ Will Do Nothing For a Klondike Bar…

Slide in tomorrow for soap and teatime. Until then, stay safe, stay never laughing at another’s expense, and stay remembering, a valiant effort is not a failure. Far from it.

Mar29

March 28, 2023 – Robert Finds Victor’s Room Empty, Teresa Wants Louie To Fix It & Boots

Posted on by
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I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Diane sees Robert in the hotel lobby, and says, what a surprise. What brings him to the MetroCourt this evening?

Victor paces, and says, it’s been too many years and he’s come too far. No, no, no. He will not be denied again. Eileen eyeballs the flashdrive on the floor as her phone rings. She tells Victor, the DA’s office, and answers, saying, she’s in the middle of a meeting. She already told them, she needs more time before she can come back to the office. Anna says, time’s up. Get out now. Eileen looks at the flashdrive again, and says she can’t. Valentin asks, what’s going on? and Anna says, she’s going to blow up the whole operation. She asks if Victor isn’t letting Eileen leave, but Eileen says, no. They can wait for her. Anna says, whatever it is Eileen is thinking, don’t, and Eileen says she can’t really talk right now, but don’t worry. When she gets there, they’ll have all the answers they need, and they won’t have to meet again. Anna says, oh my God, she hung up, and Valentin asks if Anna thinks Victor is on to her, but Anna says she doesn’t know. She calls again.

Eileen tells Victor that she’s sorry for the interruption. It won’t happen again; she’s putting her phone on silent. Victor says, she might as well leave. She’s done her part. She looks again at the flashdrive, and says she doesn’t want to leave him unhappy. She comes closer to him and adjusts his tie, asking if she can’t do something to make him feel better. There’s a knock at the door, and a man tells Victor that he has the information Victor is waiting for. He lets the man in, and says, not here; follow me. They go into the bedroom, and Eileen picks up the flashdrive.

At the safehouse, Lucy messes with her phone, telling Maxie to pick up her texts. Enter, enter, enter, enter. Answer her. Felicia comes in, and asks how Lucy is tonight. Lucy says, she’s good… that is if Felicia’s daughter would answer her texts. Felicia says, Maxie is diligent about responding to text messages, unless of course (🍷) she’s in a meeting and can’t. Lucy says, unless of course (🍷) Maxie’s choosing not to answer her, and Felicia says, there’s that. She asks Anna and Valentin, what’s going on? and Anna says, Eileen delivered the counterfeit necklace to Victor, but now she’s not picking up her phone. Felicia wonders if Victor is on to her, and Valentin says, it’s impossible to say, but they’re afraid Eileen might have gone rogue, and Anna says, putting herself, them, and the whole operation in jeopardy.

Cameron walks into Charlie’s with Esme and Ace, and Spencer says, what the hell? He knows this is Cameron’s party… Laura says, yes, it’s his party. He’s the man of the hour. She hugs him, and he says he knows his guests are unexpected. Laura says, welcome, and Esme says, for the record, this wasn’t her idea. Cameron invited her. Elizabeth says, this is her son’s going away party, and he can invite anyone he wants. It’s nice to see her outside of Spring Ridge. Esme says she doesn’t respond well to being locked up… as Elizabeth knows.

On the phone, Maxie says, the Nurses Ball is officially sold out, but they’ve been so generous to the hospital, she’ll see what she can do about squeezing in a party of four. She sighs.

Bobbie tells Brook that her list of performers is fantastic. She’s totally outdone herself. What a great lineup. Sasha says, Brook did a fantastic job recruiting people, and Brook says, now on to the hard part; what order do they perform in? Bobbie says, everyone knows it’s for a great cause, and she thinks they’ll just put their egos aside (she expects a lot), and accept whatever order they come up with. Maxie comes in and wonders how people can hear something is sold out and still expect to get tickets. She has to add another table. Sasha asks, where? They have to stick with the fire code. Maxie says she’s sure she’ll figure something out. Her phone rings, and Lucy asks why Maxie is ignoring her texts. And what is she hiding? What is Maxie doing to her show? Maxie says, hello… again. Let her get someplace more private. Maxie leaves, and Brook says, show order. Let’s start with the easy calls. GH doctors and nurses will start, but then what? The nurses will be a good emotional beginning, but the next act has to grab the audience’s attention; it has to be exciting. It has to have sex appeal. What act sends the message that you are in for the night of your life, and you don’t want to miss a single minute? Chase walks in.

In a back hallway, Maxie says, this is not what they agreed to. Texts only; no more phone calls. Lucy says she’s sorry. She’s not trying to micromanage Maxie. Maxie doesn’t know what it’s like to be stuck inside this safehouse while the Nurses Ball, her baby, is going on without her. Maxie says she hears that, but she can either talk to Lucy or get the Nurses Ball going. She can’t do both. Lucy says, that’s where Maxie is wrong. She has an idea.

Chase tells Bobbie that he’s here for his rehearsal, but she says, Felix is doing rehearsals, right next door. Felix comes in, and asks if Chase brought a copy of the song lyrics for the director. Chase says he did, and gives Felix the copy. Felix asks where Blaze is, and Chase says he’s sorry. She texted and said she couldn’t make it tonight. Felix says, this is her final rehearsal. She can’t just wing it on the big night. Chase says, he’ll go over it with her, and make sure she knows it. Blaze is a total pro. It will go off without a hitch. Felix says, from your lips…

Sasha says, whatever is going on with Brook and Chase, he’s clearly not indifferent to her. Don’t give up hope. Brook says, there’s no hope. Chase made that very clear to her yesterday.

Robert asks what brings Diane to the hotel, and she says she just finished a painfully boring dinner with an out of town client. What about him? He says he’s due to meet a contact for a drink, but he’s starting to think he’s been stood up, and she says she doesn’t believe that for a second.

Cameron tells Esme not to make him regret bringing her. Don’t talk to his mom like that. Elizabeth says, it’s okay. She was just speaking her truth. She’s sorry for everything. Cameron says, his mom just apologized. He feels like Esme should acknowledge that if she meant what she said earlier about being a better person. Esme says she’s sorry, and she does appreciate Elizabeth’s apology, but she really thinks she should go. It’s obvious no one wants her here. Cameron says, because of her past. She has to try and show people that she’s a changed person. There’s a life here. She’s just got to try. Elizabeth takes Esme’s diaper bag, and says she’ll help Esme get settled in. They walk to a table, and Laura asks, what happened? Cameron says he might have walked into her apartment, and might have caught Esme trying to walk through the front door, and Laura says she’s guessing Esme wasn’t just going for a walk. Cameron says, she actually tried to convince him otherwise, but after some grilling, she admitted she was trying to leave town with Ace. He eventually talked her down, but didn’t want to chance leaving her alone, so he brought them here. Laura thanks him, and pissing-me-off-by-the-moment Spencer says he’s going to have a quick chat with Esme about trying to take off with his little brother. Laura says, not now. Not here. Scotty comes in and says he can’t believe Cameron is headed to Stanford. The town won’t be the same. He sees Elizabeth fussing over Ace, who bounces on Esme’s knee, and says, what the hell is Esme doing here?

Josslyn asks, what happened to Jake and Aiden? and Trina says, Cameron told her that the family is going to have special goodbye breakfast for him on the day he leaves. Josslyn says she didn’t know. It’s so weird to see Esme with a baby. They need to get that poor kid away from her as soon as possible. Memory or no memory, she’s still bad news.

Anna says, she called Eileen’s cell, Eileen picked up, but refused to leave Victor’s room, and Felicia asks if Anna thinks Eileen double-crossed them. Anna says she doesn’t know; she doesn’t think so. Eileen told her that she’d be able to get them all the answers they need. Oh my God. Do they know what she’s doing? She’s going after the decryption key. Felicia says, that’s good, because they already have the real Ice Princess necklace, complete with the correct code. If Eileen can get the decryption key, they don’t have to follow Victor. They’ll be one step ahead. Valentin says, people who think they’re one step ahead of Victor Cassadine tend to get stabbed in the back.

Eileen puts the flashdrive in her pocket, when Victor comes back out. He says he thought they weren’t going to be interrupted again, and Eileen says she didn’t know how long they were going to take, and her real job is very demanding. Victor says, she works for him, and that’s the only job that’s important. Remember? Her very life depends on it. She says she’s well-aware, but she does have a meeting she has to go to with the Zoning Board. She picks up her coat, and he says, she’ll leave when he says she leaves. She’s not leaving yet.

Elizabeth checks her phone, and wonders why Epiphany isn’t calling her back.

Spencer says he knew his grandmother shouldn’t have left Esme alone, and Cameron says, he can’t watch her every second. Spencer says he can sure as hell try, and Cameron says he has a better idea. Since Esme is like a blank slate, can they at least try to co-exist with her? Spencer says, Cameron wants him to be nicer? After everything she’s done? Cameron tells him, he didn’t say that, but they can at least try to tone down the overt hostility.

Brook says she really screwed things up with Chase, and Sasha says, tell her what happened. Brook flashes back to Chase saying, if she was really trying to do the right thing, why didn’t she tell him? He’ll tell her why. She knew he’d be angry, and she knew what she did was wrong. But she was right about one thing; she’s not the person he thought she was. Brook tells Sasha, she blew it, and there’s no going back. Maxie comes back along with Bobbie, and asks Brook, what’s wrong? Brook says, nothing. Let’s go over the show order.

Lucy listens in, and Bobbie says she thinks they should just start at the end and work backwards. Lucy scoffs, saying, Bobbie would say something like that. That is ridiculous. Maxie, don’t listen to her. Maxie hears Lucy in her earpiece, and Bobbie asks if Maxie is going to be the one to announce how much money they made and say goodnight. Maxie says she thinks it should be someone from GH, and Sasha says, it won’t be the same without Lucy. They miss her. Maxie says, it’s funny. She feels like Lucy is right here in the room with them. Lucy says, I miss you too, Sasha, so much. You are a good egg. Sasha says, since Lucy isn’t here to be the Mistress of Ceremonies, there’s only one possible choice. It has to be Bobbie. Lucy yells, no! and Maxie can’t get her earpiece out fast enough.

Diane asks, who would stand up Robert Scorpio? but he says, it’s a business meeting, not a date. She says she still finds it criminal that two people such as themselves are working at this hour, but he says, she’s Killer Miller; she’s never off the clock. She laughs, and tells him, she’d never say never, but she’d be glad to put it all aside if she got the right offer. His phone rings, and he sees it’s a call from Anna. He asks Diane to excuse him. It’s his business contact. She tells him, have a good night, and leaves. He asks, what’s up? and Anna says, Eileen is still in there with Victor. He has to go in and get her out. He says he’s on it. Diane sees him at the elevator, and he says he thought she was leaving. She says she was, but Alexis called; she’s working later. She wanted Diane to meet her for dessert upstairs. She’ll ride up with him.

Victor says he still doesn’t have the information his brother Mikkos engraved onto the Ice Princess, and Eileen says she brought him the necklace. The decryption key failed him, not her. He said so himself. He says, regardless, he needs more time. He needs her to return the necklace to the PCPD secure locker room, so no one will know it went missing. His people need to work on the decryption key, and find out what went wrong. She takes the box, and says she’s only sorry he couldn’t crack the code. She was truly hoping this would all be finished today. He promises she’ll be done with this very soon. There’s just one more thing he needs her to do for him.

Lucy hears Bobbie say she’s not so sure she should be the one to close the Nurses Ball. What about Elizabeth… or Felix… or Deanna? Lucy says, Bobbie finally said something right. It definitely should not be you. Sasha says, true, they’re all nurses, but this is the 60th anniversary. Bobbie’s been at the hospital the longest, and she’s co-chair of the Nurses Ball. Lucy says, Sasha doesn’t need to be quite so literal. She wasn’t even a Candy Striper, and she represented GH just fine. Anybody but Bobbie. Why Bobbie? Not Bobbie Spencer, okay? The Ball needs to end with bang, not a whimper. Maxie yells, stop it! and Bobbie asks if she’s all right. Lucy says, sorry, she’ll shut up, and Maxie says she’s sorry for yelling. It’s just that all this talk about Lucy is creating this relentless chatter in her head telling her that the Nurses Ball isn’t going to be good this year. Sasha tells her to cut herself some slack. Maxie is working so hard; they all are. The Ball is going to be great. Felix comes in, and says he agrees with Sasha. He’s worked a lot of Balls with Lucy, and he knows what she would want. Lucy says, that’s right, Felix; tell ‘em. Felix says he thinks Lucy would be behind them 100% with Bobbie. Lucy says, please, anyone but Bobbie, and Maxie tells Felix that she agrees with him. She just needs to tell that annoying voice in her head to shut up. She shuts off her earpiece, and Lucy says, Maxie, come back.

Scotty says, Esme and the baby are staying with Laura? He knows she likes to take risks, but that’s crazy. She hands him a drink, and says she knows, but the baby is completely innocent, and he’s her grandchild, and she feels like she needs to protect him. He takes a sip, and says, what the hell is this? She says, club soda, and he says, where’s the vodka? Cameron’s underage, but he’s not. She says she thinks Liesl’s still mad at him, and he says he went to her apartment, and she threw all his suits out in the hallway. There were actually people trying them on. Elizabeth joins them, and says she’s really sorry she caused this rift between Scotty and Liesl, but he says, it’s not her fault. How did the Ethics Committee go? She says she got reinstated, and he says, good. She gets to keep her job. She says she’s worried she may have lost a friend, and looks at her phone.

In the elevator, Robert presses a button, and Diane says she thought he was heading upstairs for a drink. He says, plans changed; she now wants to meet in her room. Diane says, if his contact is staying at the hotel, why was he waiting in the lobby?

Josslyn walks over to where Esme is standing, holding a sleeping Ace, and Esme says her arm feel asleep. Josslyn suggests switching arms once in a while, and Esme does. She says, that’s better. Thanks. Josslyn says, so Esme met Spencer in boarding school. She didn’t babysit before that? Esme says she has no idea. She doesn’t remember anything before waking up at GH. Josslyn says, right, sorry, and Esme says she heard about what she did to Josslyn in the past, the revenge porn. She swears she has no memory of doing it, or even why she would. She honestly hopes she never remembers. She doesn’t want to be that person. She just wants to be a good mom to Ace. It’s important she set a good example for him. That’s all that matters to her now.

Diane follows Robert out of the elevator, and says, Victor Cassadine has a room on this floor. Is that why he’s here? Robert says, she should get back on the elevator, and find Alexis, and Diane says, uh-huh. What has Victor done now? He says, actually, it’s Eileen Ashby he’s looking for, and she says, the Deputy Mayor? He knocks on the door and yells for Victor to come out, and Diane asks if he’s sure Victor’s in there. Robert says, he was five minutes ago, and she says, maybe Victor has left the building. Robert tells her that he’s going to kick in the door, and she’s going to find Alexis. She strides off, and he says, what do you know? That’s never worked before.

Felicia wonders why Robert hasn’t called them back, and Anna says, he’s in the middle of something, there’s no update… Valentin says, Eileen can’t still be with Victor, and Anna says she’s worried Eileen is pushing too hard. Victor was already suspicious of her. By now he might have realized she’s working against him. Valentin says, Eileen would turn on them in a heartbeat, and Felicia says, maybe she saw an opportunity and she jumped on it. if she can get Victor’s decryption key, that’s going to make things a lot easier for them. Valentin says, if they still have the real necklace, then they have the advantage because Victor needs it. He’s been looking for it a long time. He can’t move forward without it. Anna says she hopes he hasn’t decided Eileen is standing in his way.

Robert tries using a credit card to slip the lock, when Diane comes back. She says she thought he was kicking the door down, but he says he suddenly remembered he’s not 25 anymore. She says, allow her, and hands him a keycard. He asks where she got it, and she says she found a maid, she borrowed the maid’s master key, and the city needs to reimburse her forty dollars. He tells her, stand back, and opens the door. The room is empty.

On the phone, Anna says, thanks for the update, and tells Valentin, Robert got into Victor’s room. He and Eileen weren’t there; it was empty. Valentin wonders how they got past Robert, but Anna doesn’t know. Service elevator or something? He said there was no sign of a struggle. Felicia says, then Eileen went with him willingly, and Valentin says, either that or they overpowered her and took her out back in a laundry cart. Felicia says, it doesn’t do them any good to assume the worst. Where do they think Victor took her? Anna says, it all depends on whether Eileen blew her cover or not.

Maxie thinks Bobbie is the perfect person to end the Ball, and Bobbie says she’s honored, but there are other nurses deserving of that honor. Maxie asks, what if it causes friction? Whoever they ask, someone else is bound to feel slighted. Bobbie says she doesn’t think they have to worry about that. What the heck. Maybe she should do it anyway. Sasha asks, what changed her mind? and Bobbie says, if anything can bring Lucy back from the grave, it would be seeing Bobbie up on that stage instead of her.

Elizabeth says, she’s been trying to reach Epiphany, but no luck, and Laura says, she’s probably just really busy. She’s probably having the time of her life at Johns Hopkins campus. Elizabeth says she can’t help but feel Epiphany is avoiding her, but Laura says she doesn’t think that’s Epiphany’s style. Scotty says he agrees with Laura. She’s a straight shooter. He knows that from personal experience with Epiphany. Laura says she’s sure Elizabeth will hear from her when she gets back to town. Elizabeth says she hopes so.

Cameron asks if Esme is okay, and she says, perfect. She’s the one who should be leaving town, not him. He says he thinks she’s better off here. Where would she go? She can’t raise Ace by herself. She says, Charlie’s is full of people, but she’s still on her own, but he says, it doesn’t have to be that way. It’s her choice.

Felix asks what kind of lighting Chase is looking for, and Chase says, it’s a love song, so he figured, keep it simple. Felix says, really? Because in his book, there’s nothing simple about love. He does know someone who might have some ideas though. He grabs Brook, and says, they need her two cents. How does she feel about love?

Victor brings Eileen to the footbridge, followed by mystery man, and she asks why he brought her here. Victor says he likes privacy for these kinds of things, and she asks, what kinds of things? Mystery man pushes her up against the railing, and frisks her, and she asks what he’s doing. He takes the flashdrive out of her pocket, and hands it to Victor. Victor says, this doesn’t belong to her, and wonders why he shouldn’t just kill her right now. She says, because she knows things, and he says, such as? She says, Valentin and Anna aren’t dead. They’re alive and in Port Charles.

Felix says he needs some direction for lighting and set design, so let’s get down to the basics. Is it a sad love song or a happy one? Chase tells him, he’d say it was happy, filled with love and optimism. Brook says, is it though? The lyrics are full of yearning. Chase says, and passion, and she says, which you had but lost. He says, not really lost; chemistry doesn’t fade away. She says, it doesn’t fade away, but it can take a wrong turn, and then where are you? You’re lost. He says, hoping to be found again, and Felix says, so lighting for lost and found. He can do that.

In Victor’s room, Diane says she can help Robert look. He’s just got to tell her what they’re looking for. He says, it turns out Eileen was working with Victor. They had a little talk with her, and convinced her to change sides. However, loyalty is not Eileen’s strong point. They’re concerned she may have panicked and told Victor everything. She asks what Victor did, and Robert says, he killed Luke Spencer.

Victor says, his son is alive? And Anna? What about Lucy? Eileen says, she’s alive too. They’re all hiding out in town. He asks, where? but she says she doesn’t know. A safehouse? They always blindfolded her when they took her there. He asks why she stole the flashdrive if the decryption key didn’t work, and she says, because the key wasn’t the problem. The necklace she gave him was a fake. He moves closer to her, and she says she didn’t want to do it. They threatened her. Wait. They have the real necklace, and she can get it for him. She’ll do anything she can to make this right.

Maxie’s phone rings, and she says she wants to ignore this, but it could be Nurses Ball business. It’s Lucy, who says, sorry, sorry. Please don’t hang up. She promises she’ll be as quiet as a mouse. Maxie says she’s so sick of Lucy trashing any idea that’s not her own. They’re all working their butts off here. Lucy says she knows and she’s sorry. It’s just that she cares too much about the Nurses Ball. Maxie says, Lucy has to trust her to do what’s right, and Lucy says she does, but please, Bobbie can’t host in her place. Maxie says, no one is taking Lucy’s place. They all agreed no one person could fill her shoes, so they’re going to have different GH staff members introduce various acts. Lucy asks if she learned nothing from the Daisy Awards. It’s really a terrible idea. Maxie says, call her again, and she’s blocking Lucy for good. Goodbye. She shuts the earpiece off.

Spencer watches Esme rocking Ace, and flashes back to voicing his concerns about Esme taking off with the baby to Victor, and Victor saying, there’s no way in hell Esme is raising a Cassadine heir. Not while there’s a breath left in his body. Cameron tells Spencer, it’s not that bad. They both know grandmother won’t let anything bad happen to Ace. Spencer says he wasn’t thinking about his brother. He was thinking, when Cameron leaves town, there won’t be anyone to keep him in line. Cameron says, what about Trina and Joss? and Spencer says, that’s true, but it’s not going to be the same. He’s going to miss Cameron.

Scotty asks for everybody’s attention. He’s got a few things to say about Cameron. Everybody gathers around, and he says, he and Cameron aren’t related by blood, but he certainly considers Cameron family. He’s had a tough year, but he’s kept his chin up. Now Stanford has him; their loss. So good luck. He shakes Cameron’s hand, and says, he loves Cameron. He puts his hand up like he’s whispering, and says he’s got something for Cameron’s wallet. Cameron thanks him, and Elizabeth says she’s so proud of Cameron, hugging him. He says he loves her, and she says she loves him too. Cameron thanks everyone, and begins his goodbye hug tour. Esme tells him that Laura’s offered to take her and Ace home, so they’re going to be leaving now, but she thanks him for inviting them. It just figures that the one person who’s been nice to her is leaving town. He says his grandma’s been nice to her, and she says, true. She does have an ulterior motive. He says, she’s not like that, when Laura comes over. She hugs him, and says she’s going to miss him so much. He’s a very, very special young man. He’s her soccer star. He thanks her and says he loves her. She says she’ll bring Esme’s stuff to the car, and Esme follows her out, Scotty opening the door.

Felix says he knows Brook and Chase used to be a couple. Is that going to be a problem here? Brook says, no, and Chase says, they’ll get it done. Felix walks out, and Chase follows him.

Bobbie says, the show order is set, and Maxie says, this Nurses Ball is going to be special. Worthy of GH’s 60th anniversary.

Lucy says, it’s simply madness not to have one host. You need that person to tie everything together; keep the evening moving. This is bad. This is really bad. This is not going to work. She has to be there. The Nurses Ball needs her.

Cameron thanks Elizabeth for the party; it was a lovely send-off. She says, everyone wanted a chance to say goodbye and tell him how much they love him. He says, it’s strange. He hates that he’s leaving, but he can’t wait to get there. (That’s a perfect way of describing leaving home for the first time. If you liked living there.) She says she knows. He’s going to love it there, but she’s going to miss him. He says he’s going to miss her too, and they hug.

Anna’s phone rings, and she says, it’s Eileen. She asks if Eileen is all right. Is she still with Victor? On the footbridge with Victor and mystery man watching, Eileen says she’s sorry. She thought she could get the decryption key, but it didn’t work out. Valentin asks if she’s compromised. Does Victor know the necklace was a fake? Eileen looks at Victor, who nods, and she says, no. Victor didn’t suspect anything. Anna says, and she’s all right? Just don’t go against orders again. Eileen says she can’t do this anymore. She’s out. Anna says, don’t forget the evidence they have against her, but Eileen says her life is ruined already. She’s leaving town, and she’s going to get as far away from Victor Cassadine as possible. Anna says, just calm down, and Victor disconnects the call. Eileen says she did what Victor wanted, and he says, well done. Now there’s just one more little thing.

Valentin says, they lost Eileen, and Anna says, she sounded terrified. She just hopes Eileen is halfway to the Canadian border by now. Felicia says, if Victor didn’t suspect her, he will when she goes missing. Anna says, at least they have the real necklace. As long as they have that, they still stand a chance.

Eileen says, Victor promised he’d help her get out of town, away from Anna’s reach, and he strokes her hair, saying, he promises she won’t have to worry about Anna Devane again. He flings her over the side of the bridge, with one hand no less, and she yells like a cartoon character going over a cliff.

Cameron tells Elizabeth, goodnight. He loves her. She says she loves him more. He leaves, and the pub is empty except for a few employees. Elizabeth calls Epiphany’s number. State Trooper Carlson answers, and Elizabeth says she’s trying to reach Epiphany Johnson. He says he’s very sorry, but he has bad news about her friend. We don’t hear him, but we see Elizabeth’s face as he talks, and it makes me want to cry. She sits down at the bar, and closes her eyes.

Tomorrow, Marshall says, this was all his fault; Robert says, General Hospital’s lost one of its best; Diane tells Obrecht that some forms must be completed today; and Willow says she’s right where she needs to be.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey

Last week, Danielle left the party after hearing her name one too many times. Teresa and Jennifer left with her, and in the limo, Danielle said she’d opened up, and now she was being talked about. The one person they didn’t want to have as an enemy was her.

Everyone struggles to wake up. Jennifer makes a huge breakfast for her guests, and tells them Rachel is having brunch later. Saddle up; it’s going to be a long afternoon. Among the three houses, there are various conversations involving Danielle and her brother. Jackie thinks something is missing from the story, and Dolores doesn’t think the rift is because Danielle blocked him, but she doesn’t know what it is. In Rachel’s interview, she says she likes Danielle. Danielle has the things she looks for in a friend, but it feels like a link in the chain is missing. Danielle says, Rachel is a sh*t starter, and she didn’t like that Rachel repeated the things she said. In Danielle’s interview, she says she saw Danielle as a new friend. Now Marge is mad at her because of what Rachel told her. Because she hasn’t played victim for a minute, Teresa says, they were making her feel bad because she didn’t invite Melissa’s mom to the wedding. In Melissa’s interview, she says, how dare Teresa paint the picture that her mother doesn’t deserve to be there? and Marge says, Louie went looking for Melissa’s mom to apologize. Melissa wonders if that’s coming from a genuine place. Does he believe Teresa is wrong? Joe #3 says, Louie makes himself look good, but he knows what’s up. In Joe #2’s interview, he says, in the beginning, he was happy about Louie, and a producer asks if something happened. Joe says, yes. In Teresa’s interview, a producer asks how it started, and Teresa says she kept her mouth shut to protect her brother and keep the peace. She tells everyone at Jennifer’s house that there was a business dealing, and Louie lost a quarter million dollars. In her interview, she says, Joe had an idea for a pizza oven, and Louie put out $250,000. He discussed it with an attorney, and they came up with the figure of 5% to give Joe, but Joe wanted 50%. She asked him if he put up the money. They ended up not doing it, and Louie took the loss. We see a clip of Melissa telling Tiki and Traci Barber that Louie acted like a knight in shining armor. In Joe’s interview, he says he didn’t want to talk, but if Teresa’s talking… It was his idea to honor his father; they were calling it Nonno Pizza. He ordered the ovens, and Louie put up the money. He figured he’d give Teresa 50%. Then his nephew showed him that Teresa and her girls had posted a photo shoot, something about Skinny Pizza. This was between him and Louie, so he called Louie, and Louie gave him lip, with his sister in the background, yelling, did he put up the money? It was his idea. At the pseudo shore house, Melissa says she thinks Teresa is just so selfish, she doesn’t want to share, and Joe says, it became ugly. Marge says, Teresa puts things in place that they can’t recover from, and in Melissa’s interview, she says she was so hopeful for a new beginning for Joe, and they stole it from her. She tears up, and says she feels bad for everyone that it’s getting to this point.

In Rachel’s interview, she says she goes above and beyond with everything, even planning parties. She’s a perfectionist in a bad way. She likes to make it more of an experience, and she can’t have John on the grill, or they’ll be eating charcoal patties. A giant clamshell with a live mermaid is set up, and in Jen’s interview, she says she doesn’t get the extra stuff. Teresa had a girl in a bubble – we flash back to that – and Rachel has a woman holding a bubble. She doesn’t know why all the Disney characters at parties, but it’s working. Since they have nothing to talk about except each other, Jackie says she thinks Jennifer is trying to be tough, but she’s not happy. She and Bill are fighting over how to raise the kids. In Dolores’s interview, she says, no matter how much Jennifer pissed her off, she thought she’d been a good friend to Jennifer. Jennifer had done a lot to her, but she doesn’t want problems for her and Bill; she likes them as a couple. If she ever cares for someone, there’s always a piece of her that still does. Some of the guests take a look at John’s stripped chest, and Joe #2 says, he couldn’t initiate Louie that way; he’d be crying. Evan shows them an Instagram post from Louie with Bill and Nate, where Louie is talking about God and forgiveness. In Joe #2’s interview, he says, maybe Louie should try teaching his fiancé forgiveness before trying to teach the world. Touché. They make their own video, and Joe says, last night was a great night. God told him to wax somebody. There’s heaping platters of wondrous barbecue and sides, and more talk about Teresa not inviting Melissa’s mother to the wedding. Melissa wonders, who doesn’t do something just because it’s the right thing to do? even though she knows the answer is, Teresa. Jen says, Danielle was upset about them talking behind her back, and Marge says, Danielle was talking behind her back.

In Marge’s interview, she says she doesn’t even want to have a conversation with Jennifer; she might catch on fire from the polyester. I’m not sure what that means. Is it highly flammable? Plus, it’s not 1970. Polyester is pretty amazing today. Dolores says, Paulie’s blood pressure was high, and he wasn’t feeling well, and Joe #2 asked what Dolores was doing to him. Jennifer suggests she and Marge get together some time, and Marge looks at her like she has two heads, as would I. In Danielle’s interview, she says she’s so mad, her brain is going to explode, and I wonder if I should get popcorn. She says, what everyone is hearing from Rachel isn’t true, and she doesn’t like holding things in. Marge tells Danielle that she was taken aback that Danielle would think she’s coming for her, and told Rachel that she had an arsenal. Danielle says she didn’t mean it that way, and she’s irritated that Rachel tried to create a divide. She calls Rachel over, and asks why Rachel said she claimed Marge was on the attack. Rachel corrects her, and says, Danielle told her that Marge had an arsenal of information. Danielle asks why Rachel is throwing her under the bus, and Rachel says, but that’s what Danielle told her. Marge asks if Danielle believes what anyone she had an argument with says about her, and Danielle says, Rachel is making her the bad guy when she was laughing about it at the time. Rachel asks what she said that was wrong, but Danielle can’t come up with anything. In Rachel’s interview, she says, Rachel is pissed and trying to throw her under the bus when she said nothing. Danielle says she was just repeating third party info, but Marge says, you can’t repeat things that aren’t true. It’s high school – graduate. In Danielle’s interview, she says she thought she and Rachel had a kumbaya thing going on. Now she’s seeing a different side, and she’s disappointed Rachel took advantage of their conversation and threw her under the bus.

Jackie asks if Dolores is okay, since she’d walked away from the conversation with Frank. Dolores says, it’s a touchy subject. She isn’t worried about Frank, and doesn’t want to hear it. In Dolores’s interview, she says, the women should worry about putting Paulie on a pedestal since that’s what these bitches have wanted for her for years.

Jen tells Teresa that she loves how Louie wants to make everything good, and Teresa says, if Joe #2 would have just called her about inviting his mother-in-law, she would have been receptive. If he had a problem, he should have called her. He’s making a mountain out of a mole hole [sic]. Louie asks to talk to Melissa, while the invitation conversation continues with Teresa. Louie takes Melissa’s hand and says he means this sincerely. The wedding is beautiful, but there are also bombs going off. Danielle joins Teresa’s table, and says she’s mad because they were all talking sh*t about her brother. When they were at Jen’s house, she was honest, and that should have been good enough. Jen says, she didn’t understand. If that’s what actually happened, it’s cuckoo. Danielle swears that’s what happened, and Jackie tells her, it didn’t make sense. Danielle says, after she blocked him, he called her like a raging maniac, and Jackie asks, what’s the rest of the story? Danielle wonders why she has to be villainized, and says she’s done explaining herself. She walks off, and in Marge’s interview, she says, Danielle is a drama queen, which I thought was a requirement to be in the franchise. In Danielle’s interview, she says, what they’re coming at her with is heartbreaking. They’re calling her out as a liar; everything she’s not. It would have hurt less if they’d sucker punched her.

In Marge’s interview, she says, Danielle was talking sh*t about her non-stop, and is she leaving? Maybe she should call Danielle’s brother and sister-in-law. They must have stories she can put in her arsenal. Rachel suggests Teresa should have invited Melissa’s mother out of respect, and Teresa snaps that she doesn’t know the whole story. Rachel tells her, the right thing to do is the right thing to do, regardless of the story, and in her interview, she says, Teresa created her own problem. Teresa interrupts Louie and Melissa’s conversation, and says she wants to know what Melissa’s problem is. Melissa tells her that she said she had issues with Melissa’s mom. Teresa tells her that she said there was a history with Melissa’s family. Louie keeps trying to tell Teresa that she interrupted, and finally says he doesn’t care if God came down and gave her a message. In Melissa’s interview, she says, there are two sides to Louie. He wants to look like the good guy who wants to fix it, but he can’t control his anger. It’s like the guy he wants to be, and the guy he really is. Joe #2 comes by, and Louie asks him to sit down. He says he’d love to have Melissa’s mom at the wedding, and Melissa says she wasn’t being judgmental; she was hurt. Louie says, Teresa was hurt too, which is the standard answer. He says they’re getting married in a month, and he wants peace, but Melissa says, Teresa is causing it all. Back at the table, Teresa tells everyone that Melissa has daddy issues, and Jackie asks if she doesn’t think that’s mean to say to someone who lost their dad at 16. Teresa responds by telling her, get out! like any well-adjusted person would. In Teresa’s interview, she justifies her comment by saying, Melissa had admitted she had daddy issues, so she had a leash on Teresa’s brother. Teresa tells Jackie not to get involved in her family’s sh*t, and Melissa decides to go see why the women are screaming. Louie asks if he and Joe can talk like they’re not back in the past. He lives with Joe’s four nieces, and wears Joe’s father’s pajamas to make them feel safe and loved.😐Teresa comes back, but Joe says she’s not in the right frame of mind. Louie tries to get them to talk using a pillow as a talking stick, but this works not at all. Teresa asks why Joe didn’t just call her instead of telling strangers their business.   She would have invited Melissa’s mother in a heartbeat. While this is a super valid point, it’s coming from Teresa, so we know it would have made zero difference. Joe says, when she decided not to put them in the wedding, he’d called Louie and Gia, and asked them to tell her not to do this to Melissa. Teresa says she was so mad. She felt that they should have had her back more last year. We flashed back to Teresa berating Melissa for letting Marge talk behind her back about her boyfriend, and screaming at Joe for not being on her side. She says, if Joe wanted peace and for them to be in the wedding, he should have had her back more. Melissa comes back, and asks if they’re kumbaya-ing, and Teresa says she wanted Melissa to tell Marge to STFU. Melissa insists she did, and says, Teresa should have stuck up for Joe when Jennifer was talking about him. Joe says he’s not understanding who she is, and Teresa says she’s going. She gets up, and Melissa says, when Teresa is wrong, she takes off. Teresa runs away, screeching at Louie, fix it! Seriously, WTF with this woman? And Louie wears her dad’s PJs? I hope he washed them.

Melissa says, Teresa has deep hate in her heart, and in a puff of smoke, Teresa reappears. Joe asks, if she’s so happy, why is she so mean? He’s been happy for years. Teresa says she doesn’t think so. If he was happy he’d want to see this beautiful family. Melissa says, Teresa is the one who kept them out of the family; not the other way around. We flash back to Teresa backing up Jennifer, and calling Joe a bitch boy at the Reunion. Joe suggests he and Melissa go home, and says, they’re Teresa’s biggest disappointment in life. Teresa says, he can change that, and Joe says they’ll go to therapy, and addresses Teresa as the matriarch of our family. I think of my Aunt Agnes, matriarch of an Italian family, and how she’d probably smack Teresa silly after chasing her around the kitchen with a broom. In Jennifer’s interview, she says, any opportunity that Joe and Melissa have to make Teresa look bad, they double down on it. Melissa has a sweet face, and gets away with it like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Marge and Danielle sit with Teresa and Louie, and Teresa tells Marge to make Melissa understand. Louie says he can’t take this. Teresa has to listen. She’s always talking and not listening; neither is her brother. Joe finds out he’s stuck behind Louie’s car, and comes back to ask Louie to move. He wonders why they’re sitting with Marge, since she supposedly was the cause of their problems. Louie tells him, stop, it’s not worth it, and Joe says, no matter what, he and Melissa do everything wrong. Teresa tells Marge that Melissa should want to make it better. She and Joe aren’t happy, because if Melissa was a good woman, she’d make it better between her and Joe. Marge asks if this is the life Teresa wants. Louie goes to move his car, and Melissa says she hasn’t done half the things Teresa accuses her of. In Melissa’s interview, she says, Louie also contributed. He can stop preaching. She’s good. Louie says he loves them, and wants them to be part of his and Teresa’s lives. Louie says, they can’t get back yesterday, since he gets his wisdom from motivational posters, and he thinks their family is going to learn the hard way. Teresa tells Marge, if Joe wants to be a part of her wedding, be a part of it. If not, God bless him. Which I think is similar to the southern, bless your heart.

This season, parties; a trip to Ireland, and a haunted castle; drinking; chickens; Rachel wants to adopt Jaiden; Danielle tells Melissa that someone claims to have seen her with another man; and Marge says, Danielle is a sh*t starter, which I also thought was a franchise requirement.

⛹️‍♀️ Full Court Pressing On…

Stop in again tomorrow for soap and some choice leaves of tea. Until then, stay safe, stay valuing your individuality, and stay doing things because they’re the right things to do.

Mar28

March 27, 2023 – Victor’s Plans Are Thwarted, Danielle Encourages Lindsay To Be Her Old Worse Awful Self, Our Boat Daddy & Parts

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Spencer says he’s here to pick up Trina, and Trina says she’s heading out, but Marshall asks, what’s the rush? He invites Spencer in, and says he thinks they’re overdue for a chat.

Esme picks Ace up, and says, this is it. Grandmother Mayor be on the up and up, but she’s not willing to wait around and find out. She puts the money Laura gave her into her knapsack, picks it up, and opens the door, but Cameron is there, his hand raised to knock. He says, going somewhere?

A sign hangs in Charlie’s that says, Good Luck, Cameron, and Elizabeth writes out a card at one of the tables. Laura comes in, and asks how Elizabeth is holding up. Elizabeth says, letting go is hard, and Laura hugs her.

Anna tells Valentin that she thinks they should have heard from Eileen. She must have delivered the necklace by now. Valentin says, maybe she’s struck in traffic. Just give it time. They don’t have to assume the worst… yet. Eileen will convince him the necklace is real, and he’ll see the false code they engraved. Once he’s done that, he’ll make his move.

Victor looks at the necklace with a jeweler’s loupe, and Eileen asks what he’s looking for. He says, something’s missing, and she asks, what? He says, the key, turns the necklace, and says, that’s more like it. She says, he has what he needs, so are they done here? He says, to the contrary. They’re just getting started.

Anna tells Valentin that she’s convinced these codes are coordinates, but they’re not going to know until Victor takes the bait, and there’s no guarantee he’s going to fall for these fake codes. He could easily figure out someone’s trying to set him up. She has to say, she’s not in love with Eileen being their asset. Valentin says, there’s still the element of surprise. As far as Victor knows, they’re dead, and Drew Cain is completely above suspicion. He’s out of the loop. She says, it does give them the advantage, but they have to be ready for any kind of complication, and he says, one of them is taking an epic bubble bath as they speak. They just have to stay vigilant; they may have to improvise.

Eileen says she’s due back at city hall – good luck – but Victor says, city hall can wait. He’s spent years of blood, sweat, and tears to get to this moment. Surely she wants to witness it. She says she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t curious to know exactly what this is all about, and don’t call her Shirley, and he says, of course (🍷) she is, and she deserves some answers. He writes down the codes, puts the necklace back in the box, and hands it to her, saying, all hers. Call it a thank you gift. She says, this is worth millions. Doesn’t he want it? He says, fencing stolen jewelry really isn’t his style, and she says, but she’s a public official. She really doesn’t know what to do with that. He says, return it to the PCPD secure lock-up for all he cares, and she says, if he doesn’t want the necklace, what is he doing? He says, just saving the world.

Trina says, they have to go to Cam’s party early, so they can help set-up, but Marshall says, this won’t take long. Besides, didn’t she tell him that she had to get some photos ready for the party? He’s already had lunch. He promises he won’t bite. Trina tells Spencer that she won’t  be long, and goes upstairs. Marshall asks if Spencer wants to sit, and Spencer says, he knows Marshall and Trina’s family and most of Trina’s friends don’t approve of their friendship. Marshall says, except Spencer and Trina are more than just friends, aren’t they? Which changes everything.

Laura asks how the boys are dealing with their brother moving across the country, and Elizabeth says, they’re trying not to make a big deal out of it, but she can tell they’re sorry to see him go. Laura says, they’re not the only ones. She can’t imagine walking into Kelly’s and not seeing him there. Elizabeth says, it’s all she can do not to fall apart when she thinks of putting him on a plane to California. She knows it’s an incredible opportunity and a full scholarship. He’ll be playing division one soccer, and she wants him to live a full and happy life, but she wishes he was closer. Is that selfish? Laura says, no, it’s understandable. He’s her baby. Elizabeth says she wants him here where she can keep an eye on him, and Laura says she knows the feeling. They need to talk about Nikolas.

Esme says she doesn’t have to answer to Cameron. What she does is none of his business. He says he thinks it is; this is his grandmother’s house. She says, he’s Cameron Webber? Another one of Laura’s grandsons, and another one of her victims. Allegedly. He asks if that’s what her lawyers told her to say; allegedly. Actually. She actually ruined his life. She actually recorded him and his girlfriend having sex, and sent it to the whole university. She actually humiliated them, and turned what should have been a beautiful moment in their relationship into something awful. Now she doesn’t remember the hell she put him and his friends through because she lost her memory… allegedly. She tells him, come on in, and tell her more about the horrible person she was. He follows her back in, and she says she really doesn’t remember doing that, but he seems pretty adamant, so if she did, she’s really sorry. She hopes he and his girlfriend are all right. He says he doesn’t need her fake apologies; they mean nothing to him. She says, obviously, he’s angry, and she gets why he loves seeing her here, just out of prison and at the mercy of people she doesn’t trust. Karma’s a bitch, right?

Maxie sees Josslyn outside Kelly’s, and says she’s so happy she ran into her. Josslyn says, let her guess. Maxie wants to talk to her about the Nurses Ball. Maxie asks if she’s ever told Josslyn how smart she is, but Josslyn says, there’s no need to butter her up. Her grandmother told her that Maxie is trying to get everything together for the hospital’s 60th. Anything Maxie needs, she’s in. Maxie says, great, so she’ll perform, and Josslyn says, except that. She can do phone calls and decorations… Maxie says, anybody can do that stuff. She needs talent. Josslyn’s performance in 2020 was a huge hit. (So huge, I don’t remember it.) She can practically hear Lucy screaming, I need Josslyn Jax! Josslyn says, performing is really Cam’s thing, and it would feel really weird to do it without him, and Maxie says, it’s really unfortunate Cameron is leaving before the Ball, but she could perform with Trina, right? Josslyn says, that would depend on Trina, and Maxie says, think positive. And all the performers get a plus-one. Josslyn sees Dex come into the courtyard.

Eileen says she doesn’t understand. Victor said this was the necklace that would lead him to the place he’s been searching for. Victor says, the necklace is merely the conduit to the key. The code that’s engraved on the diamond is the key that unlocks the door. She says, to saving the world? and Victor says, many years ago, he and his brothers, Stavros and Mikkos, had the means of putting the world back to right. He thought at the time they were all motivated by the same idea; mitigating the harm humanity’s done to the world. What he came to understand was, Mikkos was largely motivated by power and money. He tried to make Mikkos see sense, but by then Luke Spencer showed up with Laura and ruined everything. Now they’re running out of time. He sits down and opens his laptop, and she asks how he intends to pull them from the brink; with that code? He says, they were aware their plan may well be thwarted, so they came up with a contingency. Mikkos had the code engraved on the back of the diamond, which he now has. All that remains is for him to crack the code. Eileen flashes back to Valentin saying, this isn’t over until they crack the code and find out what it’s for, and Anna saying, until they know what Victor is after, none of them are free. Eileen asks Victor how he plans to do that.

Josslyn and Dex say hello, and Maxie asks, who’s Josslyn’s friend? Dex introduces himself, and says he works for Sonny. Maxie introduces herself, and says she was just talking to Josslyn about the Nurses Ball. His boss is one of their biggest supporters. He says, Mr. Corinthos is quite charitable, and Maxie says she’s chairing the event this year, and is actually still looking to beef up one of their more popular acts. Does he dance? He says, not in public, but Maxie says, don’t sell himself short. She’s sure he has the pecs… pipes… chops. She asks Josslyn to tell him how fun it is, and Dex asks if Josslyn sings. Maxie says, she brings the house down every year; she’s excellent. He says, so she’s performing, and Josslyn tells Maxie that she didn’t say that. Josslyn says, don’t let them keep her, and Maxie says, okay, but she’s not done with either one of them. She’s going to get some caffeine. Don’t go anywhere. She goes inside, and Josslyn says, Dex enjoyed that a little too much. He says he didn’t know she sang, and she says, there’s a lot he doesn’t know about her. There’s a lot she doesn’t know about him. I’d say so, since they’ve known each other only all of five minutes.

Cameron thought Esme was staying at Kelly’s, but she says, that would require Ace staying here with Spencer and Laura, and she won’t be separated from her son. He’s all that she has. He asks why she was leaving then, and she says, they were just taking a walk. He says, it’s kind of cold out for a baby, but she says, babies need fresh air. He says, the old Esme was better at lying than she is, and she says, okay, he caught her. But he’s not going to rat her out to his grandmother, is he? By the way, she’s not here. Maybe they were testing her with this. She obviously failed. He says he didn’t come to see his grandmother; he came to see Spencer. She says, great. Now Spencer has more ammunition to take Ace away from her. Cameron asks if she can blame Spencer for wanting to protect his baby brother, and she says, he doesn’t need to protect Ace from her. Why doesn’t Spencer believe her? So Cameron’s not going to believe her either. She’s sure he loves seeing her taking care of her baby instead of in prison, but he says he’s actually not that mad about it. Especially since he’s part of the reason she’s free.

Spencer says he knows what Marshall is thinking, and Marshall says, enlighten him. Spencer says, when Marshall sees him, all he sees is the guy who hurt Trina, more than once, and Marshall says, no need to rehash it. Spencer says, but he does, every day. He lives with the regret of hurting Trina and hates himself for it, but he does care about her. He understands Marshall is reluctant, and doesn’t blame Marshall for wanting to keep him away from her. Marshall’s thinking Spencer doesn’t deserve her, but he’s honest with himself about what he did, and the kind of person he was, and he’s trying to be a better man. He knows Marshall has no reason to believe him… Marshall says, that’s where he’s wrong. Stop beating himself up before he knocks himself out. He knows Spencer is trying. He’s been steady support for Trina, with her mother and Curtis, and before them, with Rory. Now Trina tells him that Spencer is stepping up to fight for his baby brother. Despite what Spencer may think, he can appreciate Spencer for that.

Laura says she doesn’t blame Elizabeth. She just wishes Elizabeth had trusted her enough to tell her what was going on with Nikolas. When they made her aware of Elizabeth’s immunity deal, she realized Elizabeth had gotten involved with this right after she came back from seeing her parents. Elizabeth was in a very vulnerable state, and Nikolas shouldn’t have put her in that position. Elizabeth thanks Laura for her understanding, but says she owns what she did. She shouldn’t have gone along with his plan, especially once they realized Esme wasn’t The Hook killer, but by then, they were in so deep… Laura asks why Elizabeth didn’t come to her. Elizabeth can trust her; she knows that. Elizabeth says she does, but she didn’t want to bring anyone else in and make them an accomplice. Laura’s not only the boys’ grandmother, she’s the mayor. She didn’t want to bring Laura into this mess. And more than that, she values Laura’s opinion of her. She was ashamed of what she’d done, and didn’t tell Laura because she didn’t want Laura ashamed of her too. Laura says she’s not ashamed of Elizabeth. She’s proud of Elizabeth’s courage. Elizabeth stepped forward to take care of this thing, when Nikolas left her holding the bag. Elizabeth says, Laura’s still his mom and she knows Laura really loves him. It must be hard not knowing where he is. Laura says, it is, but she honestly doesn’t know what to do with Nikolas anymore; he keeps falling back into the same trap. He makes a rash decision, then he tries to cover it up, and then he runs away. If he felt able to confide in her, he’d be here right now. He’d be with his two sons instead of who knows where; possibly indebted to Victor. She’s sorry. She shouldn’t be doing this right now. Nikolas made the choices he made, and now they’re left to deal with the consequences. Elizabeth says, or in her case, almost no consequences.

Spencer tells Marshall, that was the last thing he expected to hear, but Marshall says, don’t get used to it. But seeing him stepping up for his baby brother, Marshall can’t be anything but appreciative. Spencer thanks him, and says, it means more than he knows. Marshall says, Spencer’s baby brother is one thing; Trina is a whole ‘nother thing. He’s not going to say he doesn’t have concerns about Spencer being with Trina, especially after all this mess with Esme. Spencer says he understands, but hopes he can get Marshall to believe he wants what’s best for Trina. He’s trying to be a better man for both her and his brother. Marshall says he’s glad Spencer wants to be better for the people he cares about, but in his experience, you have to want it for yourself. Looking for validation on the outside will only lead you back to your old patterns. Or worse still, down the wrong path altogether. Trina is willing to go to great lengths for Spencer. Marshall had better see her faith in Spencer rewarded.

Cameron says, he and his friends didn’t want the DA to prosecute Esme. It was Trina who pushed for it. So she contacted her attorney Diane Miller to intervene. She then spoke to the DA to ask him to drop all the charges. Esme asks why she’d do that? Don’t they all hate her? He says, if she were going to trial now without her memories, the jury might find her not guilty. Then if she got them back, they wouldn’t be able to try her again. She says, so this isn’t about grace. It’s about keeping her in check so she can still be convicted. He says, it’s also about keeping Ace out of prison, and she says, right. Spencer’s baby brother. He and Cameron are cousins and friends. She guesses Cameron would do anything for him, and Cameron says, pretty much. Spencer needs this for his baby brother, and he’s willing to wait to see her brought to justice. Sorry if it sounds insensitive. She says, it definitely does, but she thinks it just might be the first honest thing anyone’s said to her since she got back.

Anna and Valentin cuddle on the couch, and Anna says she can’t stand not knowing what’s going on with Eileen. Why couldn’t she just wear the bloody wire? He says, there’s nothing they can do about it now. Will she humor him? She says, yeah, and he says, it occurs to him that if everything goes according to plan, they’ll be heading home, resuming their normal lives. What is the first thing she’s going to do? She says she’s going to the airport and she’s going to book herself a ticket to the bay area so she can see Robin, Emma, and Noah, and she’s going to give them the biggest hug they’ve ever had in their lives. What about him? He says he’ll probably take a road trip with Charlotte, check a couple boxes off the bucket list while reconnecting with his teenage daughter; then dive head first into ELQ, and build some serious generational wealth. She says, it’s interesting. It seems like after all these months together, once they go home, they’re not going to be spending so much time in each other’s lives.

Victor tells Eileen, the trick was to track down the encryption key, but he finally – he digs in his pocket and brings out a flashdrive – managed it. All he needed then was the Ice Princess itself. But by the time he acquired that, Luke Spencer had already sold off several pieces. It took another several years to find the right piece, but now, finally, he has everything he needs to complete what he set out to do. (Does he even what that is?) She says, saving the world, and he says, and securing a place for his family and their progeny. But saving the world comes at a cost. She asks what he means, and he says he can insure the future of his family, but countless other souls will have to pay the price… possibly for generations to come.

Josslyn says she didn’t expect to see Dex back at Kelly’s so soon, and he says he was hoping she was still around. She asks, what happened to keeping their distance? and he says, it’s harder than it sounds. He just wanted to see how she was holding up. Cameron was a little intense earlier. She asks what he said, and Dex says, just that he cares about her and doesn’t want to see her hurt. She asks what Dex said, and he tells her that he said he cares about her too, when Maxie comes back out.

😐 Sorry, there’s a gap here. Circumstances beyond my control. Cameron starts to tell Esme about someone who was even worse than she was, but was redeemed.

Cameron says, after a while, they thought he wouldn’t be able to come back from any of it, but he stuck around and made a life for himself. Not only did he find acceptance, he found love, and a family too. She says, he’s not talking about himself, is he? but he says, no. He’s talking about his stepfather… and her brother.

Trina comes downstairs, and tells Spencer that she even has the photos on a flashdrive. He thanks Marshall, and says, it was illuminating. Marshall tells them to have fun tonight, and be careful. He leaves, and Trina says, be honest. Did Marshall put Spencer’s feet to the fire? He says, they’re a little smoky, but he’s good, and Trina says she’ll talk to him. Spencer says, not necessary. Marshall was honest and wise, and gave him a lot to think about; a whole new perspective. She says, on what? and he says, us.

Eileen asks what kind of cost Victor is talking about, but he tells her not to worry. He won’t forget her contribution. She’ll be taken care of. He puts the flashdrive in, and says, now all he has to do is enter the code engraved on the back of the Ice Princess into the program, and the program will decrypt that code and turn it into a set of coordinates. The laptop beeps, and he says, wait a minute. That can’t be right. She asks, what’s going on? and he says, she betrayed him.

Elizabeth tells Laura not to misunderstand. She’s incredibly grateful the DA gave her immunity. She needs her job. She has three boys to provide for, two of which still need her on a daily basis. It would have been incredibly irresponsible of her to jeopardize their well-being. Laura says, Elizabeth doesn’t have to convince her, but it sounds like she’s trying to convince herself. Does she think she’s feeling guilty because she didn’t pay a high enough price? Elizabeth says, maybe. In hindsight, she doesn’t know how she didn’t see what a colossal mistake she was making. In the beginning, she thought she was doing the right thing. Then it started to spiral and got away from her. People got hurt, and Liesl lost Britt, and she knows she’s going to encounter more people who think she deserves to be behind bars. Laura says, Elizabeth can’t concern herself with that or them, and Elizabeth says she’s already hurt so many people she cares about. Laura and Cameron, even Epiphany. Elizabeth hasn’t heard a peep from her. She knows Epiphany is busy visiting Johns Hopkins,  but she can’t help feeling there’s a deeper reason for Epiphany’s silence. Laura hugs her and says, Elizabeth made a mistake. Everybody makes them. What’s important is how they move forward. Elizabeth didn’t disappoint her. She didn’t disappoint Cameron. And Laura would bet money she didn’t disappoint Epiphany. The people who love her still love her.

Spencer says he’s not sure, but Trina says she is. He deserves to be happy. He says, she makes him very happy, and the only thing he knows for sure is that he wants her in his life. He moves closer, and she says, that’s a relief. She has no plans of going anywhere. They kiss, and Marshall comes in, clearing his throat. He tells them, the party isn’t going to decorate itself, and Spencer says, he’s right. They should get going. He goes to the door, but Trina hangs back, and tells Marshall, whatever he told Spencer, thank you. He says he always has her back, and kisses her forehead. She leaves, and Spencer tells Marshall, adieu. Marshall says, adieu to you too, Cassadine.

Josslyn goes into Kelly’s, and sees Elizabeth. She says she’s sorry. She thought Trina would be here already. Elizabeth says, it’s nice to see her, and Josslyn says, it’s nice to see Elizabeth too. She brought Cam’s favorite pretzels. Elizabeth says, that’s nice of her (everything’s nice!), and Josslyn says, she’s really sorry she hurt Cam. She doesn’t blame Elizabeth if she’s relieved that Cameron is getting far away from her.

Cameron says, Franco was Heather’s son, which makes him Esme’s half-brother. He died. She says, great. So the one family member who would understand how she feels is gone. He says, maybe Franco can still help her. Franco worked very hard to prove his haters wrong. he rebuilt his life here in Port Charles. He knew Franco very well, and would be happy to tell her about him before he goes. She says, he’s going somewhere? and he says he got into Stanford. Ace starts fussing, and she says she was just starting to like him. She gets up to tend to the baby, and he says, there’s plenty of other people to like. She says she hasn’t met them yet, but she’s pretty sure there’s nothing for her in Port Charles. He says, she has her son, and a very generous support system, but she says, Spencer is just trying to take her baby from her, and everyone in this town is Team Spencer. Except for her mother, who’s in an insane asylum. He says, if she skips town now, she really has no one. How is she supposed to prove to everyone she’s a changed person if she leaves town the first chance she gets? She says, he has some valid points, when his phone beeps. He says he has somewhere to go. Is she going to be okay? She says, he’s been honest with her so far. He doesn’t have to act like he cares. They’ll be fine; she promises. He can go.

Eileen says she doesn’t understand, and Victor says, this program should have revealed a set of coordinates, but there’s no way these figures are right, which can only mean the encryption key or the diamond itself have been tampered with. Where exactly did she find this necklace? She says, the secure evidence locker. She bribed a police officer to let her in. He says, she told him that she thought Robert and Laura might be on to her. Is it possible they knew she was about to retrieve the necklace? She says she doesn’t think so. She went in immediately after the officer gave her access. There wasn’t time to inform Laura or Robert, or do anything with the necklace. He tells her not to lie to him, but she says she would never. What about the key? Is he sure his brother didn’t do something with the decryption key? He says he supposes it’s possible Mikkos betrayed him, and if this is the first time he’s thought about that, maybe he’s not the dude for this job. He says, perhaps the code was never meant to reveal anything to anyone but Mikkos. Selfish bastard. Taking his secret to the grave. He throws the flashdrive down, and says, dammit. Eileen eyeballs the flashdrive.

Valentin says he doesn’t like the idea of not seeing Anna every night. So once they settle in with their children, he’d like to know what’s next for them. She asks what he thinks that looks like, and he says, after spending multiple days not getting out of that amazing bed of hers? She says, it’s not very practical, and he says, practicality’s overrated. Is there something she’s not saying? She says, ever since they decided to make a go of it and get together, Victor’s been in their way. She thinks if they’re successful in putting him away, the future will look quite different. He says, yeah. If Victor’s no longer an issue, it will be much better. She tells him, that’s easy to say now, but what if, in a few months’ time, he’ll be itching for excitement or an adventure? He says he’s not a danger freak. Look who’s talking. Any time they’re together, whether they’re cheating death or chasing whoever, or at the market, looking for the perfect papaya… She says she’s not a fan of papaya (me neither), but he says, his point is this. She’s his greatest adventure. She’s the only one he needs.  

Anna decides to call Eileen. Victor paces, and says, after all these years, he’s come too far… No, no, no. He won’t be denied again. Eileen’s phone rings, and she tells Victor, the DA’s office. She says she’s in the middle of a meeting, and already told them she needs more time before getting back to the office. Anna says, time’s up. She’s out now. Keeping one eye on the flashdrive, Eileen says she’s sorry; she can’t. Valentin asks, what’s going on? and Anna says, she’s about to blow up the whole operation.

Elizabeth says she knows Cameron is hurting; Josslyn meant a lot to him. But they can mean a lot to each other as friends, and she’s pulling for that. Josslyn says, her too, and she knows how badly he wants this. She’s happy for him, but it’s hard with him leaving. There’s already this weird distance between them. Elizabeth says she has faith the two of them will see their way through it and remain friends, and Josslyn thanks her.

Dex comes back to the courtyard and says, Maxie’s still here, and she asks if he’s ready to commit to performing at the Nurses Ball. Everybody has a talent, hidden or otherwise, and she thinks she knows where to place his. He says he doesn’t know, and she tells him, think about it. He could be front and center at the most amazing even in Port Charles. As she walks out, she says, he could meet someone. He could get married. Anything could happen at the Nurses Ball. Dex smiles.

Spencer and Trina walk into Charlie’s, and Trina says, everything looks great in here. She tells Elizabeth that she brought some photos, and Elizabeth says she’ll show Trina where to put them. Laura says, Spencer made it, and he asks if Doc minds pitching in with the baby, but she says, Doc got called away. Esme is taking care of Ace. He says, she left his baby brother alone with Esme, and Laura says, Esme is perfectly capable of taking care of her own baby. She’s a guest in their house; she’s not a prisoner. Cameron walks in, followed by Esme carrying Ace.

Tomorrow, Maxie says someone has to trust her to do what’s right; Cameron has a better idea; Victor says, Eileen will leave when he says she leaves; and Anna tells someone that they have to go in there and get her out.

🏖  So when is this thing over already? On tonight’s Too Old For This Summer House, we started with the housemates leaving, but sadly, they’ll be back in no time. Meanwhile, we saw what their week was like. Paige told Craig that she hated his newly redone bathroom, and showed him the sink and wallpaper she wanted. He wanted her more involved, but also wanted her to visit more. He wondered about the next step, but she said, right now she was content where the relationship was. He asked what it looked like down the road, and in Paige’s interview, she said she loved her friends, her career, and living in NYC. Why change that just because it was their one-year anniversary or her 30th  birthday? She wasn’t ready, and didn’t want to grow up. Paige said they were together every day; they weren’t even doing long distance. Craig asked for at least more space for his stuff, and she said she could clean out a closet, but it was for her spring coats. I have nothing to say here, since I have a lot of clothes and turned a bedroom into a closet.

Lindsay met Amanda for drinks, and said, the conversation was a long time coming. She felt there was tension because they hadn’t been able to talk. She’d thought they were getting closer, and then in the spring, Amanda was saying she and Carl were moving in to soon and that Carl had been tainted by her. We flashed back those things being said at the Reunion, and Lindsay said she felt like she had whiplash. Amanda said some hurtful things, and she didn’t know where they came from. Amanda said she’d apologized in a text. After he’d gotten together with Lindsay, Carl’s opinions changed, and she felt frustrated, but knew she should feel like he was right to support Lindsay. Tainted was the wrong word, and she’d tried to apologize afterward at the bar, but Lindsay didn’t acknowledge her. Amanda understood, but she went into a hole where she thought she’d wait until Lindsay was ready. Lindsay said, Amanda didn’t understand how sensitive she was. She was tough, but was still human and had feelings. She thought they had a friendship, then found out she was getting judged and attacked behind her back for things she didn’t even know were happening. Amanda said, Lindsay took things with anger and malice when they weren’t meant that way. She didn’t judge them moving in too soon; it just shocked her, but she processed it. It was like seeing Lindsay and Carl’s relationship change om the begnning. She was sorry for how she’d made Lindsay feel, and wanted to be friends. It should be the two couples’ summer. Lindsay apologized that it took so long, and said they were each waiting for the other to make the first move. In Amanda’s interview, she said she didn’t know if it was real, but she was tired of the tension and awkwardness. She was willing to give Lindsay the benefit of the doubt, and enjoy the rest of the summer.

Robert came back with Danielle, who said she’d love doing this more often, and told him that he was her party trick, since he was a chef. She said Carl was ready to be his sous chef, but warned him that it was different with Carl and Lindsay as a couple. They were still in the honeymoon/fairytale stage when everything was exciting and new. Robert asked if their relationship wasn’t, and she said it was an adventure every day. I couldn’t believe how fast these people got drinks up to their mouths after walking in. Everyone went straight from the front door to the liquor. Robert immediately started to cook, and everyone except Mya, who had a wedding, trickled in. They greeted each other like they hadn’t seen one another in years, and got dressed for dinner. Kyle said he was trying to get blond hair Enrique Iglesias vibes – whatever that is – and Amanda told him not to be the weird old man in the club –  I get what that is. Paige asked how lunch with Lindsay was, and Amanda said, Lindsay had been emotionally hurt by things she’d said and done, so she apologized, and they came to terms. She thought they could be friends, but would never have the relationship Lindsay had with Danielle. Someone needs to tell them that friendships are not this complicated, and don’t need to all be the same.

They toasted to Tulum, and Robert brought out an amazing spread of food. Paige asked those coupled up what was the one thing they didn’t anticipate when moving in together. Robert said, the amount of stuff Danielle had, and Danielle said, Robert had a minimalist vibe. Paige said she’d throw away her birth certificate if she thought it was cluttering up the place, but Craig loved a tchotchke. They’d talked about moving in, but she wasn’t ready. Paige asked what was their partners most annoying habit, and Amanda said, breathing. Kyle said, if Amanda had her way, he wouldn’t chew any food, which made me wonder how the hell he chews. There were more boring questions with equally boring answers, and Gabby asked when the couples thought it was an appropriate time to invest together, but everyone was like, we pay bills with our money. Gabby told Danielle that she wasn’t sure where she stood with Ciara, but Danielle said she was the worst person to talk to about this. She’d wanted to be Ciara’s friend, but they never got there. In Gabby’s interview, she said she was struggling to connect with Ciara, but there was underlying tension, and she couldn’t figure out what the issue was. She was intuitive and could understand something was off, but she wasn’t sure if Ciara didn’t like her or just didn’t understand her. Danielle said Ciara was a tough nut to crack (but what about Karma Brown?), and Gabby said she felt secure with everyone else.

The housemates headed to a club, and Chris waved a light around like it was the 90s, while Carl and Lindsay made out. Since all parties must end, they were home around 12:30. Kyle asked if anybody was cool anymore, and a bunch of the guys, including Robert, danced around in the kitchen. Danielle repeatedly texted, come to bed, and around 3 he finally did. Kyle wandered around and babbled for a while. Robert woke up at 9, jumping straight to searching for his phone, since he was late. In Danielle’s interview, she said she was happy Robert came, but not happy they spent all of 10 minutes together. That was her reality. They didn’t give you a pamphlet on how to date a chef. Amanda said they had a packed day, and in a moment of clarity, Paige said she was too old for this. Kyle was glad there was another dude in the house, since they’d been outnumbered, and he and Carl thought Chris should have a proper initiation. The housemates got dressed, and a party bus picked them up. Danielle told everyone that Robert had left. He was supposed to leave at 7, but didn’t get out until 9:30.  

The bus took everyone to a winery, where they were to be given the wine maker blending experience, where they would make their own blend at the end. Carl ordered an Arnold Palmer, and there was the usual bunch of sex talk about things I don’t want to know. Sam grossed out Kyle, and in Sam’s interview, she said she had a big personality, and wasn’t for everyone, but if Kyle was shook by her, she was here for it. Chris flirted with Ciara, who Danielle thought she suddenly needed to rescue. Chris moved along, and Ciara said she thought he was trying to suss out her personality. She’s an observer at first, and people can’t read her. Danielle said, sometimes when Gabby was talking, Ciara was rolling her eyes, and Ciara said, it was circus level. She wanted to know why people were the way they were, and Gabby was hard to tap into. It was difficult for Ciara to have an artificial friendship or even fake it. Danielle thought they both had going on than what meets the eye, and told Ciara to give it a shot. In Ciara’s interview, she said she was more guarded than the average person, and was working on it in therapy. Trust was a big thing for her; she liked to figure out how people were first. You couldn’t force things; they had to come naturally. Kyle said something about dresses making him horny all the time, and reminded me that he’s the most awful in the house.

There was a separate boys and girls night, and the girls got dressed up, and went out. At the restaurant, Lindsay said she tried not to drink in front of Carly, and she wanted to f***ing go. Not meaning leave, but like, go crazy drinking. The guys stayed home, and Carl told Chris to have a seat, and brought out a paddle. In Chris’s interview, he said he wasn’t nervous. He was happy Carl and Kyle had kissed and made up. Whatever they wanted to do, as long as they weren’t fighting, he was game. They had Chris assume the position, holding fake flowers in his teeth, but Carl stopped short of paddling him. Paige said it was the first time the girls had Lindsay alone, and Lindsay said she tried to be respectful around Carl, but she wanted to be balls to the wall. If she went out with a girlfriend, it was just to dinner. Paige asked how Carl would feel if Lindsay came home drunk, but we never got the answer to this, since Ciara said she felt like Lindsay wanted to go to Montauk (ugh. there it is again), and we flashed back that, and all of them saying go to Montauk ten thousand times. Ciara asked if Lindsay wanted him to go or did she want to go without him, and Lindsay said she had no reason to want to go without him. Danielle said she took offense to that, and would love to steal Lindsay to go out, but she knows it’s not a possibility. It wasn’t that she minded Carl, but she thought Lindsay was curbing her drinking or the intensity because of him. Lindsay asked if that wasn’t a good thing, and Danielle said she liked Lindsay the way she was. Congratulations. Danielle just entered the awful people category. WTF? Sam said, her last boyfriend had been sober for ten years, and she slowed her roll. Lindsay said she wanted to get f***ed up with the girls, and now they were talking about it. Paige insisted it was just normal conversation, and Lindsay was getting mad. Lindsay said, Danielle was hard on her, and Danielle said, if your best friend’s not hard on you, they shouldn’t be your best friend. While I agree, I don’t think that includes encouraging you to drink to blackout.

Next time, Lindsay asks why Danielle is questioning her; Danielle talks to Robert about their living situation; and Kyle turns 40.  

Tonight’s Watch What Happens Live was Ce-lee-brate Good Times! a beautiful tribute to Captain Lee Rosbach’s ten years on Below Deck. There were tons of questions, clips, guests who had worked with the captain, been guests on the yacht, or friends IRL. Queen of Versailles, Jackie Siegel, who’d been a yacht guest, also did a bartending stint. The captain’s wife Maryann was in the audience, and least awful on Summer House, Carl, joined Captain Lee. He explained the captain had reached out when Carl lost his brother to addiction; Captain Lee having lost his son to the same illness. Carl said that the captain had inspired him to be a better man, and I can see why. The secret word was captain, and they said it 34 times, so if you were playing, you’d be pretty drunk since it’s a half-hour show.

🌈 Tasting the Rainbow…

Take a break here tomorrow for some soap and those horrifying women from New Jersey. Until then, stay safe, stay helping bridge the gap between friends, and stay wanting to be better for yourself. Looking for validation on the outside will only lead you back to your old patterns. Or worse still, down the wrong path altogether.