(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)
The Walking Dead
Beta hangs a gourd filled with resin on a tree. Negan sits with Alpha in a clearing, and says he thinks he graduated to the next level of kinky Whisperer sh*t. She wants him to take a switch and whip her forearm, but, seeing the stripes already on her arm, he says she seems to have been cut up enough. She holds the switch out, and he lashes her arm. She says, again, he does it a second and third time. She says, now him, and he wonders if they’re bonded for life. She says, depends, and lashes his arm with the switch.
Zombies toddle forward with Beta and the others. Beta says, we are in the end of the world, and they chant, we take them all, over and over
Over the radio, Eugene tells Stephanie that the LP is MIA. She says she wants to hear the song, and tells him to sing it, but he says only a fool would attempt such a song without accompaniment. He says he counted three, and she says, three shooting stars? He’d better not be counting satellites; she saw one recently. He says, around sunset? and she says, yeah. He says, they’re close; only few hundred miles at most. She says he promised not to tell anyone, and he says he can’t help but believe their meeting was celestially ordained. She says her people are overly cautious. He tells her that he’s in Virginia. He gives her the details, and says, pick a day, and neck of the woods, so they can meet face to face. If she doesn’t like the cut of his jib, she can adios herself. He’d like to meet her. She says she’d like to meet him too. She’ll talk to her people. He says he’ll do the same. She says, don’t tell anyone. She’ll see what her people say first. He promises. They sign off, and he laughs to himself.
Earl and Alden see Aaron coming in a wagon, and wonder who the new person is. Alden asks if Alexandria took in another stray, but Earl says, they’re on lockdown. Aaron and his group come in, and Alden asks Aaron, who’s that? Aaron says, Mary. She ran away from Alpha’s camp, and she’s helping them out. Alden asks what she’s doing at Hilltop, and Aaron tells him that Adam is her nephew; she wants to see him. Earl says, no. The enemy is not seeing his son. Aaron says, she’s not the enemy, but Earl tells him to keep her away from his kid. Earl tells Alden what did Aaron think he’d say? They left Adam out to die. Alden watches Mary.
Ezekiel finds Carol in a ragged tent by the water. She asks how he found her, and he says, this is Daryl’s place. He thought she needed some comfort. He tells her that Kelly made it back. He heard what happened at the cave, and he was worried about her. He asks her to come back. He sits next to her, and says then he’ll sit there, and they’ll get eaten be mosquitoes together.
Luke tells Kelly she can’t walk, but Kelly says she’s not leaving her sister. She’s going with the rest of them. Yumiko says they’ll never know if the ceiling caved in, and Kelly says, if she thinks it’s futile, why is she coming? Daryl drives in with Lydia on the back of his bike. Luke asks if he found them, but he says they didn’t get that far. Luke says they’ve got to find their people, but Lydia says they can’t go out there. Her mother’s coming.
Rosita hears Stephanie saying she has one more question. She picks up the microphone, and asks, who is this? Eugene flies down the stairs, pushing her out of the way, and taking the microphone. He says, Stephanie, but there’s no answer. He tells Rosita, she needs to go now. She looks terrible. She says, a giant Whisperer took a swipe at her, and asks, what’s up his butt? He says he says someone trusted him to have a conversation mano a mano, and she made him break that promise. She needs to go before he says something he’ll truly regret. She leaves, and Eugene tries to get Stephanie back, saying he made a terrible mistake. He’s sorry. Does she copy?
Negan tells Alpha, he has some unsolicited advice. He knows it’s everyone’s favorite kind, but he can’t help himself. He’s thought of an idea that maybe she hasn’t. He respects a well-deserved massacre, but why take out Hilltop and Alexandria? She might feel better, but she should get those a-holes to surrender; bend the knee. He can get them to join them.
At Hilltop, Yumiko tells some scouts, if there are any signs of a Whisperer movement, let them know. Lydia says they can kill a hundred, but Alpha will have thousands left. They can’t stay. Earl says he’s not running again, but Alden says they can rebuild. Earl asks if any of the scouts have seen a place like Hilltop, and Yumiko says they only have a few dozen fighters; she doesn’t like the odds. Aaron says they don’t have to die, but Earl says if they can die fighting for a place like Hilltop, it will mean something. He can’t think of a better way to go. Aaron says they can go with his daughter’s life intact, as well as the other children. Daryl says they need to get the kids out first. Pack up. They’re going to Oceanside. Get weapons, food, whatever they can.
They pack up some wagons. Judith tells Daryl, she wants to fight. He says he knows she does, and puts RJ in a wagon. He sees Ezekiel and Carol walk through the gate.
Daryl leads the caravan through the forest, and comes to a roadblock (or pathblock, as it were) of downed trees. They look up, and zombies are hanging above them. Daryl says, it’s going to be like this now. We ain’t getting through. It’s Negan. He’s with her now.
Grace yells for Aaron, who comes out to see Daryl is back. Aaron asks, what happened? and Daryl says, the roads are blocked; they’re closing in. They had a window to get out, and missed it. Kelly tells him, he can’t say that. They all agreed they can’t stay there. Luke says, they can contact Alexandria, and get fresh fighters; it won’t be just them. Alden says they can’t get there in time. After what happened, they’re on their own. Earl tells them to divvy up the arsenal, and bring out the catapults. It’s what they’ve been practicing for. He tells them to get their heads on straight. This is going to be the fight of their lives.
Ezekiel opens a closet, and opens a chest of garments he uses to hide his tumor. There’s a knock at the door, and he closes the chest. It’s Carol, who sees the chest, and then his neck. He says, it’s nothing, and she says, never bullsh*t a bullsh*tter. He says he wanted to tell her. She she touches his neck, and kisses him. They get busy, because now’s the time for that.
Mary sees Adam, and starts to walk toward him. Alden asks where she thinks she’s going, and she tells him, to say hello to her nephew. They’re coming any second. He says, who’s fault is that? and she says she hates them too. Aaron steps in, and says Mary’s not going to hurt them, and she says she wants to fight. Alden says Earl is a better father than his own. They lost Tammy, and he’s been raising Adam alone. Adam isn’t hers, and never will be. Aaron thinks he’s being unreasonable. If they die, it will be for what they’re trying to build – for him. He picks Adam up.
Basking in the afterglow, Ezekiel says, that was fun. Carol says, that was never a problem. He says at least he’ll be remembered fondly for something. Not even an eyeroll? She’s lost her sense of humor. She says she hasn’t. She left it on the dresser in the Kingdom, and it burned down. He says, if it makes her feel any better, he left his pride there too. She says she hated that dresser anyway. He asks if this would have happened any other night, and she asks what he means. He says, if she didn’t think they were going to die tonight, and she says, they’re going to die tonight?
Eugene hooks up batteries to a truck in the woods. Rosita comes by, and says Coco is fine, but she’s worried about how close Beta got to her. He asks if she told Gabriel about the horde, but she says, hell no. She’ll tell him when she sees him. Rosita says she noticed he’s been working on his radio transmissions, and gives him something to drink (moonshine?). She asks if he likes the girl from the radio, and he says he knows his unpleasant countenance is unworthy of her attention. Rosita says they’ve been talking long enough for Eugene to know she likes him. Does he want to kiss her? Eugene gets close, and he and Rosita almost kiss, but he backs away. He says, it’s a special kind of peculiar, hankering for a kiss from someone you haven’t met. But it’s not time to be mulling matters of a forlorn heart. Rosita suggest that’s what they put on his gravestone: a loser with forlorn heart. She tells him, the skin freaks would love it if they rolled over. Screw that. Screw them. She says, if Eugene likes this girl, get off his ass and go get her. He kisses her cheek, and jets.
Lydia sits on the porch of a building, and sees heart with H+L in the center that she and Henry made way back when. Carol sits next to her, and lights a… where the hell did she get a cigarette??? Carly says Lydia should hate her, but Lydia says it’s hard when Carol seems to hate herself so much. Carol says she couldn’t kill Alpha, and Lydia says it won’t save them anyway. Carol says, but it would feel good. Lydia says she won’t be thinking about Carol, and Carol thanks her for telling the truth. Lydia says, people don’t know how to do that anymore. She’s sorry Carol’s kid died, and sorry Carol hates the world. She’s sorry her mother is a monster. Carol stays away, but then she feels lonely. Carol says, she had a whole life. She leaves, and Lydia tries not to cry.
Kelly and Luke make spikey things for the zombies to walk into. Yumiko tells Kelly that she’s sorry, and Kelly hugs her. They see rats running out of the woods, and Yumiko says, the horde is coming. Run back!
Eugene starts to sing When the Wild Wind Blows over the radio. As he sings, we see everyone getting ready. Some are putting the kids in a safe place, some getting dressed for battle, some are practicing technique. Judith gets on the radio, and Aaron says, give Mary a weapon. Daryl watches. Stephanie sings a verse back to Eugene, who smiles, then laughs. He says she’s got nice singing chops. She says she’s sorry for disappearing; she freaked a little. He says it falls squarely on him. He let his guard down, and apologizes. She says, it was a girl, and he says, Rosita. She says she can hear him smiling; he must be fond of her. He says, yes, very. She’s his proverbial BFF. He hopes they get a chance to meet. Stephanie does too, and Eugene says he doesn’t know when they’ll speak next. The last few days were incredible. She says she’s in West Virginia, and gives directions to a spot in Charleston, asking if he can be there in a week. He says he’ll be there, and not square. Over and out. Rosita asks if he’s ready, and he says, let’s get it over with. He’s got a date.
Ezekiel starts to put on a scarf, and sees Daryl in the mirror. Daryl asks if he’s okay, and Ezekiel says he has cancer, but it’s okay. Daryl says he’s sorry. They never had much to say to each other, but that doesn’t mean Daryl doesn’t know what Ezekiel has been through. Ezekiel is stronger than a lot of people there, and he’s glad. Ezekiel says Daryl is too, and thanks him. It means a lot. Things are going to get bad. He wants to know the kids are all right. If things go sideways, and something happens to either one of them, the other will get children out. He and Daryl shake on it.
Daryl finds Judith sitting by herself, and tells her to go be with the other kids. She says she can fight, and he says he knows. He’s sorry about today. She didn’t need to see any bodies. She says, they were just walkers, and she’s killed plenty of them. He says he knows, but they weren’t just walkers. She says she’s not scared, and he says he knows, but maybe he is a little. Maybe she could take care of RJ. She says she’s worried that he might get hurt, and she’ll lose him and Carol. Daryl says, there’s no shame in that, and knowing who you’re fighting for. She says she made him something for luck, and brings out his vest with the wings on the back. She’s repaired it. He puts it on, and he asks how he looks. She says, good, and he says, one other thing. If during fight, Ezekiel comes looking for her, go with him, whether or not she knows where he is. She has to promise. She does, and they hug. He leaves.
Carol looks at the portrait of Henry, and goes outside. She sees Daryl, and says, please don’t hate her. He turns around to face her, and says he’s never going to hate her. She cries a little, as he walks away. He picks up a weapon on his way to the gate. Outside, the first several lines of defense wear armor and carry shields, with more armed people behind them. They wait, as Daryl goes to the front.
It’s quiet. Kelly feels the ground, and nods at Yumiko. We can see a cloud on the distant horizon. A lone zombie toddles out. The rumble of zombie snarling is heard. Aaron tells everyone, get ready.
The horde moves forward, into an electrified barbed wire fence. It slices the first zombie’s head off, but they’re not too bright, and keep coming. They walk into the fence, even as it cuts them, but eventually their pushing against it, causes it to give. The wires start to spark and sputter, and short out as the zombies break through. Even I’m scared. Aaron says, break, and the shielded soldiers separate into two groups, and move toward the horde. They stab, whack, slice, chop, bash, and shoot arrows. Here’s where it pays to be pissed off.
Beta strides through the forest to a clearing, where the Whisperers wait. They put gourds, like the one he hung on the tree, into giant slingshots. I say many bad words. The balls splatter, and Luke says, it smells like a Christmas tree. Fires begin in various places.
Negan – who’s finally gotten his mask – tells Alpha, he thought she wanted Hilltop to join them. She says she does, but as part of her horde. He says, holy sh*t. She is a badass.
Daryl yells for everyone to go back inside, and they back up. The zombie horde pushes completely through the fence, and the Hilltoppers take off toward the gate. The Whisperers shoot flaming arrows at the walls of Hilltop, which burst into flames. Hilltop becomes an inferno, and everyone is like, fu…dge.
Next time – Alpha doesn’t have anything she wants, Negan says he’s found what she’s looking for, and the battle continues.
Shahs of Sunset
D’oh! Even though I posted it about the date change, I forgot the Shahs moved to Friday. Since I had four billion other things to do this weekend (slight exaggeration, but close), and we had the stupid time change, tonight’s recap is abbreviated somewhat. Which is a good or bad thing depending on your perspective.
Upon waking up with Adam at the Waldorf Astoria, Reza felt like he was a 65 year old hooker who’d worked the strip all night. Sara tried to get ahold of her brother Sam, who’s hooked up with Destiney the night before. When Destiney was asked what she remembered, it didn’t sound like much. She told Sam that she had plans to have breakfast with Reza and her mom.
GG and Yasmin went to one of those paint your own pottery places. In GG’s interview, she said she couldn’t drink, and had to cut back on weed, so it didn’t give her much to do. I don’t even know what to say to that. Even though the implantation was done, she didn’t feel pregnant yet, and was waiting for that call. She told Yasmin that she misses weed, and insisted her kid wasn’t going to whine like the one wailing its head off at the pottery place. In her interview, she said she didn’t want a man, so she was bucking it up, and doing it on her own. She told Yasmin that she needed to find a dude who was super chill with having sex with women who are pregnant, and I went ♫ la-la-la! ♫ Yasmin said she was too Persian for all that. I must be too.
Breakfast at the Waldorf looked amazing. A lot of these shows have a food porn subplot for me. Reza sized up the situation with Destiney and Sam pretty quickly – new outfit, same outfit. Destiney’s mom was early, and in Reza’s interview, he said, Persian moms don’t interact with their kids tricks. Destiney introduced them and Sam couldn’t jet fast enough. Reza was excited to see Destiney looking happy, but still gave her a hard time, asking, who was that man? When mom Tammy was like, yeah, who was that? Destiney distracted her with the food. In Reza’s interview, he was glad Destiney was able to meet with her mom, and said he thought part of her feel lost with her mom and sister living in Vegas.
Mike met with potential general contractor Barry. Bringing Paulina along, he wanted to check out one of Barry’s construction projects before hiring him. In Mike’s interview, he said he was under an immense amount of pressure. It was the first test his parents were watching to see if he passed. His dad was pressuring him to hire a guy he knows, but if he brought Barry on, Barry would be answering to him. Along with a building of apartments Barry had done, Barry showed Mike a proposal. Barry thought the project would cost around $8.5 million, while Mike had figured more like $7.5 million tops. Barry also expected the construction to last two years, and Mike asked if eighteen months was possible. In his interview, he said the difference between eighteen and twenty-four months was a significant number. They were losing $10K a month.
Sara went to Reza’s suite, wondering where Destiney and her brother were. Reza told her that they’d hooked up. In his interview, Reza said it was exciting to see Destiney with her guard down, he was afraid she’d regret not spending more time with her mom. Tammy told Destiney it was time for her settle down with a good man. Destiney told Tammy that she thought it was safer not to let someone in. She wouldn’t get hurt that way. Reza told Sara, they came, they saw, her brother conquered. Sara said that was his normal day.
Nema took Persian dance lessons, since Persian dancing gives him anxiety. His dad had taken away all Persian influence when he was growing up. Destiney joined him at the lesson. In his interview, he said he was a good dancer, but a bad Persian dancer. By the end of the lesson, he got the shoulder moves down.
Adam met GG at a cat café, where she wanted all the cats, as did I. In her interview, GG said she loved Adam, but until she got confirmation that she was pregnant, she was keeping it to herself. She told Adam that a work thing kept her from going to Vegas, and he told her that Destiney and Sam hooked up. GG did a spit-take with her lemonade when Adam said Destiney was straddling Sam at the golf range, and then she made Adam demonstrate. In GG’s interview, she said she wouldn’t be thrilled if she was in Sara’s place. She told Adam that Destiney always claimed to be a ride or die chick, but she wasn’t riding for another girl. She was just riding.
After their lesson, Destiney told Nema that Sam had been calling and texting, accidentally opening a d*ck pic in front of him. Nema got a text from Paulina, asking him to meet, and we flashed back to him kicking Mike out of his house. He told Destiney that he was shocked Paulina reached out to him, and Destiney said Mike was vulnerable with Paulina, and probably said things to her that he couldn’t say to Nema.
Nema met Paulina, and immediately asked if Mike knew about them getting together. Paulina said he didn’t, but didn’t think he’d be upset. She told Nema that Mike looked at him like a younger brother, and felt attacked. Nema had said Mike was a cheater and a liar, and that he questioned her allowing her kids around him. She wondered why her kids got pulled into it, and was offended by it. Nema explained that Mike had said Erica must be weird, and there was something mentally wrong with her for waiting seven years for a divorced guy, and he just went off. He apologized, and told Paulina that Mike had a history of picking on him. We flashed back to some of that, and Nema said the older brother was bullying the little brother. At the mud run, Mike had said Nema stole a company from him, when Mike was the one who tried to screw him and Shervin out of a deal, and lied about it. He wasn’t sure if Mike’s supposed positive feelings toward him were real or not. Paulina said she’d given Mike a clean slate when they got together, but Nema said if Mike couldn’t apologize, like Nema just did with her, he didn’t know if they could remain friends.
In her interview, GG explained that since she missed Vegas, she wanted to bring everyone together with a cooking class. The usual suspects gathered, along with GG’s friends Anita and Yasmin, for a cooking lesson and dinner with Chef Nicole. It was also a competition, which GG said a Persian could never pass up. She grouped everyone into three teams of three – GG, Reza, and Yasmin; Anita, Destiney, and Adam; and Sara, Nema, and Mike – deliberately putting Nema, Paulina, and Mike on the same team. Mike and Paulina were late, so they started without them.
On the way there, Paulina told Mike about her meeting with Nema, saying she’d wanted to confront Nema about the way he treated Mike. In Mike’s interview, he said he thought it was a huge slap in the face for Nema to agree to meet with Pauline. It was like Nema was trying tell him that he’s not in control. No comment. Mike asked Paulina to communicate with him first if she does something like that. She need to know what she was doing, and why. He said, those guys can be wolves.
The first dish the teams made was yogurt dip. By the end, Adam’s team was just throwing things in, but somehow they won. In Nema’s interview, he said what he lacked in Persian cooking skills, he more than made up in with his Persian Postmate ordering skills. When Mike arrived, Reza said he had good news, and bad news. The good news was, Paulina was on his team; the bad news was, Nema was on his team. When they made tahini, Chef Nicole told Mike’s team they were almost there, and Mike said that was the story of his life, but I wasn’t sure what exactly he was referring to. This time, Reza’s team won, and Mike toasted to Vegas, saying Destiney got to see her mom and sister. Not being able to leave it alone, Reza added, and bone Sara’s brother. GG asked if Destiney had talked to Sara about it, and Destiny said she didn’t need permission. GG said she didn’t find it funny, suddenly didn’t feel good, and headed for the door.
In her interview, GG said she felt a sharp pain, and she got scared she was having a miscarriage. It’s something she’s been waiting so long for, it scared the sh*t out of her. Anita and Destiney followed her out, and Destiney told her to calm down. Inside, Mike said, if you cry wolf enough times, people stop believing you. They sat down for the chef’s dinner, which rivaled the Waldorf’s breakfast. Reza got a text from Anita, saying GG was okay, but not feeling good; it was a weird stomach thing. Mike wondered if she’d touched the raw chicken, and Nema said GG hadn’t been drinking any alcohol. Destiney wondered if GG was pregnant, and Reza said, she could totally be pregnant. We flashed back to the Reunion, when GG told everyone about her plans. In Reza’s interview, he said, that would explain everything.
Nema asked if Mike knew about his lunch with Paulina – because, again, parties or public gatherings are the perfect time to bring up personal issues – and Mike said he just found out. Nema said he went on the assumption Mike knew, but Mike was already steamed. Nema said Paulina approached him, and Mike said Nema’s dad didn’t teach him how to be a man. Nema was like, don’t you talk about my dad, and in his interview, said there was a lot he could ask about how Mike’s parents raised him, but out of respect, he doesn’t. Destiney suggested they communicate properly, and Nema said if Mike did it again, there wouldn’t be a third time. Mike apologized, but in his interview, griped that he’d taken Nema under his wing. He’d been a good friend, given Nema advice, and helped him. Reza thought they should reconvene on that topic another time. In Mike’s interview, he said he thought Nema didn’t like that he and Paulina were in a good relationship. Nema was miserable, and wanted to make them miserable so they could join in on his pity party. At that point, the dinner broke up, and Reza said, this was a night.
Next time, Sara confronts Destiney, and Nema brings MJ to a pool party where she throws her drink in Reza’s face.
⏰ I Want It Back…
🌬 You, Sir, Are No Iron Maiden…
Actually, he wasn’t bad. Time for me to breeze on out myself. See you on the deckside.
(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)
General Hospital
New York City. On the phone, Alexis thanks Diane. She says she hasn’t been to an opera in a long time. The usher tells her she has a box seat, and she goes in. She sees someone else sitting in the box, and says she doesn’t think it matters, but… She realizes it’s Neil.
Jordan says TJ mentioned he was taking Molly out for a special dinner, and Molly says that’s what she wanted to talk about. TJ never came home. She went to the hospital, and found out he never showed up for work either. Jordan asks if Molly is sure he’s not there; maybe she missed him. Molly says the registry confirmed it. She figure he needed space after what happened. Jordan says Molly needs to be complete honest. What happened? Molly says she thinks she broke TJ’s heart.
Cameron asks if Trina wants a cookie, but she says, no thanks. He says their parents are conferring, and they could be there a while. Trina says, on second thought, sure. They clink cookies. In the living room, Portia thanks Elizabeth for taking care of Trina. Elizabeth says Trina is incredibly brave, and Portia says she should never have gone to the medical conference; she should have been there last night. Elizabeth says she was there, and Cameron was still kidnapped. They had no way of knowing what was going to happen. Portia says, Taggert never warned them.
At Crimson, Maxie is on the phone with Sasha. She says Sasha is a natural, and to send over the agreement so Nina can sign off on it. Nina’s plane was early, but she probably won’t be there until tomorrow. Nina walks in, and sets her coffee on Maxie’s paperwork, spilling some on it. Nina says, the shoot in Tunisia was fantastic; the beaches were phenomenal. She asks Maxie for the post-production budget, and Maxie says she’ll call Sasha back. She starts to leave the office, and runs into Jax coming in. He says he was looking for Nina, and Nina comes out, saying, you found her.
On the phone at the MetroCourt, Peter says, tell Davis to stay at the courthouse, and keep him posted. Sitting at a table, Violet tells Finn about the animals she’s learned about in school. Finn asks if she wants a snack, and asks the waitress for milk and shortbread cookies. Violet says, no. Tea and scones, and Finn laughs. He sees Peter, and barely nods.
As Obrecht leaves the courtroom, Anna opens the door and blocks her way. She says Obrecht thought she got away with it. She thought wrong. Obrecht asks what brings Anna to the courthouse, and Anna tells her to save the pleasantries; she’s neither pleasant nor rehabilitated, and has no place in Maxie and James’s lives. Obrecht asks why she’d say that, and Anna says. It’s over; the lies and deceit. Obrecht said she’d changed, but she hasn’t. She’s been carrying on Faison’s legacy, and Anna is going to make her pay for everything she’s done.
Nina tells Jax that she should have taken the day, but she couldn’t wait to get back and work on the next issue. She missed the office. He asks if that’s all she missed, and she says she supposes not. Maxie brings in the budget Nina asked for, and Nina wonders how to get out of the document Maxie left on her screen. Maxie says, it’s the agreement for the ad campaign, and Nina should take a look at Deception’s layout; it’s brilliant. Nina says she’ll get to it later, and Jax says he’ll take a look. Maxie says they can focus on that, while she handles everything else – as usual. She leaves, and Jax asks Nina if Maxie is okay, but Nina says, she’s just being Maxie. He asks if she’s given any thought to taking him along on her next business trip. She’s surprised he wants to take such a public step, and he says he just got an email from HR about them.
Obrecht says he has no clue what brought on Anna’s attack of righteousness. Faison is dead, and burning in hell like he deserves, and his legacy died with him. She wasted the better part of what should have been a brilliant medical career, and found a way to go on. She has a respectable job, and she’s close with Maxie and her grandson. She’s trying to rebuild her relationship with Nina, and doesn’t take her second chance for granted. Anna says Obrecht had to get rid of her witnesses.
Peter stops by Finn’s table, and tells Violet, hello… or cheerio. She says, like in Mary Poppins, and he says Anna was asking about her. Finn says to tell Anna they said hello, and cheerio to him. Peter sees Maxie fly in, and asks if she’s looking for someone. She says she feels ignored and taken for granted. She does all the heavy lifting while Nina jet sets and goes out for coffee. He asks if she wants to tell him about it.
Cameron pours some milk, and Trina says, milk and cookies? He says, it beats oatmeal. He didn’t tell her, but when he was on his trip visiting colleges, the coach made them eat oatmeal every morning because it’s high in fiber or something. Each college had amazing dining halls – French toast, pancakes, anything you wanted – but they had to have oatmeal. I remember visiting those dining halls too, and it’s no wonder students gain a freshman fifteen. Trina says, it seems like a million years ago, and last night seems like it was another life. In a way, it was. It was the end of her father’s life.
Portia tells Elizabeth that Taggert was good with the divorce. He didn’t want anything, and gave her no argument about custody. He understood the stress of his work, the danger and uncertain hours, and knew it was no way to raise a child. He didn’t want Trina exposed to the worry. She can’t understand why he would show up in Port Charles when he knew his daughter was there, and he was a target.
Molly tells Jordan that TJ proposed, and she said no. Jordan is surprised, and Molly says, it’s not because she doesn’t love him or want to be with him; she does. But from what she’s seen of marriage, it causes more problems than it solves, and she doesn’t want their relationship to change. Jordan says she gets it. Molly doesn’t want marriage right now. Molly says, or ever, and Jordan says, ever is a long time, but they love each other, and that’s all that matters. They’ll figure out a way. Molly says she thinks she really hurt TJ. He even left her at the restaurant.
Alexis asks Neil if Diane put him up to this, but he says he bought a ticket at the last minute. He thought he’d decompress with his favorite opera before the hearing. She says, weird. She thinks Diane had a client who wasn’t using their ticket, and she’s never seen Aida. Neil says the box is all hers; he’ll find another seat, or maybe another show. She says, stay… please.
Nina tells Jax, if they’re get pushback from HR, she’s going to be annoyed with her lawyers, but Jax says HR signed off on them. They’re documented, and free to see each other. (Huh? Is this like parental permission?) He’s confident they can maintain a distance between their personal and professional relationship. She’s glad he’s confident. The Tunisia shoot was incredible, but she kept thinking how it would be a nicer experience to be seeing the beaches with him. He says, there will be more shoots, more adventures. All in good time. She likes the sound of that, and plans on enjoying every moment. They kiss.
Neil says, Alexis wants him to stay? and she says, it’s not like they’ve done anything wrong. It’s a crazy random fluke. Nine million people in New York; what are the odds? A gazillion to one, so have a seat and enjoy it. He thinks there are other seats, but she thinks it’s sold out. They don’t have to talk. They’re just spectators in the dark, watching a tragic tale of forbidden love. The orchestra begins to tune up, and the lights dim. They sit.
Molly tells Jordan, when TJ didn’t come home, she thought he was crashing in the on-call room, or maybe with a friend. She wishes he’d text back. Jordan says maybe they should exchange text messages, and figure out a timeline. Molly says TJ last texted her at 8:47, and Jordan says she’s gotten texts since then. She thinks maybe TJ is just getting some space. Molly says, he was really upset. In retrospect, she should have gone after him. Jordan says, it would have just made things worse, and Molly says, they’ve always talked things through. How can they do that if he’s not around? Jordan says, give him time to process. She knows him, and he’ll calm down and come to his senses. Unfortunately, she has to get back to work. Molly says she’s honored that TJ proposed. She would love to have Jordan as a mother-in-law. It’s just about the institution of marriage. She wishes she had explained it better. Jordan says, don’t worry. Whatever happens, happens. Molly will be her first call if she hears from him.
Trina bets Cameron wishes he’d gone to the dance without her, and he says, what about her? She would have been stuck with Hunter. She says seeing her dad and the guys shooting at him, and Curtis grabbing her away… She tells herself it’s a nightmare, but then remembers it’s real.
Elizabeth tells Portia that she knew Taggert when he lived in Port Charles. She was friends with his sister Gia. He was a good man. Portia says, he was a good father. Committed and supportive, but he was in law enforcement before they met. There was no way he was going to quit. Little by little, she started noticing that he rarely came home. He was at a late night stakeout or combing through files at the office. She told him that he cared more about drug dealers than his own family. It was only a matter of time before his worries caught up with him. She guesses she was right.
Violet asks if stuffed owl Otto would like more tea. Finn wonders what she’s been doing in school, and she hands him some drawings. He looks at drawings of Otto, Roxie, and Anna’s bulldog. Violet asks if she can show Anna the picture, and he says, they’ll see, a favorite phrase of all parents everywhere. Robert comes by, and says, tea for three? Violet asks if he wants to join them, and he says he’d love to. Finn says, yeah, sure, and Robert pulls a chair over to the table. He asks who the owl is, and Violet says, Otto. Robert says Otto kind of looks like her dad. Put some funny glasses and a furry coat on him, and you couldn’t tell them apart.
Obrecht asks what Anna is babbling about. How can there be witness to something that doesn’t exist? She’s fully reformed; Anna has seen it. Anna asks if Obrecht thinks she forgot how she said she lost her son and was going to take Anna’s from her. Obrecht says, this is about Peter? and Anna says it’s about how she framed Peter every step of the way, up until he tried to kill Franco. Obrecht says Franco is her best friend. She could never try to kill him. Anna says she can and did, and she has proof.
Trina wonders what she could have done differently to distract the gunmen, so her dad could get away, and Cameron tells her, stop doing that. He did the same thing with Franco, thinking he could have fought harder and run away. It’s no good blame herself. She says, Franco came back; her dad is gone forever.
Outside of Elizabeth’s house, Jordan leaves a message for TJ, saying, whatever happened, Molly doesn’t deserve the silent treatment. He needs to call Molly, and her. She adds that she loves him, and knocks on the door. She apologizes for showing up announced; she was just checking in. Portia says, Jordan? and Elizabeth introduces them. Jordan says she’s so sorry for Portia’s loss. She hates this. They’re finally meeting, but it’s under these circumstances. Portia agrees, and says she’s heard a lot about Jordan.
Alexis and Neil watch the opera. Alexis looks at Neil, then turns away, and he looks at her. She looks back, and they smile.
Jax‘s phone dings, and Nina says they should probably both get back to work. He says, it’s not work; it’s Joss. Two of her friends were involved in a kidnapping, and her friend’s dad died. She’s kind of freaked out. Nina says, oh my God, and Jax sends a text back, telling Nina, he’s glad they’re in the same time zone so he can be there for her. Nina is glad Josslyn has a great dad, and Jax says he’s lucky he’s got a great kid.
Maxie tells Peter, she’s steamed, and needed to walk it off. Nina breezed in, bragging about the photo shoot, and spilled her macchiato on the files Maxie was working on. She doesn’t think Nina even noticed or cared. She’s been running things while Nina is off planning fake weddings, going to beautiful beaches, and romancing the CEO. Peter reminds her that Lucy made an offer to bring her on board at Deception. She might want to consider it. Maxie says, if Nina keeps this up, she’d rather unbox stock at Saks.
Obrecht tells Anna, she has no time for this nonsense. If Anna has uncovered any wrongdoing, look no further than her son. Ask Robert. He knows the truth about Henrik, and she suspects Anna does too. Anna says that’s all Peter will ever be to her; Henrik. Obrecht says he persuaded Nathan to do an interview that he knew would make Faison come running, and Jason would kill him. Nathan was collateral damage, and it destroyed her, but she accepted and handled it. Anna says Obrecht is an excellent liar, but Obrecht says the only liar is Anna, lying to herself. Henrik is up to his neck in Faison’s crimes. Anna says all the evidence points to Obrecht. She’s hardly surprised, considering Obrecht’s extensive criminal record. Two men come in, and Obrecht says, whatever proof Anna has, she’s wrong. She has nothing to do with this. Anna tells her she’s under arrest for murder and attempted murder. Obrecht says, it’s a miscarriage of justice, as the men take her away.
Alexis tells Neil, she didn’t expect to be so emotional, but he says, don’t feel bad; it’s one of the greats. She says she can’t imagine why she’d find it difficult to see a conflict between love and a sense of duty. Neil says, it’s just his opinion, but perhaps she’s projecting. He asks which character she identifies with most, and she says she’s a Cassadine, so she’s almost like a princess. He says that would make him Radames, although he’d make a good general. She says she might too, because she’s a Cassadine. We like blood. He says she terrifies him sometimes, and she says, don’t be afraid. He tells her that he’s going to get some water, and asks if she’d like something. She asks him for the same, and when he leaves, the usher asks if she’s enjoying the show. Alexis says, it’s so good, it’s affecting her. The usher says Alexis and her husband are adorable, but Alexis says, he’s just a friend. The usher – who I don’t trust – says, sure.
Nina says, obviously, Josslyn is going through lot, so if Jax wants to slow it down until she gets used to the idea… Jax says Josslyn is too busy being a new aunt to worry about his personal life. Nina says she’s missed a lot. Who had a baby?
Peter looks at his phone, and frowns. He says, what the hell? He tells Maxie he sent a reporter to the courthouse to cover Nelle’s arraignment, and he just got a message that Obrecht was arrested by the WSB for the attempted murder of Andre and Franco.
Robert tells Violet about a dog who knew left from right. Finn asks Violet if she would mind asking the waitress for more tea for the table, and she leaves. Robert says Anna won’t tell him why Finn moved out. If he ever wants to talk… Finn thanks him, but says he’s fine. He just hopes it gets easier. Robert says, parenthood? and Finn says, only the part about keeping his daughter safe.
Cameron tells Trina that he’s not trying compare the situations. He’s trying to say he understands some of what she’s going through, and he’s there for her. She says she knows, and she’s sorry; she’s just mad at everything, especially the fact that she didn’t get more time with her dad. Her parents were divorced most of her life, and she never got to ask about him about the stupid stuff he and her mom did. Cameron wonders why she doesn’t ask her mom, but she says her mom doesn’t talk about that stuff. She thought she and her dad would finally have a chance to know each other. Cameron gets that, and wishes he’d known his father.
Jordan tells Portia that they’re investigating the person behind the kidnapping, as well as Taggert’s murder. Portia says, Cyrus Renault? and Jordan asks how she knows that name. Portia says, when Taggert told her that he was going to Port Charles, he said he was following up on a case from years ago; sending Cyrus to prison.
Cameron tells Trina, his biological father died before he was born. His mom told him some stuff, but not a lot. It was pretty messed up with his father’s crimes. He still has a lot of questions. His mom loved his dad once; there must have been some good in him. Sometimes he wonders what life would be like if his dad had lived. Maybe he would have turned his life around, and Cameron would know what it was like to have a father in his life to show him how to do stuff, like shave. She says, he shaves? and he says it’s his dumb way of saying that he’s glad she had her father for as long as she did, but he wishes she didn’t have to wonder about the questions she has.
Jordan tells Portia, Cyrus is still in prison, but they think he’s running a shadow network to get back at those wronged him. The evidence points to him for the kidnapping and Taggert’s murder. Elizabeth asks if Trina was used to lure Taggert, but Jordan says they don’t know if she was the target, but Cameron was collateral damage. Portia says, when Taggert left, he told her to stay safe. He was always paranoid, so she didn’t think anything of it, but now it makes sense.
Maxie tells Peter, as far as they knew. Obrecht had nothing to do with the memory mapping, but what if she was involved somehow, and she was tying up loose ends so nothing ruined her new life? Andre said if Franco didn’t get his memory back, Drew’s memories could intensify, but why would Obrecht try to kill Franco? He’s practically her only friend. She thinks a moment, and says, Obrecht probably has contact with Faison’s associates, and she works at the hospital, and can get in and out. She could have sent an assassin if she wanted to. How could she do this to all of them, especially James? How is she supposed to tell him that he’s never going to see his oma again, because she’s spending the rest of her life in prison? Peter hugs her. I can’t even express how pissed I am that they decided to make Peter a bad guy. And not even a fun bad guy, like Obrecht, or Faison. If nothing else, Maxie deserved better than this storyline.
Robert tells Finn, the world is a dangerous place; more so when you’re a parent. Finn says, so he’s seeing, and Robert asks what in particular bothers him, if anything? Violet comes back, dragging Anna with her. She says look who she found, and Anna says she thought she found Violet. She tells Robert and Finn that she has major news for both of them.
Nina tells Jax, she had no idea the extent of Nelle’s insanity. She’s glad she got Charlotte away from Nelle when she did, and hopes she’s prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. It’s heartening that Michael was reunited with his son though. Jax says, Michael’s joy came at Lucas’s expense. Nina says, losing a child he came to love as his own, and Willow coming to grips with the fact that Wiley isn’t her child, and the death of her own child. There’s no love lost between her and Willow, but she must be in unspeakable pain. Jax asks if she’s okay, and she says she has a magazine to run. Vamoose. They can become official when there’s less to do. He asks, what about dinner tonight? and she says, absolutely. She’ll call him. He says, not if he calls her first, and they go back and forth until Nina says she’s already calling him. He leaves, and she looks at some papers, but puts them back down. She takes out the heart necklace.
The theater fills with applause, and Neil and Alexis give a standing ovation. Neil asks what Alexis thought, and she asks if the pile of tissues tells him anything. He says, nothing like a good tragic love story, and she says, at least they were together in the end. He says, it was a beautiful fantasy. Not the dying part, but the opera. He’s glad he saw it with her, and she says, her too. She hopes the review board doesn’t lock him in a crypt, and he says he won’t be singing about it if they do. He asks if she wants to share a cab, and she says she’s staying at the Columbia; she can walk. He says that’s where he’s staying; they can walk together, and get coffee in the lobby bar. She says she’d like that, but does he think it’s risky? He says they just did this, and they’ll be doing that. He thinks they can handle it. They walk out together, and the usher watches. I trust her even less now.
Trina thanks Elizabeth for her hospitality, and Porta thanks her for everything. Trina holds Cameron’s hand for a moment, and leaves. Jordan tells Elizabeth, she’ll be in touch, and goes out with them. Elizabeth hugs Cameron. Outside, Portia asks Trina to wait in the car. Jordan wants Portia to know she’s sending officers to keep an eye on her and Trina. Portia says, if she thinks it’s necessary, of course (🍷), but it should be fine. Cyrus got what he wanted; Taggert is dead.
Maxie asks Peter how she could not see this. She believed Obrecht had changed. Now she’s now been arrested for… Oh my God. If Obrecht really crashed Drew’s plane, how is she going to face Sam again? She knows she should be hating Obrecht, but all she can think about his how much she and James are going to miss her. She hugs Peter, and says, at least she has him. Thank God she can trust him.
Anna tells Finn and Robert, Obrecht was behind all of it; the plane crash, the murder attempt, all of it.The evidence points to her trying to cover her own crimes by saying it was Peter. Robert says he’s going to make a call to the Bureau. He leaves, and Anna says now Finn sees why she believed in Peter; he’s innocent. She doesn’t blame Finn for wanting to make sure, but now that Peter is in the clear, does he think he wants to come home?
On Monday, Nina tells Sasha that they’re on the brink of something exciting, Maxie wonders how she didn’t see what was right in front of her, and Spinelli tells Jason that Peter framed Obrecht.
I’m still annoyed about them killing off Taggert. It sounds like it was a bit of a surprise for him too, since in, like, five minutes, he went from this:
At first, they’ll only dislike what you say, but the more correct you start sounding the more they’ll dislike you. – Criss Jami
I’m telling you a lie in a vicious effort that you will repeat my lie over and over until it becomes true. – Lady Gaga
What I’m looking for is not out there, it is in me. – Helen Keller
There is no other way to guard yourself against flattery than by making men understand that telling you the truth will not offend you. – Niccolò Machiavelli
Our ability to adapt is amazing. Our ability to change isn’t quite as spectacular. – Lisa Lutz
A trophy carries dust. Memories last forever. – Mary Lou Retton
Love is not what you say; love is what you do. – John Hagee
🎡 It’s On…
See you when walking is not just for the living anymore.
(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)
General Hospital
Cameron dozes on the couch, and dreams about when Jason showed up to save him. He tells Jason, everything went crazy. Then Curtis showed up and there was gunfire. Trina is still inside, and they’re crazy outnumbered. Jason says he’s going to help. Cameron sits up, and Elizabeth asks if he’s okay. He says he’s fine, but Franco says he doesn’t seem fine. Cameron says, it was just a bad dream, and asks how long he was out. Elizabeth says, a couple of hours. He seemed tired, so they let him sleep. He asks where Trina is, and Elizabeth says, upstairs. She just checked on Trina, and she’s resting. Elizabeth thinks they should give Trina some space. She’ll come down when she’s ready. Cameron says he’s grateful Jason and Curtis showed up. Otherwise, he and Trina could have been killed. Trina has come downstairs, and says, instead of her father.
Sonny says he knows it’s a complicated situation, and respects them for reaching out. Jordan says it wasn’t her idea, and asks Curtis to explain what they’re doing there. Curtis says, call it a meeting of like minds. It’s time they set aside their differences for a common good. They need to take down Cyrus Renault. Sonny asks if Curtis thinks that’s a good idea, and Curtis says, it’s worth a try. Jordan disagrees, and Curtis asks her to trust him. She says it’s difficult when she’s feeling ambushed, but Curtis says, joining forces makes sense. They have a common enemy, and Cyrus’s people are coming for all of them. Sonny says he gets why Cyrus wants him, but why would they be a target? Curtis says, because Jordan was on the task force who put Cyrus away in the first place.
Spinelli texts Sam, who’s at the MetroCourt. He has 👀 on the target. She texts back that she’s at the MetroCourt to meet Molly. Stay on Peter, and let her know what he finds.
Spinelli peers over some hedges at a bench where Peter sits in Rice Plaza. He’s obviously not such a great spy, since probably everyone but Peter can see him. Anna joins Peter, and thanks him for meeting her. She sits with him, and says the WSB contacted her about him. Obrecht comes up behind Spinelli and touches him. He jumps a mile, and she asks what he thinks he’s doing.
Michael tells Nelle that he’d rather not do this in a public hallway, and they all walk back into the empty courtroom. Nelle says, that’s fine, since they’re going to be in a courtroom anyway. Carly says, no one invited her there. She dropped her bomb; she can go now. Nelle says, no one is denying her rights as a mother. She’s suing for full custody of her son, and she’s going to win.
Jordan asks if Curtis has any idea what he just did. He says her identity was compromised already, but she says that’s no reason give out classified information about her career to the mob. She’s leaving. Curtis says she hasn’t heard his plan, but she says she’s heard enough. Sonny says, hold on a second. He and Curtis have worked together in the past, and he’s right. Her connection with Cyrus is out in the open; maybe they can do something about that. He asks what Curtis is thinking, and Curtis says Taggert and Jordan were part of a DEA task force that put Cyrus in prison. The two other agents turned up dead, supposedly of an overdose on opioids, and they know what happened to Taggert. Cyrus extended his business into Port Charles to do one thing; make Jordan watch it burn, and make her pay. At first it was personal, but he’s coming for Sonny’s territory too. Sonny says, then they have to do something about it. Jordan says, that doesn’t mean they have to fix it together. She doesn’t trust him. Curtis says, Sonny has sources who would never communicate with the cops, and Jordan has information not available to Sonny. Face it, they all need each other. Combine forces, and they can stop Cyrus from every hurting anyone else they love. He knows it breaks Sonny’s code, talking to the cops, so he’s willing to act as an intermediary. Jordan says she’s not working with Sonny, and that’s the end of it.
Trina asks if her mom is back yet, and Elizabeth says, her flight was delayed, but she should be there soon. Cameron says, when he said that, he didn’t know Trina was there; he’s sorry. Trina tells him, it’s okay, and they hug. Elizabeth says she and Franco will make sandwiches in case the kids get hungry, and go to the kitchen. Cameron asks if Trina slept at all, and she says, off and on. Him? He says, the same. He keeps picturing that night over and over. She says, her too. She feels like such an idiot. When Josslyn went through lockdowns, she was jealous. It sounded exciting, and that was a stupid way to think; there’s nothing exciting about that kind of life. People get hurt… People get killed. Cameron says he’s sorry. The doorbell rings, and Trina says she can’t believe he’s gone. Elizabeth answers the door, thinking it’s Trina’s mother, but it’s Ava and Nikolas.
Michael says Nelle is wasting her time and money. She has no grounds to sue for custody of Wiley. She says it turns out she does. Starting with his Uncle Brad. He kidnapped their son, and convinced them their son was dead for two years. Carly says, Brad is going to do serious jail time, and won’t be spending time with Wiley again. Nelle says, that doesn’t do anything about the family business. It’s a miracle they all survived that coordinated attack, but it’s undeniable their family poses a clear and present threat to her son. Willow says, that’s ironic, since Nelle poses more of a threat. Did Nelle forget she’s a convicted murderer? Nelle says she served her time, like Michael did. He’s just as much of a felon as she is.
Spinelli says Obrecht startled him, and she says, so she sees. Did she catch him doing something illicit? He says, certainly not, and she says, lurking in the park isn’t a good look. He says he was just admiring the foliage. The refurbishment of this public space is a huge success. Obrecht says the only thing he was admiring was the six-foot Nordic spruce named Peter. He was spying. He says he believes Peter is up to no good, and she says, no kidding. What insight from a supposedly genius hacker. He says he knows she’s no fan of Peter’s either. Who could blame her, since he’s responsible for Faison coming back. She asks what’s his point? and he says, perhaps it’s time for Peter to pay for his myriad of transgressions. She says she’s listening, and he says perhaps they could work together. She asks, how? and he says if she has anything on Peter, it could be useful to his case. She says, there’s a case? He says, theoretically, but with her help, it could be realized.
Anna tells Peter, the Bureau Chief in central Europe is conducting a forensics investigation on Faison’s operation. He turned up some interesting things. Peter says, on him? and she says his name came up, among others. Peter flashes back to Obrecht saying, like him, she has a past she’s trying to live down. There was a time she would have used his past to her advantage, but she’s not that person anymore. Anna says they’re researching Eurotech and Faison’s other shell operations. She asks if he’s heard of Luna Industrial enterprises.
Ava says she’s there to see Trina, if that’s okay, and Elizabeth invites her in. Ava tells Trina, she’s sorry about her father. She heard he saved Trina. He must have been a very brave man. Trina says, the bravest, and they hug.
Jordan asks Curtis if he really expect her to go for this. She’s not working with a mobster. Sonny says she’s worked with him and the Jeromes before, but she says that’s when she was undercover with the DEA, and the only reason she associated with Julian was to bring down his operation. And she was trying to save Sean from Sonny. Sonny says now she can work with him to save herself. She says she’s wasted enough of her time there, and walks out.
Sam and Molly hug, and Sam asks how Molly is. Molly says, mom told Sam. She’s not very subtle. Sam says, mom is in New York, and feels bad that she can’t be here;don’t be mad. Molly says she’s not, but she’d wanted to tell Sam herself over some much needed wine. They sit, and Sam asks, what’s going on? Molly says, mom didn’t give her the details? and Sam says she’d rather hear it from Molly. Molly says, TJ asked her to marry him. He had the waitress bring her the ring on a slice of cake. (How upset was Molly? It was a whole cake, albeit a small one.) He was loving and sincere, and she turned him down. Not because she doesn’t love him; she just doesn’t want to get married. But TJ does, and the more they tried to explain their positions, the worse things got, until TJ just walked away. She knows he’s upset, and she hates that she hurt him. Sam says he probably feels disappointed. She can’t blame him for being mad. Molly says she thought once he cooled down, they could talk it through, so she waited at their place for him to come back. She waited all night, but he never did. She doesn’t want to freak out, but it’s not like him. They’ve had their share of arguments, but he’s never not come home. (Are you thinking what I’m thinking?)
Peter says Luna was a front for Faison to obtain visas for his associates. Anna says, Howard did some digging, and found out that Faison arranged for some of his associates to travel to Afghanistan. She’s wondering if one of his associates was involved, and they’re trying to cover their tracks.
Spinelli says if Obrecht has anything on Peter, it could be most useful. He has to expose Peter’s lies before they hurt his loved ones. Keeping silent is never the answer. Look at what happened to Lucas. She says, what now? and he says she didn’t hear? Lucas was cruelly deceived by his husband and Nelle. The baby known as Wiley is actually Nelle’s son with Michael. Nelle persuaded Brad to facilitate the baby swap, but now their crime has been exposed, and they’ve been arrested. She says, how unexpected, and he says he never would have thought Nelle would concoct a baby swap, but now she’s back in police custody. Her arraignment is today.
Michael says one count of involuntary manslaughter while he was a minor, doesn’t compare to multiple counts of murder, attempted murder, fraud, conspiracy, perjury, and oh yeah, assault. Carly says, and Nelle pled no contest to all of them; they’re on her record forever, and admissible in family court. Michael’s one mistake happened years ago. Nelle says, a mistake? Is that what they’re calling bludgeoning Claudia Zacara to death? Carly says Nelle is a repeat offender, with a history of violent crimes, starting with killing her first fiancé, up until a year and a half ago, when she tried to kill Michael. Nelle says she was suffering from hormonal imbalance due to pregnancy, which family court will take into consideration, since they usually side with the mother. Willow asks if Nelle hears herself, gloating and snarking. She doesn’t care about Wiley as a person. She just wants to use that little boy as a weapon against Carly and Michael. Nelle says she’s a mother deprived of her child. Willow tells Michael, if he needs a witness, she volunteers. She’ll tell the court that Nelle is dangerous and emotionally unstable Nelle really is. Willow walks out, and Michael says, can Nelle picture it? Her, up on the stand with her crocodile tears, then Willow takes the stand and tells the truth. She can’t fake kindness or generosity or courage or love, because all those things are real to Willow. When Nelle is going against someone real, the judge will see through her just like the rest of them. He leaves, and Carly says Nelle knows he’s right, and she’s choking on it. She knows the judge will see her as nothing but trash.
Jordan goes back to her office, and throws her coat down on a chair. She sits at her desk, huffing and puffing. She looks at a photo of herself with TJ, Curtis, and Stella.
Sonny says, Jordan is a formidable woman. Anyone who tries to take down Cyrus is impressive. It takes guts. Curtis says, it also takes its toll. He thinks that’s why she kept it secret for so long. Sonny asks if he blames her. Curtis says he noticed they weren’t too surprised when she mentioned her history with Cyrus, and Sonny says they weren’t. Jason says they realized there was a connection between Taggert and Cyrus when he showed up there looking to team up, and then saw there was a connection between Taggert and Jordan. Sonny says, Curtis just filled in the gaps. Jason asks why Jordan hasn’t gone to the DEA, and Curtis says, she’s concerned that someone at the DEA leaked the names of the task force. Jason says, so she doesn’t want the DEA involved, and maybe pulling some records. Curtis asks what he’s saying, and Jason says, Cyrus has something on Jordan, doesn’t he? Curtis says he’s going to go find his wife. He’ll be in touch.
Ava asks if she can speak to Trina alone for a minute. Cameron says, of course (🍷), and Ava sits with Trina on the couch. She asks how many times she’s been asked if she’s hungry, and Trina says, non-stop. Ava says she won’t join the chorus, but she will tell Trina that she brought some really good chocolate chip cookies. Trina thanks her, and Ava asks how she’s feeling. Trina doesn’t know how to answer, and Ava says, that’s totally fine. Don’t feel pressure to feel okay for anyone. Don’t put a timeline on grief; it takes the time it takes. Trina asks if you ever get over it, and Ava says, no. She hasn’t; not yet anyway. She tells Trina not to be discouraged. One day, she’ll find she’s moved on from the pain she’s in now. She’ll always miss her dad, but the loss will become more bearable. Her life will fill up again. She’ll be more wounded, but stronger. Trina asks how she gets there, but Ava doesn’t know. She wishes she did, but Trina will know when it happens. And if anyone rushes her or tells her how to feel, they’ll have to deal with Ava. They hug. Trina’s mom (Dr. Portia Robinson) comes in, and Trina runs to her.
Nelle tells Carly, Zara thinks they have a strong case, and she’ll make a compelling witness. Carly says that’s because Nelle is paying her retainer. She’s going to lose. The facts speak for themselves. It’s bad enough she tried to kill Michael, but then she kidnapped his son, and hid him for a year and a half. Nelle says, Brad stole Wiley from her, and Carly says she’s sure he did. Nelle strongly suggests Carly stop harassing her, or she’ll get a restraining order. Carly says, please do what she has to. If Nelle wants to go to war with Carly and her family again, they’re ready.
In the hallway, Obrecht asks if Carly came from Nelle’s arraignment. Carly says, it’s over; all charges were dropped. She wonders why Obrecht cares, and Obrecht says she wants to interview Nelle for her medical column. Carly tells her, good luck with that, and Obrecht goes into the courtroom. She says, good. Nelle is still there. It seems they have unfinished business.
Portia says she’s sorry she wasn’t there for Trina last night. She got on the first flight back. Trina says, she’s there now, and Portia promises it will be okay. She says she’s thankful for Elizabeth looking after Trina, and Elizabeth says, of course (🍷). Portia says she’s glad they’re okay. Ava introduces herself, saying Trina interns for her at the gallery. She came by to offer her condolences. She thinks the world of Trina. Portia asks Trina to get her things, so they can head home, and Cameron says he’ll help. Ava says if there’s anything she can do, but Portia says she has it under control. Ava says if she changes her mind, if there’s anything at all, don’t hesitate. Franco says he thinks she’s got it covered, and Ava says, Trina is such a special girl. She wants Trina to have everything she needs to cope. She knows Portia is busy with work, and that’s okay, but she can keep Trina company; she’s available. Portia says she appreciates the support, but wants to keep the boundaries clear. Trina is her daughter, not Ava’s.
Sonny tells Jason, the way Curtis was acting, whatever Cyrus has on Jordan must be pretty bad. Jason asks if Sonny is considering Curtis’s proposal, and Sonny says, it’s always good to have an ally at the PCPD. Jason says, Jordan’s not going to cooperate, but Sonny says, she could change her mind. Jordan is the reason Cyrus came to Port Charles, and for whatever reason, she feels guilty about it. Maybe it will motivate her to resolve this mess fast.
Curtis goes to Jordan’s office, but she says she has nothing to say to him. He thinks she does, and she says, how dare he blindside her in front of Sonny and Jason? He says he was trying to be helpful, and she says by exposing her and her past to the local don? She tells him, wake the hell up. Sonny might be GH’s biggest donor, and fund outreach programs, but don’t forget who that guy really is; a criminal. In what universe would she work with him? He says, it’s better than ending up dead. She can be pissed at him all she wants to, but that doesn’t change the fact that her life is on the line. He’s terrified for her.
Molly asks if Sam thinks she should show up at GH, and talk to TJ. Sam doesn’t think they should hash the whole thing out there, but they could set up a time to talk. Molly says she should go. She’s sorry to cut this short. Sam tells her, go find her man. Spinelli comes in, and Sam asks if he found anything on Peter.
Anna tells Peter that Howard is texting her a list of the Luna employees, so she can see who might have gone to Afghanistan. They have turned up something very interesting. There was a large wire transfer from that company to David Black a few weeks before the attack. Her phone dings, and she looks at it. She says, it can’t be. We see Obrecht’s name on the list, and Peter asks, what is it? Anna looks at him.
Obrecht tells Nelle, she came as soon as she heard Nelle was out of court. Nelle asks if Obrecht wants to congratulate her on being a free woman, but Obrecht says she wants to make it clear where they both stand. If Nelle implicates Obrecht in her grubby little crimes, Obrecht will turn her in for kidnapping.
Michael says he wants to thank Willow, and she says, for losing her temper? He says, for calling Nelle out to her face. She was incredible. She says he’s the incredible one. How does he keep his cool when Nelle is so awful? He says, the only way to beat Nelle is to not engage. The moment you get angry, or worse, feel bad for her, is when she can manipulate you. Don’t let her. Willow says she meant what she said; she’ll be happy to testify if he thinks it will help. He says he might take her up on it. He’s willing to do whatever it takes so Nelle doesn’t get custody.
Nelle says, if one more woman threatens her today… but Obrecht says, it’s not a threat; it’s a prediction. If Nelle implicates her, she can do far worse to Nelle. Nelle says she has no intention of telling anyone about Obrecht’s involvement in Wiley’s birth, or that she knew Brad was raising Michael’s son. Obrecht says Nelle is cunning; she’ll give her that much. She knows if she implicates Obrecht, she implicates herself. How is she going to explain the babies being switched? Nelle says, she passed out, giving birth alone, and was unconscious, with her infant in her arms. Then Brad switched babies without her knowing. Obrecht says she’s pinning the whole thing on Herr Cooper? and Nelle says, better him than us.
Anna says, it was right in front of her eyes. Obrecht was involved. Peter asks if she really thinks Obrecht would engineer Drew’s death and the attack on Franco, and she says, it’s in her wheelhouse; she’s murdered before. She doesn’t have to remind Peter of Obrecht’s violent tendencies. She was running the clinic in Switzerland at the time, and it isn’t a stretch that she could have helped Faison with the logistics of the original memory transfer. She doesn’t care who dies, as long as they cover her tracks. Peter asks what they should tell Maxie, and she says, nothing. Nobody is going to be told anything until she finds out how the Bureau wants to proceed. If she’s right, and Obrecht is involved, it’s going to be an enormous shock to Maxie. She’ll coordinate with the Bureau, and be back in touch. Peter says he’ll keep the information to himself.
Spinelli regrets to inform Sam that getting damning information on Peter proved unsuccessful. He found Peter speaking to his mother, then Obrecht showed up, and pestered him with questions. Sam wonders what she was doing there, but Spinelli says, other than terrorizing him, he has no clue. Thankfully, the day wasn’t a complete waste. She asked for help finding leverage against her parole officer. He accidentally gained access to her home server, and apparently Delores has made several calls to a burner phone every day for the last few months. Sam asks if he found anything, and he says, not yet, but it’s a burner phone. It can’t be good.
Ava says she didn’t mean to intrude, but Portia says intruding has nothing do with it. She’s beyond grateful to Elizabeth and Franco for stepping in while she was away, but her eyes are open to Ava’s history. The same kind of people Ava used to associate with, are the type of people who got Trina’s father killed. Her daughter isn’t available to fill some emotional void Ava has. Ava says that wasn’t her intention, and Portia says, then they’re on the same page. Now she’s going to get her daughter. She heads upstairs, and Ava jets. Franco says, wait, but she keeps going. He asks if Nikolas isn’t going after her, but Nikolas thinks she’d rather be alone. Franco says Nikolas really is a selfish son of a bitch, and goes after Ava.
Jordan says Curtis doesn’t have to be afraid for her; she’s figuring it out. There are always risks. Curtis says, this is different. Cyrus isn’t some local thug; he’s the head of a major drug cartel. He can easily come after her or TJ. She asks if he doesn’t think she knows that, and he says he saw Taggert get shot, and they both watched Trina see her father die. Are her ethics worth so much that she’d risk putting TJ in the same situation with her?
Sonny tells Jason they have intel on Cyrus, but it would be nice if Jordan filled in some gaps. She knows Cyrus better than anyone. Jason says, that doesn’t mean they have to work with her, and Sonny says, they’ve had cops on the payroll before. Jason says, not the Commissioner. It’s bad news to have her around in any capacity. Jordan is smart, and got in her line of work to put guys like them behind bars. They can’t give her a chance to take them down.
Elizabeth says Ava is obviously upset, but Nikolas says, she has a flair for the dramatic. She says, and he doesn’t care at all. He says they’re nothing more than business partners, and she says, wow. He sounds like his Uncle Stephan. She hated him. Not just because he was a liar who tried to destroy the Spencers, but the way he pressured Nikolas to be just like him; calculating and detached. Nikolas used to fight against it, but now he’s given in, but he says, not completely. He doesn’t enjoy seeing Ava suffering, but whatever comfort she needs, he’s incapable of giving to her. That’s why he’s grateful she has someone like Franco in her life.
Franco finds Ava with a martini at the MetroCourt bar. He says, looks great, and she tells him, just leave, please. It’s a self-loathing pity party of one. He says, Dr. Robinson didn’t know what she was saying, but Ava says, she did. And she wasn’t wrong. She noticed something familiar in Trina the first day she bounced into the gallery. She doesn’t know if it’s Trina’s love of art, no-nonsense attitude, or that her heart is ten times bigger than anyone else she knows, but she reminded Ava of Kiki. Trina reminds her of the great potential Kiki had, before Ryan took it from her. Dr. Robinson might have been blunt, but she also had it right. There’s no bringing back her daughter. Franco puts his hand on top of hers.
Jordan tells Curtis not to dare use TJ to manipulate her. He asks if that’s what she thinks he’s doing. She can’t change the past, and she can’t help it’s come back to bite her, but she can do everything in her power to avoid hurting him and TJ. But this is non-negotiable. She’s not working with Sonny, period. Understand? Curtis opens the door, and Molly is there. As he leaves, she comes in. She asks if it’s a bad time, and Jordan says she’s been meaning to reach out. TJ mentioned that he took her out for a special dinner last night. Molly says that’s what she wants to talk about. TJ never came home, and he never showed up for work either.
Sonny tells Jason, there’s no need debate this; Jordan didn’t seem interested anyway. He only likes to work with cops he has leverage over; that way, they work for him. Jason says they don’t have any leverage, and Sonny says, not yet, but they could. Jason thinks Cyrus has something really damaging on Jordan. Curtis bolting proves it. Say Jordan changes her mind and wants to work with them. That could be their insurance policy. Sonny says it sounds like Jason is starting to reconsider, and Jason says, they need find out what Cyrus has on Jordan. Sonny says, it’s time to find out.
Sam says, Spinelli is a godsend, and he says, it’s hyperbolic, but he’ll take it. She says, seriously, if Delores is up to something shady, maybe they can convince her to back off a little, and it will give her and Jason some leeway. Spinelli says then they can double their efforts with their main priority; taking down Peter before he hurts someone else.
On the phone in the park, Peter says, the Bureau already accessed the company server. He thanks them for getting the information out in a timely manner. He appreciates it.
Willow tells Michael, what scares her is, Nelle is right. The courts have a tendency to side with the mother. He says if the mother is like Willow, yes, but Nelle has a history of everything from murder to mental instability. Carly joins them, and says she just got off the phone with Diane. She’s going to get a head start on Nelle’s custody. She doesn’t want Michael to worry. She’s going to crush Nelle, and he has to let her. No backing off, or compromising for Wiley’s sake. He says, there is no compromising with Nelle. He has to win sole custody for Wiley’s sake.
Obrecht says, so Brad was the mastermind; Nelle was just the innocent victim. She’s astonished that anyone would believe such an obvious lie. Nelle is quite adept at manipulation, and might actually succeed. As long as they’re clear, Obrecht never gets mentioned. If anyone asks about their conversation, Obrecht was interviewing Nelle for her column. Nelle says, about what? but Obrecht says, it doesn’t matter. She refused the interview. Selfish snit that she is, she didn’t care that her experience could be used to help others. Now begone with her. She’s getting on Obrecht’s last nerve. Nelle leaves, and Obrecht says, that, as they say, is that. She wonders what Maxie and James are doing for dinner tonight.
As she’s about to leave, Anna comes through the door, blocking her way. Anna says Obrecht thought she got away with it, but she thought wrong
Tomorrow, Jax tells Nina that he got an email from HR about them (hard to believe, but okay); Jordan thinks she has a lead in Trina and Cameron’s kidnapping; and Anna tells Obrecht, she can and did, and Anna has proof.
🏥 A New Face In Port Charles…
Trina’s mom is back, even though we’ve never met her.
Christian was excited to see what the designers were doing, and traveled to see each of them. Nancy was first, and Christian was astonished at how organized she was. In his interview, he said he found it interesting, since it felt like Nancy was a mess during the competition. She had a cardboard stand-up of Christian saying, amazing, which Christian thought was fantastic, but a little creepy. She said she’d learned a lot creating the gown for a woman in a wheelchair; it was a challenge. In her interview, she said she’d always felt like she didn’t fit in, but had found a home where she belonged – making fashion. We flashed back to various critiques of her designs. Christian said her fabrics were beautiful and her designs were amazing, but to be careful of the fit, which was something the judges had warned her about. He told her not to overwork it, or try too hard. In Nancy’s interview, she said she was going to listen to Christian, and do some editing. She wanted to make pieces that were worthy of fashion week. Nancy showed Christian her view of the Rocky steps (before the entrance to the Philadelphia Museum of Art), and asked if Christian would run them with her. He said he’d just had a cheesesteak, so he would. He beat her, but not by much. He said it was Nancy’s moment, and to work it out. He thanked her for the Rocky moment.
Sergio was next, where Christian was sure he was going to hear about a political statement. Sergio introduced Christian to his partner Kade, and his collection. His inspiration was global warming, and his focus, the melting glaciers and ice caps. He explained his pieces went from starting with glaciers in a solid state, and ending at the point there were no glaciers; a lot of the effect made by using a color palette going from white to almost black. Christian asked how Sergio was being sustainable, and Sergio explained there was a process to grow leather using kombucha. I am not kidding – see below. He showed Christian some leather fermenting in his bathtub, which apparently smelled pretty strong. He told Christian it was a living organism, and had to be fed honey. I think this freaked Christian out a little, and he said he wanted to look at clothes, not organisms. He told Sergio that his color palette made sense, but he didn’t know if anyone would get the reference in the styles. He wasn’t sure if it translated to glacier. Christian also said the vibe he was getting was Victorian saloon, and thought the designs should be more modernized. Sergio told Christian, everything he designed had a classical influence, and in his interview, said he was always open to advice (really?), but was sticking to his guns. At the end of the day, it was his story. Christian suggested the designs should have a sense of wetness and volume. He reminded Sergio about the judges pointing out he was referential, and Sergio said he looked to history for inspiration. Christian said he should push himself to go new, different, and never been done. Sergio said he had soccer practice, and asked if Christian was into boys running around in shorts. Christian said he was always up for that, so Sergio brought him along, but Christian mostly spun around on the field, doing pirouettes. I like Sergio a lot, and especially love his helpfulness to the other contestants, but he’s still the man of excuses.
After that, Christian visited Victoria, and said her hair was bigger than ever. She told Christian that her overall story was traditional, and she was using Moldavian ornamental patterns in her work. She also had her brand, Kheopo (a pharaoh’s name), strategically placed, Christian remarked that the collection was different from what she’d done, and Victoria said Karlie had told her to focus on not just one type of woman. Her mother had helped with crochet work on hats and bags to go with the outfits, but Christian thought her work was more powerful when it was streamlined. She introduced him to her husband Dan and son Christian, who was too little to get any jokes about them having the same name. Dan seemed like an awesome guy, who was totally on board with being supportive. He’d gone from being a soccer player to a truck driver, so she could pursue her dream. He said if she rose to the top, it was a win for him too. She said if she made it big, he could retire from driving, and the family would have a chance to stay together more.
Christian’s final visit was to Geoffrey, who’d had a skateboard accident, so he wasn’t as far along as he would have liked. It had prevented him from doing things like fabric shopping, and in his interview, he said he was frustrated. All he’d done was hypothetical sketches, incorporating futurism with clean lines and details. Christian told him to think about who was going to wear it on the runway, and who would buy it. Geoffrey said his brain was on fire. He told Christian that because of the accident, he was kicked financially, so he took on a Disney project, The Little Mermaid. He’d also broken up with his partner, so Geoffrey had quite a month. He said he did his best work when he was submerged in the design process, and Christian said Geoffrey’s ideas were never ending, but he’d have to figure out how make sense of his collection.
The designers arrived in NYC for Fashion Week, and went to see Christian’s runway show, which opened the week. Karlie met with them, saying they would be seeing their new workroom tomorrow. I would say Christian’s collection was beyond amazing, and Nancy said seeing the show gave her another push – this can be you. Geoffrey said he’s been gearing up to Fashion Week his whole career. Possibly closing it was mind blowing.
The new workroom was fabulous, and everyone opened their collections and hung them on the racks. Nancy said she’d elevated her collection after Christian’s visit. The judges had never seen pieces like that from her, and she didn’t even use horsehair. She did, however, use liquid fabric, which is the epitome of glamour IMO. Geoffrey also took Christian’s advice to heart, and thought he’d come up with some great work. Victoria said she’d changed 99% of her designs, which shocked the hell out of me, since she never seemed to take advice very well. She said it now looked cohesive; a thread. While it wasn’t exactly a compliment when Christian called Sergio’s collection Victorian saloon, Sergio thought he’d embrace that, making it cool, new, and clever. In his interview, he said he could see problems with everybody’s stuff, including his. Karlie arrived, and said the judges couldn’t ask for a more talented group. They all had the potential to make a real impact in the industry. So they were throwing out the rule book. All four could be moving on – or three or two. It depended on what the designers could show them 48 hours from now. In two days, the designers were to show three looks. The strategy was up to them. They could show their favorites, or choose save their showstopper for impact at Fashion Week. Victoria said the hardest part was what to show. They were to decide among themselves who would get what models, and Sergio said a model could make or break a look. Geoffrey wanted a male model, but said it was difficult to choose when there was $300K on the line. At the end of the day, the designers headed for the Box House Hotel. Nancy said, at this point, they knew each other way too well.
The designers worked on finishing touches. Geoffrey said he was obsessed with metal mesh metallics. In his interview, he said he named the collection – Purple Heart – in honor of his father, who had three of them. When he was younger, their relationship had been bad, but they were friends now. Because of his father’s belief in him, he wants the proud dad moment; it would mean a lot. He told Christian that he hadn’t tried any of the pieces on a human yet (not sure what he meant by that – did he try them on dogs?), and Christian tried on a gigantic puffy, sparkly coat that made him look like he was in a Sumo wrestler costume.
Although Victoria was very excited over her mom’s contribution, Christian said her collection was very styled, but not to overdo it. Think about what would surprise the judges. He thought her layered sportswear was the most interesting and exciting, but it needed editing. Geoffrey started a feather storm while stuffing his massive coats, which Nancy called the attack of the feathers. Christian suggested Sergio modernize his dresses. They weren’t costumey, but they were period-like. He said Sergio should rock it up a little.
Nancy said Christian’s visit had helped so much, and he told her to pick strong looks that wowed, so the judges would want to see more of what she created. She got all teary over Christian being complementary, and had to take a moment. She told Geoffrey that Christian appreciating her collection was overwhelming. Christian thought everyone was being too casual, and reminded them that two could go home, which made everyone pay attention. It was time for the model fittings, and I was not crazy about all the puffy jacket stuff in Geoffrey’s collection. On the other hand, Victoria had a sparkly hoodie jumpsuit paired with a solid blazer that I loved. I seem to always love what I could never wear. Short people got no reason to wear jumpsuits. Christian thought Geoffrey needed feedback on a couple of his pieces, especially something that looked like it was possibly made for an octopus.
Christian said he was going to the Oscars, so he wouldn’t see them before the runway. He said they’d have two and a half hours the day of, and DON’T FORGET THE TRESEMME AND MAYBELLINE STUDIOS before sending their models out. The product placement is heavy with this one. Geoffrey said he was swimming in his thoughts, and Nancy said the liquid fabric was difficult to work with. She had one shot with sewing it, and couldn’t redo it or the fabric would be wrecked.
On runway day, the feather situation was still not good, with feathers floating along the floor. Sergio notice a visible panty line (or VPL as they say in the business) on one of his choices. He hadn’t realized how sheer the front of the dress was. Didn’t anyone try the clothes on anyone. Geoffrey was so wired, he kibitzed the entire time his models were in makeup and hair. In his interview, he said he thought he’d be calm during the finale, but it was getting to him. I thought he was going to have a nervous breakdown during the interview. The real Victoria came back, and said she wasn’t taking any of Christian’s advice.
The guest judge was Steven Kolb, President and CEO of the CFDA (the Council of Fashion Designers of America). In Nancy’s interview, she said, this was business; Steven was tough. Victoria looked like she was going to be sick.
Sergio felt he had a clear point-of-view. He thought his beading created an essence of wetness and water, and the feeling of Arctic ice melting. The cocktail dress he chose weighed in at 45 pounds. Nancy included her creation for the wheelchair bound model, which had a skirt that doubled as a cape. She thought her tailored suit showed her progress as a designer, and her third choice was her evening gown of liquid fabric.
All of Victoria’s pieces incorporated a blazer. She thought her sportswear separates collection was fresh, and super modern. I thought at least it was different from the same dress she kept making. Geoffrey’s goal was to be big, bold, and loud. I loved his metal mesh dress with an open bra neckline, but not so much the dude in the puffy boat paired with a simple tank top and shredded… pants? Skirt? I wasn’t sure. Karlie said one thing was certain – they all had distinct points of view. She added that if the judges didn’t think they should move on to Fashion Week, they’d be out. I wondered if all this angst was just so they could stretch this out into two episodes.
Brandon said, let the games begin. Victoria said her collection was called Revelation, and she went with her gut. Nina was concerned about the colors and the fit, saying her tailoring had to be impeccable. Elaine didn’t think the jumpsuit looked well-made, and said Victoria had to think about adjusting the fit, and it made the fabric look cheap. I had to agree, because although I loved the jumpsuit, especially with the blazer, the fabric did remind me of those cheap Halloween costumes that have shiny circles attached that aren’t real sequins. Nina said editors and retailers love separates, and Steven thought the matching caps were a good go-to piece, which every designer should have. He thought they should be her signature, as they included her heritage in her mother’s crochet work. Karlie thought it was unnecessary to have a bag with each outfit, and Brandon said she didn’t need branding. Her brand hadn’t been around long enough for people to want something with her name one it.
Sergio said he’d gone with Ocean Anthem, explaining the glacier tie-in. Steven said it was American to have a message, but the audience had to get message, and he didn’t think it was coming across. Elaine said Sergio jumped from issue to issue, and she thought he should decide what the one thing was he wanted to stand for, and use his fashion for that platform. Elaine brought up what was more than a VPL on Sergio’s sheer gown, saying she didn’t need to see the model’s thong; it was distracting. The sheerness took away from the elegance. Nina said the styling was beautiful, but dated, and they’re looking for something modern. Brandon thought Sergio had to f*** it up. What was his version of a modern evening gown? It should be constructed well, but he needed to edit. Brandon suggested he take off a sleeve. Karlie said he was trying to prove all the techniques he could do in one look; less is more. Geoffrey explained about Purple Heart, and Brandon said makeup and hair was important for what he was trying to achieve. Everything had to look expensive. He also needed to edit. Nina told him, veer on the lux side. I was surprised they didn’t like the metal mesh dress as much as I did. Steven agreed on the puffy coat though, saying there was too much volume, and no sexiness. Nancy told the judges that her two goals were sustainability and inclusivity, and her collection was zero waste. Elaine thought she needed more modern styling. She was taking Elaine to a past she didn’t want to revisit. Nina complimented her on her evolution as a designer, saying her pantsuit was the most tailored garment she’d made. She suggested Nancy tone down the print. She also felt the neckpiece on the liquid fabric gown swallowed the model’s head, and had her take it off, then liked much better. Again the main suggestion was to edit. Brandon said there was so much going on, he wanted to examine it with a magnifying glass, but there was no time for that during Fashion Week.
At this point I started to get nervous, and… to be continued.
Next time, Serena Williams is the guest judge, and a winner is chosen.
(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)
General Hospital
Preparing for the arraignment, Nelle practices saying she’s going to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help her God. Carly walks in, and says Nelle should probably try not to attract God’s attention. Nelle addresses Carly as the grandmother of her child, and says it’s wonderful to see her. Carly says, enjoy it while it lasts. She’ll be back in Pentenville to stay soon.
On the phone, Michael tells someone to reach out if there’s anything he needs to know about. He should only be gone a month. Sasha wonders what’s going on, and Michael says he’s taking a leave of absence to be a fulltime father. She says, good for him, and he says he doesn’t want her to think he’s a slacker. She says he’s happy, and happiness is hot. They kiss.
Willow sits in Rice Plaza, and a little boy drops his hot chocolate. She runs over to him, telling him it’s going to be okay. His father comes over, and Willow explains what happened, even though it’s obvious. The father says, thanks for… I guess he’s not sure what, because then he hustles his kid back to the hot chocolate cart. Willow goes back to the bench, and Chase comes by. He asks if she’s okay, and she hugs him.
Valentin has a drink at the MetroCourt bar, and Olivia tells him, Nina is on a photoshoot. Valentin says that’s Nina’s business, not his, and she asks who he’s stalking instead. He says he’s not. He’s just enjoying a cocktail and watching people.
Linc tells Brook, sorry; he needed to take a call. He told Miguel, it’s not retro; it’s just backward. (Making mental note of that one for future reference.) Brook suggests he try to grab Miguel’s ass, and Linc calls her a spitfire. It’s clear their partnership isn’t working, and she says extortion and sexual harassment aren’t working for her. What about him? He says he told her she’s free, and can assume full control of her career. All she has to do is sign over her shares of ELQ.
On the phone, Jordan says she was aware Taggert had a kid, but didn’t know Trina was in Port Charles until recently. It’s been a while since they’ve been in touch. No. That doesn’t make it hurt any less. Mac comes in, and sets up two shot glasses. Still on the phone, Jordan says they have no proof Cyrus was behind it yet, but her people are working non-stop. Mac pours the shots and hands her one.
Curtis meets Jason and Sonny near the coffee warehouse, and Jason thanks him for coming. Curtis says Jason told him that he wanted to meet, but didn’t mention he was bringing Sonny. Sonny says, Cyrus is a problem for all of them. They have to find a solution.
Jordan says, to Taggert, and Mac says, a damn fine cop, and they clink glasses. Mac asks if she’d like another, but she says, no. She needs to save something for the wake. Mac says he didn’t pop in just to raise a glass. He has a lead that he’s been holding off pursuing until he gets her take on it. She asks, why? What lead? and he says, her husband.
Sonny says Jason told him what happened, and it’s his understanding that Curtis did everything possible. Curtis says, except save Taggert. Jason says they had to get Trina out, and Sonny says, Taggert agreed it was the right call. Curtis says, it doesn’t feel that way.
Brook asks Linc why he wants the shares, and he says, dividends. He’s investing in his future. She asks if he even knows what ELQ does, and he says, does she? She throws some financial terms at him, and asks if he understands them. He says he doesn’t have to take a quiz, and she wonders why she’s going from recording contract hell, and being offered freedom for a company Linc knows nothing about. What’s he doing there, and what is he really after?
Olivia says, Carly might be okay with letting Valentin in there, but she’s co-owner, and reserves the right to throw him out. She might exercise that privilege now. He says he bears no ill will against the Quartermaines. Valentin flashes back to saying Michael doesn’t want him as an enemy, and tells Olivia, in fact, he thinks they have quite a lot in common.
Michael tells Sasha, he thinks it’s important that he be a fulltime father for a month or so. Wiley is going to miss Lucas and Brad. He asks if she and Willow had a chance to talk, and Sasha says, some. She knows Willow said she can’t see Wiley anymore. Michael says, Willow is worried Wiley will pick up on her sadness, and Sasha says, she’s not necessarily wrong. Michael says he respects Willow’s decision, but he practically begged her to stay in Wiley’s life. He can’t help but feel they both need each other. Willow might not be Wiley’s biological mother, but Wiley is a son to her in her heart, and infinitely better than his birth mom.
Willow tells Chase that she thought she’d watch the skaters. She didn’t mean to ruin their day. He says being there for her makes him feel useful, and she says she watched a boy drop something, and swooped in to make it better. The crying lady in the park. She’d run from herself too, if she could. So would Michael if he had any sense, but he insisted it was the opposite. She told him that she can’t be around Wiley, and he asked her to try and find a way. The more she thinks about it, the more she wants to.
Carly tells Nelle, she called it. She said it was only going to be a matter of time before Nelle screwed up and was sent back to prison. Zara tells Carly to stop antagonizing her client. Nelle introduces Carly to Zara, saying Carly is the grandmother to her child. Zara says she thought she recognized Carly; she met Carly’s husband. Carly says Sonny was impressed with her; not so much her client. Zara says, Shiloh was her client, and Carly says, not anymore. Zara says he was a man full of contradictions, and Carly says, they’re called lies. He was a rapist and conman, and the world is better off without him. Zara says, those are harsh words to say in front of his grieving widow. Carly laughs, and says Nelle just married him to get his ELQ shares. Nelle asks why Carly is being cruel, and Carly says Nelle tried to kill her son. She left him in a car she thought was going to explode, and gave Brad a child that he convinced Michael was his dead son. Zara says, of all people, Carly must be familiar with the word alleged, and Carly says, Nelle gave birth to Wiley, but she’s only ever allegedly been his mother.
Chase asks if Michael asked Willow to keep being Wiley’s nanny, but she says, it wasn’t like that. Wiley lost Lucas and Brad, and Michael thinks she can be a consistent presence in his life. Nothing has changed from Wiley’s perspective. She’s the nice lady who reads stories to him and babysits sometimes. Chase says, it’s changed from her perspective, but she says it shouldn’t change her and Wiley’s relationship. He’s not the child she gave birth to, but she’s been a part of his life. It’s like what Michael was going through. He didn’t know Wiley was his child, but loved him anyway. She knows Wiley’s not hers, but she doesn’t love him any less in her heart. He says that’s not how she felt last night, but she says she misses Wiley so much, Chase suggests, before she makes a decision, take a breath. She says, of course (🍷), and he says he knows Michael is thinking about what’s best for Wiley, but he’s thinking about what’s best for her.
Michael tells Sasha, part of him feels guilty, but another part hopes Willow can work it out. Sasha says, what if she doesn’t? Will he be able to accept it? He hopes so. He’s afraid he’s going to keep asking. Sasha says, most of the time, Michael compulsively does the right thing. So if this is selfish, why keep doing it? He says he’s convinced if Willow and Wiley stay apart, it’s not good for either one of them. Michael’s phone dings. He looks at it, and says, Willow’s not going to decide before Nelle’s arraignment. Sasha asks if he’s going, and he says he can’t miss it. Sasha says she has a meeting with Lucy, but she can reschedule. Michael says, no. Nelle is going to turn it into a circus. Why give her more of an audience? She wonders what Nelle can do at this point, and he says she’d be surprised.
Nelle asks again, how Carly can be so cruel. They’re connected be her little boy. Carly says, they wouldn’t be, if Nelle had kidnapped Wiley and smuggled him out of the country. Zara starts to interrupt, but Nelle says they have to act as a family, and not be at each other’s throats. Carly says Nelle is going back to Pentenville, and she’s not going to see her boy again unless she makes the right choice. Zara asks, what choice would that be? and Carly says, one day, Wiley will understand Nelle’s alleged crimes. Nelle is sure Carly will fill his head with lies, but Carly says she’s not going to breathe a word. That’s what the internet is for. When Wiley reads about her, in the middle of the mug shots and headlines, will be a full account of what she does today. Nelle asks what she’s doing today, and Carly says, admitting everything she’s done. If she throws herself on the mercy of the court, and the record shows she regrets what she did, at least Wiley will know she’s sorry.
Jordan says, Mac’s lead is Curtis? Mac says, Taggert didn’t go alone; Curtis went with him. Curtis got Trina out, while Taggert drew their fire. Jordan says, that ultimately killed him, and Mac says, Jason came late, and saved Cameron. Once the kids were safe, he and Curtis went back in. Jordan says Curtis’s statement will reflect that, and Mac says, once Curtis provides one. They’re still canvasing the crime scene, so he won’t get to Curtis until later. He wants her to pass the word along, so when they talk, Curtis has a clear head. She says she’ll deliver his message. He starts to leave, and she says he forgot his bottle. He says, no; he didn’t.
Sonny tells Curtis that he and Taggert had their issues, but in the end, Taggert was a brave man. This plan was doomed from the start. Curtis asks what they know about the plan, and Jason says, it’s not hard to figure out. Cyrus grabbed Taggert’s daughter, and Taggert couldn’t risk Cyrus making good on his threats by calling the cops, so he contacted Curtis. Curtis asks what they’re saying, and Sonny says, no one wants Curtis taking the heat for anything he did that crossed the line. Jason says they’re just trying to understand. What was Cyrus’s beef with Taggert? Did Taggert share it with him or Jordan? Curtis doesn’t say anything, and Sonny says, listen to him. They all have secrets. The threat of Cyrus is touching all of them, and now isn’t the time to keep quiet. That’s over. Curtis says, good talk. Be seeing you. He walks off, and Jason looks at Sonny.
Carly tells Nelle, put Wiley first for once, and Nelle says, that’s what she’s doing. She’s fighting to stay with her son. Willow walks in, and Nelle says, there wouldn’t be this mess, if another woman hadn’t given up her child. Carly says she’s sorry Willow had to hear that, but Willow says, it’s fine. That narcissistic sociopath can’t help herself. Carly says Willow doesn’t have to be there, but Willow says she wants to see Nelle sent back to prison with her own eyes. Michael arrives, and Willow says she’ll talk to him later. Nelle asks Michael how their son is, and if he told Wiley that she loves him. Michael tells Willow, about last night… but the bailiff says, all rise. Court is in session, and the Honorable Judge Pierce is presiding.
On the phone, Sasha tells Lucy, there’s nothing to worry about. Nina is on board with the partnership between Crimson and Deception, and would be even if she wasn’t.Maxie is on board, and she’s the Nina whisperer. She says she’ll call Lucy back later. Chase asks if he can come in, and Sasha asks if everything is okay. He says the housekeeper said he could find Michael there, but she says, he just left for Nelle’s arraignment.What’s wrong? He says, Michael is messing with Willow’s head and it needs to stop.
Linc tells Brook, he has no ulterior motive. He’s just getting the best deal. She wonders what good it is to him to invest in a company that’s not even publicly traded. The shares are only worth what someone is willing to pay. He says, three albums in five years is what he’s willing to pay, and asks if her independence is worth it to her. She says she’s willing to wait, and he says five years is a long time in their business. She says, after five years, she’s going to look and sound better than ever. He says, by that time she’ll be crooning to lounge lizards if she’s lucky. Olivia stops at their table, and asks if there’s a problem. Linc says, no problems; just a solution. He goes, leaving the paperwork with Brook.
The judge says, it’s the people versus Nelle Benson. He asks what she pleads in the charge of assault, and possession of forged documents, and she says, not guilty. He asks about bail, and the Assistant DA says, the people want bail denied altogether. Nelle was apprehended when she was breaking parole, and preparing to leave the country with a stolen baby and a forged passport. She’s a flight risk. Zara agrees bail shouldn’t be an issue, and makes a motion to dismiss all charges.
Sonny asks if Jason saw that, and Jason says, how uncomfortable Curtis was? Sonny wonders what’s going on, and Jason says, whatever Cyrus is after, it’s not just personal, and Jordan is in deep. Sonny says, interesting theory, but they don’t have a lot to act on.
Curtis goes to Jordan’s office. He sees the liquor bottle, and Jordan says, Mac brought it by. Mac is going to come looking for him. He says Mac wants his statement, and she says, and wants to ask him some questions. Curtis says he’s surprised Mac didn’t hunt him down sooner, and she says, Mac was holding off. Curtis says his story is straight, but she says she doesn’t want him to give a story. She wants him to tell the truth. He says, he will, as much as he can, and she says, it’s okay. She’s ready for this to come out. She shows him some papers, and says, it’s her resignation and confession. She’s turning herself in.
Curtis says he was hoping Jordan changed her mind, but instead she upped the ante with a confession. She says she has to, and he asks how they’re going to change anything if Cyrus is released from prison, is free to do what he wants, and she’s in prison? She says she has a choice between that, and saving lives, but Curtis says Cyrus is piling them up from prison, and the body count will be higher when he’s out. And she’ll be powerless to stop him.
Jason says Taggert and Jordan were in the operative that took Cyrus down, but why the secrecy? Mac comes along, and says they must be discussing coffee business. Sonny tells him, sorry about Taggert, and Mac says, Jason saved Cameron, and subsequently helped Curtis take down Cyrus’s men. Jason tells Mac, he has nothing to say without his attorney present, and Mac says, some things never change. He didn’t come to grill them. He was hoping Taggert said something before he passed that might give Trina some peace. Jason tells Mac, he said Trina was the only thing he cared about. Mac thanks him, and says, one more thing. He has a message for Sonny.
Chase tells Sasha that Willow came there to tell Michael that she wanted no contact with Wiley. Of all people, he’d think Michael would understand what she’s going through, and respect that she needs time and distance to heal. Instead, he pushed her to change her mind. She’s grieving, and being around Wiley makes it worse. Sasha says, Michael would never do anything to hurt Willow, and Chase says, not intentionally. He wouldn’t be there to speak for her if he didn’t think she wasn’t in the right headspace to advocate for herself. She’s the strongest person he knows. Right now, she’s falling apart, and Michael is speeding it along.
Zara says her client was charged because of one woman’s account that’s riddled with inconsistencies. The Assistant DA asks if Zara saying the victim is unreliable because of a head injury the defendant caused. That’s a new level of victim blaming. Zara says Willow let the defendant in, and the Assistant DA says Willow’s statement says she tried to close the door, and prevent Nelle from coming in, but was unable to do so. The judge asks if there’s evidence that Willow sustained an assault, and the Assistant DA says they have the medical records from that night. The judge asks, what else? and she says they have Chase’s statement. Zara says he’s Willow’s boyfriend and the alleged attack took place in his apartment; there’s conflict of interest. The judge dismisses the assault charge without prejudice. Zara says the prosecution failed to hand over the so-called forged documents, and Robert says there was a mix-up. The PCPD misplaced the documents. Valentin slips into the courtroom.
Sasha tells Chase that she’s sorry about what Willow is going through, and Chase says he knows Michael is too, but he’s got to let Willow get through it at her own pace. Sasha says she has a confession. When Willow was there last night, they talked, and she backed Michael up. Chase says, dammit, and Sasha says she got the impression that Willow really wanted a relationship with Wiley. He says, Willow needs distance and perspective to make that decision. Sasha says she isn’t sure Michael has it either, but maybe they do.
Judge Pierce asks if the charge isn’t possession of forged documents, and Robert says it is, but they’re not in possession of the alleged documents. Nelle flashes back to Valentin giving her the passports and birth certificates. The Assistant DA says she’s certain they can be located, and the judge says to get back to him when they do. Until then, if there’s no evidence, there’s no charge. Motion to dismiss granted. Nelle asks Zara what this means, and Zara says she’s free to go. Nelle hugs her, and Valentin smiles. Carly says Robert is still charging Brad, right? and Robert says, absolutely. They’re still building a case. The Assistant DA says, Brad’s statement is in direct opposition to Nelle’s, and Robert says, they can’t nail her without a hammer, and they don’t have one.
Sonny asks Mac if it’s a message or a warning, and Mac says, it’s a courtesy. Laura has instructed all city agencies to come down hard on businesses like his. They can expect a visit from the health department. Jason says they’re ready, and Sonny asks what Mac wants in return. Mac says, consider it a favor in case he needs Sonny’s thoughts about Cyrus. Sonny wonders why Mac would listen him, and Mac says, a cop is dead, the mayor was caught in a crossfire, and he won’t stand for it. Sonny says the mayor took a bullet for his son, and Cyrus came close to killing his wife. It’s different this time. Mac says he doesn’t miss their little chats, and Sonny says, neither does he. Mac leaves, and Sonny shakes his head.
Curtis tells Jordan, when Cyrus gets out, it will put literally every case against him in question. Jordan says, they’re rock solid, but Curtis says, they won’t be if she does this. Cyrus will walk, and have the freedom to operate. On top of it, he’ll be given the gift of being a man wronged by the government. Legally speaking, he’ll be a victim because she went rogue to put him away. She says, innocent people almost died. She doesn’t know what else to do to stop Cyrus. He says he’s got an idea, but she ain’t gonna like it.
Brook thanks Olivia for chasing Linc off, but she’s not in the mood for a lecture. Olivia asks why Brook is hanging out with that creepy slimeball who muzzled her. Brook says they’re negotiating unmuzzling. Olivia asks how that’s going. Is there an actual offer? Brook says, yes, but it looks like the cost isn’t in dollars. Olivia says if Linc is trying to get in Brook’s pants, she’ll have Sonny break his legs. Brook asks if she thinks Sonny would do that, and Olivia says, absolutely. Brook says she’ll keep that in her back pocket, but what if sex isn’t what he wants? Olivia asks what she’s talking about, and Brook says, her dignity. Olivia laughs, and says Brook is a Quartermaine. Hasn’t she bought and sold that already ten times over?
Olivia tells Brook, look at her family. There are books written about what a cad her great-grandfather was, including his own memoir. The Quartermaines thrive on scandal; she’s never seen anything like it. Brook says they’re a colorful clan. Olivia says, if the price of her freedom is eating crow, grab a bib, and chow down. Brook says, if she does what Linc is asking, she’s afraid her family will never look at her the same way. Olivia says, tell her what the thing actually is, and Brook looks down. Olivia says she’s got to ask herself what outcome is best for her, and if she can live with what she has to do to get there. If she can’t, don’t do it, and start thinking of herself as something other than a singer.
Sasha tells Chase, Michael and Willow are so close to the situation, and hell bent on protecting Wiley, they might not realize they’re hurting themselves. She and Chase can keep an eye out, and have an open line of communication. Chase says, spying on them, and Sasha says, no; supporting them. If Willow has a problem, let her know, and she’ll work hard on her end to do the same. Chase says he doesn’t like going behind their backs, and Sasha asks if it’s any different than him coming there now. He says, yes. He didn’t come with a plan or strategy. She says he makes it sound like a conspiracy. It’s more like a safety net; friends relying on each other. Chase says, it wouldn’t be forever, and Sasha says, of course (🍷) not. Chase says, eventually, things will get better.
Zara says Nelle is prone to gloating – don’t. They got lucky, extraordinarily so. Nelle says she’s always had to make her own luck, but Zara says, they can refile at any time. They’re not going to let go easily. She tells Nelle not to leave town, and Nelle says she’s not leaving anytime soon. Nelle’s phone rings, and Valentin tells her, congratulations. She says she supposes she owes it all to him, and he says she’s welcome. She’s had a helluva reversal of fortune. Make the most of it. She says she plans to. She asks how single life is treating him, and does he want to grab a drink some time? Valentin says, goodbye, and hangs up. Nelle looks at her phone, and says, whatever.
In the hallway, Willow wonders what just happened. The woman who knocked her unconscious and gave her a concussion is getting away with it. Michael says, it was dismissed without prejudice. That means she can be recharged when they locate the evidence. (I already knew this term from watching court shows. The more you know…) She says, what if it never happens? but Carly says, this is far from over. They’re going to prove Nelle gave Wiley to Brad. Willow says, it’s Nelle’s word against Brad’s, and for some reason, judges believe Nelle. Nelle walks up to Michael, and says she’s glad he’s there; it saves her a trip. She hands him an envelope, and says she’s suing him. He’s unjustly kept her child from her long enough. She’s filing for full sole custody.
Sonny and Jason are in Jordan’s office, along with Curtis. Sonny says he knows it’s a complicated situation, and respects Jordan for reaching out. She says, it wasn’t her idea. Curtis will explain what they’re doing there. Curtis says, let’s call it a meeting of like minds. They need to set aside their differences, and come together for the common good. They need to take down Cyrus Renault.
Tomorrow, Obrecht asks Spinelli what he thinks he’s doing, Carly asks if Nelle wants to go to war with her family, and Jason asks if Cyrus has something on Jordan.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey – The Reunion – Part One
Andy started the show by saying he wanted full Jersey hair – ten inches. That was not to be, but the fashion was excessively sparkly, and Teresa even had marabou feathers on the bottom of her sequined number. She also had some rhinestone hair ornaments that I seriously coveted.
Jennifer started things off well by saying Melissa couldn’t really be considering having another baby, because she’s too self-absorbed. Jennifer accused her of making a mockery of people who really wanted children. This, coming from the most self-absorbed person on stage (which is saying a lot), and someone I hope her children don’t emulate. They talked about their plastic surgery – zzzz – and Marge’s relationship with Marge Sr. Andy asked about Marge’s father, and she said her mother had left him after a year and a half of marriage. Andy pointed out that the age difference between Marge and her first husband (twenty years) is the same as the difference between her and Marge Sr., and wondered if she’d looked at him as a parent figure. Marge explained that he’d had custody of his three children, and although she had a son on her own, it was the family she never had. Andy said she didn’t seem emotional about her dad, but Marge said, you can’t miss what you never had. Teresa said her mom was also like that, and her mother’s father had left when she was little.
Moving on to Dolores, Andy said everyone always asks about Frank, and wonder why they don’t just get back together. Are they kidding? Frank is the perfect non-husband. He does everything for Dolores, and wants nothing but her scintillating company. She said she and Frank hadn’t had sex since Frankie was conceived, and we all fell out of our chairs. She didn’t say why, but I assume that’s when she found out he cheated. She thanked the viewers who love them together, but said it wasn’t happening. Andy asked about having it all without the ring, and Dolores said she was good without the commitment. Andy asked, what changed? and Dolores said David had many opportunities, and should have taken them. Jennifer suggested Dolores was settling, but Marge disagreed. Jennifer babbled about the reasons why she thought that, while Dolores tried to get a word in edgewise, trying to answer the question she was asked. Marge told Jennifer, shut it, and Dolores said she and David had good chemistry, and she’d wanted to give him a chance to meet her halfway. She was pretty pissed because she considers herself an effing good catch. She said she doesn’t ask for a lot. Andy wanted to take a group vote on who thought Dolores should kick Frank to the curb, but there were no takers. Marge did admit she thinks Dolores should move on.
Andy switched gears, asking if Jackie got offend too easy, but Jackie said she thought people who didn’t acknowledge their emotions are the angriest inside; it’s healthy to let them out. They rehashed Dolores saying she wasn’t friends with Jackie. Andy said he thought there was more going on than Dolores having been raised old school, but Jackie said it was true they’d been raised differently, and she was more liberal. Dolores said liberal was okay, and she was getting there. Andy told her that a lot of people considered her comments anti-Semitic, which Dolores said couldn’t be further from the truth. She’d probably been with more Jewish men than Jackie. She said she and Jackie were friends now, but she likes to get to know someone before considering them a friend. I hear this, since I’m kind of the same way. She said Jackie made an effort to get to know her after that, and they like each other. Melissa asked why Jennifer was making a face, and Jennifer said she thought that was corny. A viewer asked Jackie her opinion on who’s an excellent parent, and Jackie diplomatically (and wisely) said, they were all great parents in their own way. What they all have in common is that they’re mothers, and how they parent makes them different. We see clips of that, including Gia’s prom, and Andy said, the most asked question about Frankie is if he’s single or with Gia. Delores said he was single, and interviewing for a job as an investment banker. He felt with the long hours, he couldn’t give anyone the time they deserve. Andy said Dolores is always saying she doesn’t want Frankie to have a girlfriend, and asked if she’d make an exception for Gia. She said she would, and we already knew Teresa wouldn’t mind. Andy asked Teresa how it was going with Gia out of the house, and Teresa said she was living vicariously, since she hadn’t been allowed to go away to college. Delores said she had to be home at 11 when she was getting married – ask Frank. Andy asked how Marge’s relationship with her step-kids was going, and she said it was better, but not where she wanted it to be. A viewer reminded everyone about how Jennifer said she didn’t know what kind of a parent Marge had been, and Marge said she was a working mom who raised someone else’s children, along with her son. By the time she divorced, the kids were grown, and all the children are tight with each other. She said Jennifer was far from the poster child for stay-at-home-moms. Jennifer said she did it on her own – with only one woman and a babysitter, and a nanny when she had her fourth child. Melissa said, from Jennifer’s social media, it looked like she was never home, but Jennifer called her postings InstaSham, because that’s what people do. Marge said she only posts about her real life.
Andy asked if Jackie’s father understood her eating disorder now, and she said his mind couldn’t imagine what had really happened. Marge said Jackie looked emaciated in her wedding photos. A photo was shown, and Marge was right. Jackie’s arms looked like broomsticks. Jackie said she would shut down anyone who brought it up, and Dolores asked if thinking of food still consumed Jackie. Jackie said it didn’t consume her, but it was still a struggle. Andy asked Jackie why she kept the fact she had a lot of money a secret, and she said it wasn’t a secret, but it wasn’t what defined her. Andy went on to Jennifer’s old world family facing present day issues, and they discussed her daughter Gaby being bullied, and her brother being gay. Jennifer said her mom was learning, and Marge said she thought Jennifer had handled it beautifully. Jennifer said it was a hard discussion to have with her mom.
The rip-roaring fights of the season were the next topic, and Melissa told Jennifer that she says dumb sh*t. Jennifer said Melissa’s husband says a lot of dumb sh*t, but Melissa finds that funny. Jennifer and Marge bickered over who says stupid sh*t, and Andy said there were no winners at the dinner where Jennifer threw a plate and fork at Melissa. We flashed back to that, and Jennifer told Andy that she automatically says what comes to mind, and it gets her in trouble. It’s not like she was touching anyone. Melissa said maybe not, but the flying dinnerware could have hurt someone. Marge suggested they make a pact not to throw things. A viewer thought Jennifer lost control easily when she was angry, but Jennifer insisted she has the patience of Job, until she’s pushed too far. Marge said she goes from zero to ten quickly, but Melissa hit the nail on the head when she said Jennifer was an effing a-hole, and she thinks Jennifer is starved for attention. Marge said they would never judge Jennifer by her cover, but inside, she was sh*t. Great start for Part Two.
Next time – Part Two – Juicy Joe’s cheating is brought up, the husbands (and Frank) join the group, and Danielle arrives, demanding to sit next to Andy.
(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)
General Hospital
Brook accepts an award, giving a special thanks to Julian, for making this special moment possible. She finishes her speech looking in the bathroom mirror, and then does vocal exercises using her hairbrush as a microphone. Olivia asks if Michael heard Brook rehearsing in the bathroom, and he says he just hopes she doesn’t wake up Wiley, who’s cranky. Olivia says, it’s a small price to pay for a miracle.
On the phone, Ned asks what they mean be a dead end. He’s paying for answers, not excuses. He knows it’s complicated. Life is complicated and so are the Quartermaine finances.
Linc stands on the pier. Julian walks out, and without looking at him, Linc says, it’s about damn time. He has better things to do than freeze. Julian says he really can’t think of anywhere else he’d want to be.
At the MetroCourt, Peter says Maxie is quiet. Is it work or something else? She says she turned down Spinelli’s invitation to lunch. He’s just going to ask annoying questions, and she’s not subjecting herself to another inquisition. Peter is making an effort to get along; why can’t Spinelli? If he doesn’t trust her judgement, it’s his problem, not Peter’s. Peter says he doesn’t want to come between her and Spinelli, and she can’t keep avoiding Spinelli on his account. She says this is one of the reasons she loves him, and she’ll think about rescheduling. Peter says he has to talk to her about something else. Spinelli isn’t the only one questioning his past. She’s probably wondering what came between Finn and Anna, and it’s time he told her the real reason.
Alexis tells Valentin, a penny for his thoughts, and sets one in front of him. He says he was thinking about how far he’s come since they last stood on the terrace together, and she says, since he found out he’s not Mikkos’s son. He says it’s good of her to check on him, and she says she’s glad he’s in a better place, but she doesn’t think her pep talk had anything to do with it. What changed?
In Rice Plaza, Finn asks if Violet is ready for her ice skating lesson. She says she wishes she could have one every day, and he tells her, don’t be in a hurry to grow up. She says, look! It’s Anna! and Anna comes over to them. Violet asks if she’s come to skate, and Anna says she’d love to, but doesn’t want to intrude. She was getting some tea. Violet tells Finn, make her stay, and Finn says, it’s hard to say no to his daughter. He doesn’t want to disappoint Violet. Anna says, of course (🍷) not. Violet tells him to go get the tea; she wants to talk to Anna. He asks if Violet wants a hot chocolate, and Violet says, with extra whipped cream. Anna guesses she knows who’s boss in the relationship. Violet says she’s missed Anna, and Anna says she misses Violet too, and they hug.
Maxie asks if Peter was trying to protect her, and he says, maybe himself too. Whatever the reason, she needs to know what’s being said about him. She says she knows, and doesn’t care, but he says, please. A lot of people have questions about his past, and he’s come to realize, in the end, it comes down to love. That’s what it’s really about. Jason loves Sam, so he’s searching for someone to blame for breaking Shiloh out of custody, which led Sam to kill Shiloh. Robert loves Anna, so he’s skeptical of Peter because he’s Faison’s son. Spinelli’s love for Maxie, and his faith in Jason, cause him to distrust Peter as well. Then Finn and Anna became engaged, but because Finn loves Anna, he can’t bear the thought that she’s possibly being conned by the son she gave up, even though there’s no proof otherwise. Maxie believes him, doesn’t she?
Brook comes into the living room, saying, hello, beautiful family. It’s a gorgeous day. The sun is shining, and the birds are chirping. Michael says he heard one bird in particular, and Ned says he’s not sure Brook’s outfit is appropriate for the ELQ office. She says she didn’t think he was serious. She’s not equipped to answer phones. She calls him Eddie, and says he knows what it means to pursue a dream. Michael says he’s going to take off, but Ned stops him, saying he needs a witness so Brook can’t wriggle out of this. Brook says she thought Ned was challenging her to get her career in gear, but Ned says he was challenging her to grow up, and be responsible, like every other adult in the family. What she did was the opposite of responsible. Her contract is valid, and the producer refuses to sell it. Brook says she wouldn’t worry. She has a feeling Linc is coming around.
Julian tells Linc, some people think this is a bad neighborhood, but he likes the quiet. You could fall into the water, and no one would hear your cries for help. Linc asks if he knows Julian, and Julian says, maybe. He deals with a lot of people. Linc says he’s meeting someone, and he’s not into game playing with strangers. Julian says, you know who isn’t a stranger? Brook. Linc asks, what about her? and Julian says he thought Linc would never ask. He puts his hand on Linc’s shoulder, and says Linc has her under contract. He pulls Linc closer and says, that’s about to change.
Valentin tells Alexis, he was feeling defeated and hopeless, but realized it was just a temporary setback. He’s had them before. The great thing about setbacks is, they introduce you to your greatest strengths. She asks what he’s doing with his newfound strength, and he asks what she would do. Would she deny the legacy that’s rightfully hers? She says, if he’s talking about the Cassadine fortune, get over it. If he’s referring to the Cassadine name, he’s better off without it. Where has it gotten him? He says, Shakespeare would say, what’s in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. She says, words to live by, and he says, maybe, but he doesn’t agree. She says, unwise, but he says he’s keeping the name, and all that goes with it. With every drop of his blood, sweat, and tears, he’s earned it.
Alexis asks if Valentin is talking revenge, and he says, redemption. He was cornered like a common criminal, and wants his daughter’s respect. She says, if Charlotte is going to respect him, he has to respect himself. He says, not a problem, but she says he’s on the outside, looking in. She was too, and it wasn’t until she turned her back on the Cassadine name, and built a life for herself, that she got a modicum of self-respect. He says she might be right; he’ll look at it. She laughs, and says she won’t hold her breath. He says she’s too cynical, another thing they have in common. It took him learning about his sister to realize how alike they are. He kisses her cheek, and leaves.
Ned asks if Brook’s producer had a change of heart, and she asks if he thinks Linc has a heart. Linc is going to do what he thinks is best, and she thinks it’s in his best interest to tear it up. He says, whatever scheme she’s up to, stop it right now. He refuses to clean up another of her disastrous mistakes. Olivia says, they all know how he feels about the subject. Leo asked if Ned would visit him in the playhouse before he goes to the park. Ned says he and Brook aren’t finished talking, but leaves to find Leo. Brook asks if Ned is always such a sourpuss in the morning, and Michael says Ned is worried about her. She says he has a funny way of showing it, and he says, sorry if he made it worse by teasing her. He hopes she succeeds. She says she wishes him only happiness with Wiley; he’s so cute. Michael says, he is, but it’s hard for him to adjust right now. She says, he doesn’t know what a bad thing Brad did, and Michael says he has to make up for lost time, and forge a relationship. It’s different for Willow and Lucas. Willow is grieving a son she didn’t know was gone, and Lucas’s whole world has fallen apart. His husband is a liar and a kidnapper, and the son he loved isn’t even his. Brook flashes back to her conversation with Julian, and Julian saying Sonny will put a bullet in his back. It’s a lot of weight to carry, and what about Lucas? He’s going to lose another loved one if she puts a target on Julian because of her overactive imagination.
Julian asks if Linc is shaking because it’s cold. He pushes Linc toward the water, and Linc says Julian misunderstood. He really cares about Brook. Three albums in five years is the industry standard. Julian says he doesn’t know much about music. The car radio is about as far as it goes for him, but somebody like Brook doesn’t want to make music for Linc, and she doesn’t want to wait five years. She wants to fly solo. Linc asks if Julian is joking. Is he actually going to throw Linc in the water if he doesn’t let Brook break the contract? Julian says, it’s up to Linc. He has friends, a lot of them, and while he knows little about the industry, they know a lot. They can make it difficult for Linc to stay in business; deny him access to studios and distributions, disrupt his concerts, stop him from getting venues. He puts his arm around Linc’s neck, and says what happens next, is entirely up to him.
Maxie wonders how Peter can ask if she believes him. He says he’s the one responsible for the awkwardness between her and Spinelli. She kisses him, and asks if it answers his question. He says, very much so, but she says she’s not letting him off that easy. Don’t say he’s trying to protect her either. She’s not a fragile flower that wilts at bad news. Either they tell each other everything, or they don’t have a relationship. He says he was trying to protect himself. She asks if he’s worried she’ll believe what other people say about him. She believes in them. Too bad. No one can come between them, but them. He tells her she can come down off her soapbox now, but she says she likes it up there. He says she does look good on it. Obrecht comes in, and tells them, like a little girl with red shoes once said, there’s no place like home.
Anna asks Violet how Bella and Otto are. Violet says, they’re not talking. Anna asks, what happened? and Finn says, they had an argument. Violet says, Otto might change his mind if Anna visits. Anna say she knows how stubborn Otto can be at times. The skating instructor arrives, and asks if Violet is ready for her lesson. She tells Finn that his daughter is a great kid. Violet leaves with her, and Finn tells her, have fun. He’ll be watching.
Finn and Anna watch Violet skate. Finn says, it’s hard to watch when Violet falls, and Anna says, look; she’s back up. She asks how he is, and he says, her first. She wonders if they should continue talking about stuffed animals. They don’t have to be separated. They fell down, and it hurts, but they can get back up.
Obrecht gives Maxie some schnapps for her and Peter on those wintry nights, and some gifts for James. Maxie says he’s going to love them, and he’s going to love seeing his oma. She must have had a good time in Switzerland. Obrecht says, the spa was wonderful, and Peter asks if a tall, dark stranger swept her off her feet. She says she got something better; peace of mind. Maxie said Obrecht told her that she was going to do some soul searching, and Peter says, she has a soul? Obrecht says her problems are self-inflicted. She’s not unlovable, but hasn’t forgiven herself. Since Nathan’s death, she’s been angry at the world, in particular, Peter, as if he’s to blame, while she’s just taking on more blame. Maxie says, it doesn’t matter, and Obrecht says she realized she was angry with herself for not breaking away from Peter’s father sooner. Maxie’s phone rings, and she says, typical. She’s been trying to run something by Nina, and now she wants to call. Peter says, Obrecht was saying about his father?
Michael tells Brook, she’s not just talented. She has the presence that turns talented people into a star, and he’s sure she’s done what she can to make that happen. Brook says she’s got to go. Ned comes in, and says, tell him he ruined Brook’s good mood my mentioning the word job. Michael says, she’s just emotional. It’s an emotional time for all of them. Ned says, it’s almost too much to process, and Michael says, it’s as good a time as any to make his pitch. He’s been doing some thinking. Wiley is used to having Michael in his life, but not as a father. Olivia says, Wiley will come around; he’ll adjust. Michael says he comes home from the office, and kisses Wiley goodnight. He needs to sit down and have a meal with Wiley, play with him, and read him stories, not just at bedtime. Ned says Michael wants quality time with his son, and Michael says Ned has been good about pitching in at ELQ. He hates to ask Ned to do more, but he needs to take a leave of absence. He was hoping Ned could take over until he gets back.
Linc says, maybe there’s another way out of this. He could think more clearly if Julian would let go. Julian says, the way he sees it, there’s a plan A and a plan B. He already laid out plan A; tear up Brook’s contract. Linc asks, what’s plan B, and Julian says Linc goes swimming in the icy cold water of Port Charles harbor. He can decide. Valentin walks onto the pier, and asks, what seems to be the problem?
Julian tells Valentin, it doesn’t concern him. He’s passing on a message from a mutual friend. Valentin says, Julian has friends? Julian asks Linc, message received?Nod once for yes. Linc nods, and Julian says, good. He doesn’t want to meet again. Julian leaves, and Linc tells Valentin, he didn’t sign up for this. Julian said he’d make his life a living hell. Valentin says Linc has been well compensated for his effort, but Linc says, not really. No one told him that he could be ruined, or it could cost him his life. Valentin says, if Brook is having Julian threaten him, that means she’s desperate.
Ned tells Michael that he doesn’t have to step away. Wiley is comfortable with the nanny, and everyone is pitching in. Olivia says, before Michael knows it, Wiley will be going off to pre-K like any other well-adjusted, independent little kid. Michael says, Wiley’s life has been torn apart. Wiley needs to know he’ll be there, and his attention can’t be divided. Ned asks how long Michael is talking about, and Michael says, a month, tops. Ned tells him, how can he say no?
Anna says Finn is used to dealing with infectious diseases, but sometimes things just need a kiss to be made better. Finn says, a bandage is a temporary fix. Sometimes a cut runs deeper. Violet calls to them, saying, look at me, and Anna says, Violet is quite graceful. He says, she’s so resilient. Everything she’s been through has barely harmed her. Anna asks if Finn told the police about his suspicions, and he says he told his brother, but he didn’t mention Peter being involved with anything, or Anna withholding evidence. Anna asks what he actually told Chase, and Finn says he told Chase that he moved out because he doesn’t trust Peter.
Peter says, it sounds like the mountain air was refreshing and illuminating, and asks Obrecht, what else? She says it really hit her; all the ethical and legal lines she crossed in a desperate attempt to be worth of Faison. Peter says Faison had power over them, and she says, not any longer. She realized if she continued down that dark path, she could hurt Maxie and James, and she couldn’t bear it. She knows how he loves them, and nothing should ever change that. She says they’re very much alike. They’re both trying to live down their past. He says she used his past to her advantage, but she says she’s not that person anymore.
Ned calls his assistant to set up a meeting asap. He wants everyone to attend, including the executive staff and financial advisors. He’ll explain the CEO change when he gets there. Olivia says he forgot to mention, it’s temporary, and he says he’ll explain at the meeting. Olivia says, Michael might not want to give up his position, but Ned says, Michael has a lot going on. He wants to make things easier so Michael can take care of his son. She says, don’t kid a kidder, and he says he only has Michael’s best interest at heart. She says, as well as ELQ, and Ned says, not only is there a hostile takeover in the works, the Corinthos family is in turbulent times. ELQ needs more seasoned leadership. She says, nice speech, and he says when he sits down as CEO, he’ll make the deal permanent.
On the phone, Brook says she’s so sorry for what they’re going through. No matter what, they’re still a friend. Julian comes in, and she says, well? Did he give Linc the message? He says he was interrupted by Valentin, and she asks what Valentin was doing there. He says he doesn’t care. The point is, he had to walk away before Linc tore up the contract. She says, but he will, right? Julian says he’s gone as far as can go on own She says, if he walks away now, she’ll tell Lucas everything. How he knew about the baby switch, and caused the accident that almost killed his own son. Julian says she’s bluffing, and Brook says, try her.
Julian says Brook should stick to her singing career; he’s calling her bluff. She says she’ll tell Lucas everything, and he says she overheard him talking to Brad months ago, and thinks she heard him threaten Brad. She says he used the word eliminate, and he says he doesn’t know how many times he’s had an intense conversation with Brad. Brad has a talent of upsetting everyone he knows. She says, Lucas might have died in the accident, and he says, tell Lucas her fantasy. Maybe Lucas will believe her; then what? He’s lost his husband and son. Is she going to risk him losing any link to his father because he’ll be better off? She says, what about Sonny? He’ll take her at her word. He says she’s absolutely right, and Sonny will have him killed because her blackmail failed. Is she going to tell Lucas the reason his father is dead. Does she think her career is worth his death? She doesn’t say anything, and he says he didn’t think so. She pretends nothing gets to her, but he doesn’t think she wants his blood on her hands.
Valentin says if Linc is telling him it’s beyond his capabilities, then give back the money. Linc says he doesn’t want to blow the deal, but he wants to make it back to L.A. with his life and career intact. He’s not getting his hands dirty for Brook. Valentin says, Brook is ready to make a deal, and Linc is going to collect.
Michael thanks Diane for coming. She says his message was cryptic; what’s up? She knows Brad and Nelle swapped babies, and his survived, while Willow’s baby died. She’s incredibly happy for him. He says he’s still reeling, in a good way, of course (🍷). She asks what she can do for him, and he says he needs advice on changing Wiley’s name. She says, first or last? and he says, Wiley’s first name is what he knows, but he was never a Cooper or a Jones. He doesn’t know whether to give him Quartermaine or Corinthos. She says, they’re both notorious for different reasons, and he says he needs an objective opinion. What does she think is better for his son? She says, there’s no denying who Wiley is, or who he’s related to. Why not embrace and use both? He says, so Wiley Quartermaine-Corinthos? and she says, it’s a name to be reckoned with.
Anna says she and Finn are at an impasse. He thinks Peter is guilty, and she doesn’t believe he is. She asks if it’s a wall or an obstacle they can find their way around? Peter is a grown person, and has his own life. Is what he did or didn’t do worth sacrificing their future? He wishes it were that simple. He’d love pick up where they left off, plan a wedding, and have their happily ever after. She says, then let’s do that. Violet can be a flower girl, and carry a basket of violets. He says, if it was just them… He has Violet to look out for, and can’t take the same risk on Peter that she can. Violet comes back, and tells them the instructor said she was a natural. Finn says, of course (🍷) she is, and Violet asks if they can go back to Anna’s house now.
Obrecht says, whatever Peter did, whatever Faison led him to do, she understands. If he ever feels the need to unburden himself, don’t trouble Maxie. She’ll always be there to listen. He says she’s too kind. Maxie comes back to the table, and asks what Nina would do without her. She already did all the things Nina told her to do. Not to brag, but Nina needs to appreciate her more. She looks at them, and asks what she missed.
Finn fumbles with Violet’s jacket, and Anna says, step away from the zipper. She tells Violet, daddies are all thumbs when it comes to zippers. There’s so much they don’t know. Finn says, he’s practicing, and she says she gets it. He tells Violet, they’re going to be late for Brianna’s, and Anna asks her what they’re going to do with him. Violet doesn’t know, and Finn tells her, say goodbye to Anna, and let’s get going. Violet says she misses Anna, and asks if they can do this again. Anna says she’ll have to ask her daddy, and Finn says, we’ll see. He leaves with Violet, and looks back at Anna while they’re walking.
Obrecht tells Maxie, she just missed the most fascinating conversation. Who would have thought her time away would have brought her closer to Peter? Peter says, closer than she knows, and Maxie is glad they’re getting along so well. Peter says he is too.
Diane gets ready to leave, and Michael thanks her again. He asks how soon she can arrange the name change, and she says he might want to hold off on that officially. Wiley’s mother might have other ideas. He says, besides being involved in the baby switch, she attacked Willow. She’ll be back in prison. Diane says, that’s for a judge to decide. Until then, Nelle is very much a factor in Wiley’s life.
Brook meets Linc, who tells her that she needs to find new friends. The one he met belongs in a cage. She suggests they get it over with, and asks if he’s tearing up her contract or not. He says, for what it’s worth, he believes she has what it takes, and he’s sorry he won’t be the one to make it happen. She can forget the three record, five year deal. She has her freedom now. She says she’s not sleeping with him, and he says she doesn’t have to. She asks, what’s the catch; what does he want? He takes out a folder, and pushes it toward her. She looks at it, and he says, her shares in ELQ.
Tomorrow, Olivia asks if Brook got an actual offer; Jordan says she’s turning herself in; and Sonny tells Jason and Curtis that Cyrus is a threat, and they have to find a solution.
The Haves and The Have Nots
Benny says, a million dollars? and Candace says, it’s okay, The officer says she’ll be back with the receipt, and Benny asks for $100K in cash. The officer leaves, and Benny says, this is real. Girl, I love you. Candace says, he’d better, and he says, eight dollars; that’s cold. That’s what he’s talking about. She wonders what they’re going to tell Hanna, but he doesn’t care. He’s got a million dollars. He tells her, don’t worry about Jim, and asks what she wants to do. She doesn’t know, and he says, get out of there? She says, for sure. New York, L.A.. He says, that’s it, huh? Don’t look back. She says she won’t, adding, this is all too much. He says he’s getting back to work. He’s getting a truck, and buying a place. He says he’s going to get momma, but Candace says, she won’t move. Benny says, it don’t matter; she will. He thanks Candace, and she says she loves him. He says he loves her too.
Still in the hospital, Jim asks if David has come up with a plan. David says Jim doesn’t want to know what it is. Jim says he won’t tell, and David says he told George that Veronica shot Jennifer, but he didn’t buy it. Jim asks what George said, and David tells him that George thought he was being set up. That’s all he needs; that little weasel breathing down his neck. He can’t go after Veronica now. Jim says, an untraceable accident, and David says, like a plane crash? Jim says he doesn’t want to know. He asks if David talked to AG Kyle, and David says, once. Jim says, he hasn’t called again? and David says, no. Jim says, one bitch at a time. He hands David the papers he was served, and asks David to do him a favor and shred them. He can’t believe his own damn son shot him. David asks if he wants to see Wyatt, and Jim says he does. He is Wyatt’s father. David says, maybe he needs a new one. Jim wants to get out of the hospital. He’s been there long enough. He says he’s going crazy, and asks David, please, get the doctor. David says he’ll talk to Dr. Danny, and Jim says, use two shredders. David leaves, and Jim says, where’s my damn pants?
Veronica’s doorbell rings. It’s George, and she asks what the hell he wants. He wants to talk to her, and she asks if he brought chicken. He says, sorry, but she lets him come in. He says her home is always lovely, and she says, she’s a queen. Queens have lovely homes. What can she do for him? He says he’s letting her know, he spoke with David. David wanted immunity to testify against her for Jennifer’s murder. She says, is that right? He already has the perpetrator of that crime, doesn’t he? She asks if he’s not sure, and he says he’s not. She says he’s wasting his time; she had nothing to do with it. He asks if she was there. Veronica says, so David wants immunity. He asks again, was she there? She says David is playing him. He can blame anything he wants on her. George says that’s what he thought, but then he started thinking, there was so much bad blood between them. he might take David up on it. She tells him, do what he must. Can he leave now? He goes, and she calls David.
David asks why she’s calling, and she says she spoke with George. David says she went after his son, and she tells him, remember, she has evidence about the murder. He says, they both do, and she says, by the way, that girl is not his son. He should get a DNA test and see. He’s been played. Jeffrey might be Jim’s. He calls her a pathetic whore, and she says, thank you; she tries. He says he’s coming for her, and doesn’t need George to do it. She says he does; he’s a weak ass bitch. He doesn’t even know how to kill a bitch. He says she’s a murderer, and she says, bing, bang, boom, Erica. He says they’re coming for her, and she hangs up. She makes another call, and says, send over the candidates today. She knows she’s been putting it off, but she’s ready now. Send a lot over today.
Marty asks if Kathryn is sure she wants to do this. Kathryn says she does, and Marty give her a pen, telling her where to sign. He shows Hanna where to sign, and notarizes it. He tells Hanna, now she has power of attorney. Kathryn asks if she and Hanna can have a minute, but before he goes, how is bail coming? He says, it’s coming, and she asks if she called the judges she told him to. He says, no one wants to touch it. He’s sorry. She says, after all she’s done for them, and he says he’s on it. Kathryn tells Hanna, she can’t believe no one is calling back. Hanna says, that’s the way things happen for a lot of people. They have a saying; nobody loves you when you’re down and out. Kathryn says, it’s just sad. She’s glad she knows Hanna, and says her life is in Hanna’s hands. Wyatt is just hoping they don’t press charges, but it’s not going to work. Hanna says, it’s so sad, and Kathryn says she can’t think about it right now. Hanna says, maybe Wyatt will be sent to a prison where he can get help. Kathryn says, Wyatt tried to kill them. Hanna has too much of a soft spot for her son. Hanna says nobody is saying let him get away with it, but send him to a place where they could hold him and help him. Kathryn asks Hanna to go by the house, and check on things. Make sure the blood is cleaned up. She doesn’t want to see it when she gets home. Hanna says she’ll make sure. Kathryn says, she’s coming home; trust her. Can Hanna do it today, and make sure the plants are watered? Her accountant will come by and explain everything, but don’t let him do anything without seeing her first. She thanks Hanna, and Hanna says Kathryn knows she loves her. Kathryn says she does, and the guard says he has to take her back. Kathryn tells Hanna, to the presidential suite. Hanna says she’ll see Kathryn later, and Kathryn says, yes, she will.
Benny’s kidnapper comes into Jim’s room, and Jim asks what the hell he’s doing there. The thug says, he’s gone. The Malones came in and got him. Jim calls him a first class idiot, and says, go get him. The thug says he can’t. They told him not to, and he doesn’t even know why he was there in the first place. Jim tells him, get the hell out. The thug leaves, and Jim makes a call. He asks if he got a wire, and the bank officer says, yes, but it’s not what Jim thinks. It’s only for eight dollars. Jim says, that bitch. The officer asks what he should do, when Candace walks in, and says, hi.
Jim says he was just about to call her. She didn’t give him his money. She says, no; she did. He says, eight dollars. Care to tell him why? She says she was going to return all of it, but then Jim thought it was a good idea to kidnap her brother. He’s gone now, so that’s it. He says, give him his money, and she says, nope. He says she has no idea what he’s planning to do to her mother and brother if he doesn’t get it. She doesn’t think he’ll do anything, and he says, care to make a bet? She says, $7 million dollars. She just realized that she has a good, solid group of friends in the White House. He says, her name is mud in Washington, but she says she’s talking about the Malones. They’re loyal when you do them a favor. He says he’s done favors for them himself. She says, he also pissed them off, and he says, so will she. It’s only a matter of time. Until then, live it up. That’s his son’s inheritance, and he’ll chase her to the ends of the earth. She says, happy hunting, and he says he knows where her mother and brother are, and he’s going to get her. She says, okay. Her friend has something to say. Jim says, alert the media; she has a friend. Mitch comes in.
Mitch asks how Jim is doing. Jim says he’s been better; have a seat. Mitch sits on the bed, and asks if Jim remembers him. Jim says he does, and Mitch says they need talk about the money. Candace is special to them. Jim says, special to the Malones? and Mitch says, yes. Jim says he happens to know the Malones don’t like Black people. Mitch laughs, and Jim says he thinks that’s funny? Mitch says they like her. She did deliver War to them. Jim says she did that for herself, and Mitch says, it doesn’t matter. His grandma owes her a favor, and Jim knows how Grandma Rose is about favors. Jim says he does, but Candace owes him $8 million, and he’s going to get it back. Mitch says, he understands, but they’re not happy about how Jim harassed her mother and brother. Let this one go. Jim says he can’t; he’s going to get his $8 million back. Mitch says then he’s going to have to talk to his grandma and explain. Jim doesn’t think Mitch understands, and Mitch says, if he doesn’t let it go, he’s going to his grandma, and saying he got caught in the crossfire during Benny’s kidnapping. Jim says they both know that’s not true, but Mitch says, she won’t know. Forget about the money. Mitch doesn’t care how Jim handles it, but he has to let it go. Jim doesn’t know if he can, and Mitch says, a shotgun blast is just a warm up. Jim’s not going to win this one. Jim says Mitch wants him to let $8 million go for Candance because she did a favor? Mitch says she’s got the family behind her, and Jim knows what that brings. It’s his decision. This is just a warning. Jim appreciates him coming, and they shake hands. Mitch says, get better. When he’s gone, Jim says, son of a bitch. I’m laughing. That was fun to watch.
AG Kyle walks into his office to find Connelly sitting in his chair. He asks what he can do for Connelly, and Connelly says he just wanted to come by to look at his new office. He’s been asked to take the appointment. Kyle says he thought it would be Connelly, and Connelly says, confirmation is good. Kyle asks if he can get Connelly a drink, but Connelly says he never touches the stuff. Kyle says, good for him, and Connelly says he doesn’t seem convinced. Kyle says Connelly knows how this town is with rumors, and the rumor is, Connelly drinks a lot. Connelly says, you have to in this town, but no. He remarks that Kyle’s office is smaller and darker than he thought. He might paint. He wonders what Kyle is going to do now that he’s out of a job. Kyle says he has a few more months, but Connelly says, the day is coming. Kyle says, it is, for all of them. Connelly says, some sooner than others. Kyle asks if Connelly would like to see the cafeteria, but Connelly says he doesn’t want anything. He came to tell Kyle that he never liked him. Kyle is a slimy SOB. Kyle says, tell him how he really feels, and Connelly says he knows what Kyle did to his guy, and they don’t have short memories. Kyle asks if that’s a threat, and Connelly says to him, and his whole party. Kyle says he thinks they’re done, and Connelly says, they’re nowhere near done, but he’ll go. Before he does, one name for Kyle – Candace Young. Kyle says, that whore from Savannah, and Connelly says, that’s the one. Kyle asks why he cares, and Connelly says when Kyle tried to take his guy down, it was a personal vendetta. Kyle says, that was horseplay, and Connelly says he caused a lot of grief. Kyle says, tell Charles,it was politics; get used to it. Connelly tells Kyle, keep that arrogance. He hopes Kyle dotted every i, and crossed every t during his tenure. Kyle says he did, and Connelly says, then he won’t mind an open investigation into the entire justice department. Kyle says, go right ahead, and Connelly laughs, saying, no one wants that. Kyle knows if they look hard enough, they’ll find something. Kyle says, thanks for the warning. He’ll make sure his tracks are covered. Connelly says, that’s exactly what he wants Kyle to do. By the way, he farted in Kyle’s chair. HAHAHAHA!
Veronica looks at a candidate for maid, and says, all wrong. The agent says Veronica didn’t talk to her, and Veronica says she doesn’t have to. Exit through the garage. Next. The next woman walks up, and Veronica says, she looks like she steals. Exit. Keep them coming. The next woman holds out her hand, saying she’s loyal, and can clean all day and night. Veronica says, she’s wrong. Follow the others to the garage. She asks the agent if the only candidates are white women. She wants a Black woman who doesn’t eat fried chicken. No greasy maids. The agent says, that’s racist, and Veronica says, she’s Black; she can say it. She wants a Black woman who’s in shape, has class and style, and favors her. The next woman is Black, but Veronica says, not someone who looks like her mother. The woman says, Laura is running late; she’s coming from another job, but Veronica can’t discriminate against color. Veronica asks if white is a color. She’s a lawyer, and the first two barely got through the door, the others look like they’d steal, and the other two looked greasy. The last one looked like her mom, and was not what she asked for. Do her job. Laura comes in, and Veronica says Laura is her size. The agent thinks smaller, and Veronica asks what she’s saying. The agent says, nothing, and Veronica says, she’s hired. She drains her drink, and says she’ll take Laura upstairs, calling her Linda. Laura corrects her, and Veronica says, like she said, Linda. They go upstairs.
Justin pulls up to David’s house, and tells the guard he’s there to see Jeffrey. He’s a friend of his. The guard says he needs to talk to Jeffrey first. Can he tell Jeffrey what it’s about. Justin says he just needs to talk; he’s leaving town. He gives the guard his name, and the guard tells him, wait there. The guard tells Jeffrey that Justin is there, and Jeffrey says, tell Justin he’s not there. Wait. Let him in. The guard tells Justin, come on.
Justin tells Jeffrey that he looks great, and asks if he’s ever coming home. Jeffrey asks what he wants, and Justin says he’s leaving. He can’t take this anymore, so he’s done. Jeffrey says, okay, and Justin says that’s all Jeffrey has to say after what they’ve been through? Jeffrey says he’s sorry, and Justin says Jeffrey’s mom won’t let him be who he is, and won’t make them stop. Is Jeffrey in this with her? Jeffrey says, no, and Justin says, then make her stop. Jeffrey says, nothing can make her stop. Justin says Jeffrey is just going to let him go? and Jeffrey says he can’t stop Justin. Justin says, it’s because he’s seeing Madison, but Jeffrey says he’s not seeing anyone. Justin asks why Jeffrey is dressed up. Where is he going? Jeffrey says Justin said he was leaving, so he should do that. Justin says, wow. So cold. Jeffrey says, it’s a cold world. Buzz off. Justin says Jeffrey did this to him, but Jeffrey says Justin did it to himself. Justin says he begged for Jeffrey’s help. He’s sorry. Jeffrey says, goodbye. Justin says, goodbye, and leaves. Jeffrey wonders what the hell he’s up to.
Veronica tells Laura to dust all day; she likes it spotless. Laura has a pile of clothes in her arms, and Veronica says they’re going to charity. Laura says, some still have the tags on them, and Veronica says she didn’t get to wear them before the season was over. Does Laura like them? Laura asks if she’s serious, and Veronica says she can have them, on one condition. She has to wear them to work. (What is this? The Gap?) Laura says she can’t work in them, and Veronica says she can change when she gets there. She’s a giving person, and wants Laura to know what it feels like to walk in her shoes. Speaking of shoes, What size is Laura? Laura says, six, but tells Veronica her shoes are a little big. Veronica says, they’re not, and asks if Laura has a car. Laura doesn’t, and Veronica asks if she can drive. Laura says, yes, and Veronica says sometimes she’ll want Laura to take her car to the carwash. Let her show Laura around. This is gonna be fun. Not too obvious.
At county, Wyatt calls to Kathryn, who says she’s not in the mood. He says he thinks he wants to die. After all he’s done to her and his dad, he thinks they’d want him to die. Kathryn says she’s heard all this before, and he says she doesn’t think he’d do it. She says he’s in jail, and safe from himself. Just leave her alone. Wyatt asks if she wants to see how easy it is to kill yourself in there. He takes out a toothbrush, and says, you can easily get a shank like this. There’s a razor inside; he can slit his wrists. She tells him, don’t do anything stupid, and he says, it’s not stupid. It’s a way out. Doesn’t she think she and his dad would be happy. She says she’s not playing around, and he says, neither is he. He sets his wrist on one of the bars, and takes the razor blade out. Kathryn calls for a guard, but Wyatt says he timed it so it’s the guard’s shift change. Tell his dad that he’s sorry. She says, please, and he cuts into his wrist. She calls again for the guard, and asks, what has he done?
Next time- the mid-season finale – Hanna says she’ll have Candace and Benny arrested, Jim plans an accident, the AG says the favor Jim did doesn’t pay this kind of debt, and Wyatt collapses.
Vanderpump Rules
It’s Stassi’s birthday, and she says she didn’t want sh*t to happen. She wants all or nothing, and with so much going on – her sister’s wedding, and Brittany and Jax’s wedding – this time, she wanted nothing. She and Beau meet Schwartz and Katie at a coffee shop. Katie tells her, happy birthday, and Stassi shushes her. Katie says, next year, and Stassi says she’s going to have so much built up birthday sh*t, it’s going to be like nothing they’ve ever seen. In Stassi’s interview, she says, this year, she’s a newly hatched baby dragon. Next year, she’s going to be in fully grown dragon mode, full of fire and anger, that didn’t die. We flash back to her previous birthdays. Schwartz asks if she’s ever revisiting the joint birthday, and we flash back to her Ice Queen party with Ariana. She tells Schwartz that she wasn’t really friends with some of the guests, and doesn’t want to make small talk. She says Jax and Brittany are going to Ariana’s birthday party, and she’s surprised. Schwartz wants to try and mend this. He wants to support Jax, but feels like Jax will regret it in the future if Tom isn’t there. In Schwartz’s interview, he says Tom is Jax’s best friend, but he doesn’t know if it will be the same after this. Stassi says, Ariana might not go to the wedding, Jax’s mom isn’t invited, and Lisa can’t make it. Stassi tells Schwartz to suggest Jax invite Tom back. In Stassi’s interview, she says she knows Jax and Brittany will ultimately want Tom there. If they don’t invite him, they’ll look back at it, and be sad. The waitress brings a cupcake with a candle in it, and Happy Birthday is sung. Beau blows out the candle, and unwraps the cupcake. I assume he eats it too, but we don’t see that.
Lisa’s business partner Nathalie comes by Villa Rosa with flowers. Puffy! She and Lisa hug, and Nathalie says she’s very sorry. She remembers Lisa’s mom as being flamboyant, smart, and gorgeous. In Lisa’s interview, she says her mother was in Mensa and could solve a Rubik’s Cube. She remembers going water skiing with her mom, and playing tennis. She says, there’s a progression with a parent, and maybe we get mentally prepared during that time, but her mother died suddenly from deep vein thrombosis – it came out of nowhere. Nathalie gives Lisa a photo of her mom in a frame. Lisa gets weepy, and Nathalie says she didn’t mean to make her cry. Lisa looks at a picture of herself with her mother, and says she looks so young. She tells Nathalie, life is difficult sometimes, and she doesn’t want to miss the good stuff. She can’t dictate when the funeral is, and told Jax and Brittany that she can’t be there. She tells Nathalie to have a chocolate, and Nathalie says, only if she can have the pink one. Lisa says Nathalie knows that’s hers.
Danica asks Raquel and Dayna to help fold napkins, since Peter didn’t make anyone do it last night. Raquel tells them that she went out with some of the girls last night, and drank way too much. We see her dancing around in someone’s InstaStory. She says she blacked out, but Scheana made sure she got home. She left her phone in the kitchen, and passed out. When she woke up, she had a million texts from James. Whore. Slut. Dayna says Raquel deserves better. In Dayna’s interview, she says she doesn’t care who you are, or if you’re drunk, or shooting heroin into your eyeballs. No one talks that way to someone they say they love. She says she’d tell him to suck an effing egg. In Raquel’s interview, she says she didn’t even look at all the texts. She didn’t want to see everything. A producer asks if she’ll read through them, and she reads. F*** you. I’m breaking up with you. Whore. Slut. Whore. F*** you. She says, it makes her literally want to throw up. Dayna says Raquel is so much better than that.
It’s Ariana’s birthday, and Tom asks if she wants a glass of wine, as she gets ready for the party. He brings her wine in a glass so big, it’s only slightly smaller than Amy Schumer’s joke glass. She says she finally slept, and Tom says he woke up before her, and let her sleep. In Tom’s interview, he says, Ariana has always dealt with depression. He’ll do anything he can to be there for her. He tells her that he figured he’d let her save up her birthday energy. She says she’s not woohoo about it, but she needed some reset sleeping. In her interview, she says, the last thing she wants to do is go to a party when she’s depressed. Life is made up of highs and lows, and she needs to learn to surf the lows better, and not drown in that ocean. She asks Tom if Jax texted back, and he says, no. She says, Brittany is coming, so she assumes Jax is coming with her. Tom says he didn’t think he’d change Jax’s mind. We flash back to Tom reading Ariana the text he sent Jax. He asks if Ariana has thought about what she wants to do about the wedding, but Ariana says she doesn’t know. She has to tell Brittany tonight. In Ariana’s interview, she says she doesn’t want to abandon Brittany, but Tom is her guy. It’s the hardest decision she’s made maybe ever. She tells Tom, there’s a lot based on this decision, and she doesn’t want to make one.
There’s a marquee outside the venue that says, Happy Birthday, Ariana, and it gets crowded quickly. Charli tells Dayna about her date with Brett. He said he wanted to get to know her, and then talked about himself and his ex-girlfriend. We flash back to that, and her saying she doesn’t sit through podcasts this long. She tells Dayna, they broke up two years ago. In Max’s interview, he says, the date sucked. It was like dealing with a child. She’s got to fix her sh*t. Lala says, Ariana is still not there. She is planning on coming, right? Last night, she told Ariana that she wanted her to be honest, and Ariana said she wanted to drive off a cliff. She’s going to be miserable in Kentucky without Tom. Brittany says it breaks her heart. Katie asks if Tom still isn’t welcome, and Brittany says, he apologized, but Jax is headstrong. She thinks if Tom isn’t there, Jax is going to regret it. She can’t stop thinking about it. Tom and Ariana arrive.
In Jax’s interview, he says, after twenty years of friendship, a text is like a slap in the face.All Tom had to do is say he was sorry. He doesn’t want to be walked on. In Stassi’s interview, she says, Jax and Tom have done worse sh*t to each other than this. We flash back to a few times they’ve gotten into fistfights. She’s pretty sure they can get past this. Stassi thinks if Jax doesn’t invite Tom, the friendship is done. Katie says she can’t believe Jax would give Tom a third chance at being best man, but Brittany says, he can just invite Tom. Stassi says they need to talk it out. In Brittany’s interview, she says, the situation has caused her so much anxiety. She hates it. Brittany asks to talk to Tom, and says she’s going to explode over this situation with Jax. She’s not going to hate Tom forever because of one argument. Tom says, when he left, he assumed the friendship was done. He was dead inside. He’s angry about it, and sad about it. He didn’t know what do or say. She says Jax was just looking for an I’m sorry, and Tom says he felt like Jax just wanted him gone.
Jax joins them, and says he thought the two people he wouldn’t have to worry about were his best men. Tom admits that he could have handled himself better. He didn’t want it to be like that. He apologizes. Jax says, it’s water under the bridge. Of course he wants Tom at his wedding. Tom says, whatever Jax wants. He can come as a guest. Jax says he still wants Tom to be best man, and they hug. Ariana hugs Brittany. In Tom’s interview, he says, I’m back. In Schwartz’s interview, he says he feels like he can breathe again. He’s been watching tutorials on how to tie a bow tie all week. In Jax’s interview, he says he’s not over it, but it was easier to give in. One less problem. Jax says, let’s have a good wedding. No more hiccups.
Katie tells Kristen, she’s getting the sympathy of going through a breakup, but she’s not actually going through one. She can’t watch Kristen drink the poison called Carter. If she wants to do that, Katie can’t help her. She asks if Carter is coming to the wedding, and Kristen says, of course. Katie tells her to stop saying they broke up. Katie says, no one gives a f*** if Carter is there. He’s only been invited because Kristen wants him there. Kristen says Katie is being super hurtful, and Katie says Carter hasn’t even been around them lately.
James tells Raquel, they probably won’t stay, but she says they were invited to a party. He should be happy they were, and be there for a second. She’s glad he’s not drinking tonight. They have to talk about the other night. The way he texted was completely inappropriate. He says, if she’d answered, he wouldn’t have gotten so triggered. Oh, okay. I guess it’s her responsibility to cover him in bubblewrap. In his interview, James says, when she doesn’t answer, he thinks she’s doing what he used to do. A girl like Raquel doesn’t get left alone at parties.
Ariana says she has to get Stassi a present, but Stassi says, no present. They sing HappyBirthday, but I don’t see a cake anywhere. Maybe Beau ate it. Ariana’s brother Jeremy is there though. Ariana says she knows they like it when she’s drunk. Yay for her being born.
It’s the next day, and Jax asks Brittany if she wants to call Lance. She says he’s in Hawaii, but they don’t have much time. He sent a transcript of the ceremony. Jax says he doesn’t want Lance talking more than four minutes. Brittany says everything in it is beautiful, and Jax asks if she thinks they can ask him to sing No Strings Attached. Brittany laughs, and says she’s so excited. Jax says, focus, and she calls Lance. Lance asks, what’s going on? and Jax says they’re planning a wedding, and thanks him for officiating. In Brittany’s interview, she says tomorrow, they’re going to Kentucky. It’s wedding week. No turning back. Jax says he wants Lance to wear a multicolored robe. Lance says, like inJesus Christ Superstar? and I say, no, it’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The answer is right in the name of the show. I’m hoping Lance was just drinking heavily, and mixed up his musicals. He tells Jax that he’s honored, and Jax says they want Lance to enjoy himself. Afterwards, Jax tells Brittany, he thinks he sounded stupid. Well, he didn’t correct Lance.
Ariana and Raquel go out behind SUR to talk. Raquel asks if Ariana is tired after her birthday extravaganza, and Ariana says she has to pack for Kentucky. She barely saw Raquel at the party. She saw Raquel talking to James. She says she heard about the texts, and Raquel says if she hadn’t gotten drunk and kept James updated, he wouldn’t have been drinking. Ariana says, it’s not her fault; it’s on him. She asks to see the texts, and Raquel says she’s not proud of any of them. She shows Ariana the phone, and says, it goes on a while. Ariana reads; I hate you, we’re breaking up, I’ll never marry you. Ariana tells Raquel it’s only a matter of time before words like that become what Raquel thinks of herself. Ariana has been there before. In her interview, Ariana says she was in a verbally abusive, controlling relationship. She didn’t do what she should have; end it as soon as it happened. She tells Raquel, she doesn’t want to see her sacrifice her own self-worth to help James, when he’s not helping himself. In Raquel’s interview, she says, no girl thinks she’ll be verbally abused going into a relationship. She doesn’t want to go through that again. It was scary to her. She tells Ariana, it’s the last straw.
Brett asks Scheana how her trip was. In Scheana’s interview, she says she loves Ariana, but had already booked a job on the east coast singing Good As Gold. Charli showed up dressed as her, so she was there anyway. Brett says it’s too bad Scheana wasn’t there. He didn’t want her to feel the way she did about his lunch date with Charli. Scheana says she just doesn’t want him to get hurt, and he says it’s not serious. She says she’s not giving him advice anymore. Speak of the devil… Charli joins them, and Brett jokes that they’re wearing the same outfit. Charli says she wanted to talk to both of them. Scheana told Brett that she was untrustworthy. Scheana say she doesn’t use that word, but she doesn’t trust any new people. Charli says it seemed weird, and she had the feeling Scheana liked Brett, but she’d said she wouldn’t let it get between a friendship. Scheana says she doesn’t like Brett like that. Charli says Brett told her that Scheana was questioning her intentions, and it’s a turn-off for someone to bring up their girlfriend of two years ago. Brett says, it clearly wasn’t a date, and wonders if he was supposed to make the whole conversation about her. He says he was being honest, and now he’s being scolded for it. This is why he can’t have girls as friends; they take sh*t to the next level. In Brett’s interview, he says he’s got a Charli and Scheana smoothie, and it’s a disgusting drink. Charli says she has to get back to work. She loves them both – don’t hate her. Brett says she has to have the last word, and make him look like an idiot. Charli tells him to write about it in his diary. In Scheana’s interview, she says she didn’t poison the well. She doesn’t want Charli and Brett to be together, but she didn’t do it on purpose. Her bad.
Lexington, Kentucky. In Brittany’s interview, she says she’s always known she wanted to get married in the Kentucky Chapel, surrounded by family and friends. It’s her dream venue. Two days until the wedding. At the castle where everyone is staying, Brittany says, it’s her kingdom, and she’s so excited. It’s perfect. She says, people are there, and tells everyone, welcome. Stassi says, it’s a mixture of Game of Thrones and Downton Abbey. Brittany shows them to their rooms. One of their dogs has a poopie issue, and in her interview, Stassi says, even though the room smells like dog sh*t, it’s the most romantic place she’s ever been. Brittany hugs everyone, and tells them that she loves them. Schwartz says, a bathroom with chairs; amazing. Scheana asks Kristen if Carter is coming, and in her interview, Kristen says Carter isn’t staying in the castle with the rest of the wedding party. It’s at their request, but he’s also not her boyfriend. She and Scheana have a drink while they get dressed. Brittany says, it’s two and a half hours until the rehearsal. The girls have gotten gift bags, and put on their robes and sleep masks. Lala gets dressed, and Stassi says she can’t wear that; it’s white. In Lala’s interview, she says she didn’t realize they couldn’t wear white during any of the wedding functions. She wouldn’t be mad if someone wore white to the rehearsal dinner for her wedding. She goes to change anyway.
Schwartz says he doesn’t really want do anything. Before they left, he went to check on their lizard, Daug, but he’d passed away during the night. He buried Daug in the backyard. Daug, gone too soon. Jax and Brittany go out on their bedroom balcony, and Brittany yells, I’m getting married! Jax says, him too
Meanwhile, at TomTom, Lisa stops in, and asks Max for a cup of tea. She says she’s seen the figures, and it seems to be running smooth. She tells Max that she hasn’t felt up to being around customers, and faking it. He doesn’t blame her, and she says she has to start getting out. Life is punctuated by important moments. It’s significant that Jax and Brittany are getting married. She watched Jax attempt to grow up. In Lisa’s interview, she says Jax has been in her life for so many years. We flash back to after Jax’s father died, and he told Lisa it was a wake-up call. We move to Lisa talking to Jax’s mom Marie. She says, they’ve gone a long way. Max says he’s sure they’ll miss seeing her at the wedding.
Everyone gathers for the rehearsal at the chapel. Planners Mitchel and Christie give everyone orders, and say, those not in the wedding party can stay or go in the shade. They’re doing a dry run. Tom brings out a cooler with at least three different drink choices. In his interview, Tom says he’s good at being a best man. He’s been busting ass. Maybe he should start a business. We see a fake commercial with Tom saying he puts the best in best man. He’ll make sure you don’t sweat. He doesn’t throw shade – he provides it. Schwartz says, at his wedding, Tom took care of his dog and cried real tears at the same time. Scheana says Tom wasn’t her best man, and now she’s divorced. Tom says, see you at the altar. That was pretty funny.
They go through walking down the aisle, and who’s walking together. Mitchel asks if someone will be Randall. Brittany tells her dad, looking out the window, it hit her; it’s real. They look out, and see everyone lined up. Tom puts an umbrella over Jax. There’s a disagreement over who should come first – there are tons of people involved – and in Jax’s interview, he says, Tom isn’t number one. Schwartz is his best friend, and needs to walk out first. He’s paying for this huge day, and wants it the way he wants it. He tells Brittany, it’s the one thing he asked, but she says she didn’t want to upset anyone. In Tom’s interview, he says he’s been Jax’s friend for almost twenty years, and thought he’d be next to him. He fights back tears, and says, to be moved past to Schwartz is expected, but it hurts.
James makes chicken tacos. Raquel is bummed, but James says he’s tired of hearing about it. He’s over it. in James’s interview, he makes fun of the hashtag Jax is using on everything – #JaxGotItRight. Raquel says, no one is posting, Maybe they’re so wasted, they can’t. James tells Raquel, let’s not go there, but she says she’s not pretending it didn’t happen so he feels better. He tells her that he says a lot of things when he’s drunk. She says he gives her a tone, and he says, it’s his personality; he’s from England. If she doesn’t love who he is, goodbye. She says she’s not telling him not to express his emotions, and he says he’s so over this conversation. He walks out of the apartment, and in Raquel’s interview, she says she’s the one person who’s stood by him. She cries, and says she’s given him so many chances, and it hurts. He comes back, and she says he doesn’t like hearing the truth, but they have to talk about it. He says he’s sorry; he knows. She says she’s not blaming herself for his actions, and she’s not going to be embarrassed for him. The way he talks to her when he’s drunk scares her. If they have kids, she doesn’t want to put them in any situation that’s even relatively close. If he can’t get his sh*t together, then they’ll break up. She wants to go to self-help meeting as well; Al-Anon for those who have loved ones in their lives who drink. James says he’ll go to meetings, and stop drinking. In James’s interview, he says they’ve talked about this before, but there’s something about how Raquel is looking at him, and how upset she is, that he knows he needs to get a handle on it, before she walks out the door, and he’s left wondering what happened. She says it scares her, and he says he knows. He tells her not to cry. He’s doing it. He promises. Raquel says she can’t stop him from drinking anymore, and he says he’s sorry.
And did he just call her Bubba?
Next time, Jax gets sh*tfaced the night before the wedding, Beau tells Kristen that Stassi is his world, and a server tells Dayna that she saw Max with another girl.
🌅 Don’t You Dare…
I’m more like touchy in the morning, but I do love Miss Ross.
(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)
General Hospital
Carly asks Sonny how Dev is, and Sonny says he and Josslyn are arguing about whose turn it is to pick a movie. Carly says, so they’re back to normal, and Brando says, speaking of which… Sonny says, normal depends on what you’re used to. He wants Brando and Dev to stay under his protection, and Brando says, the kid can stay. He’s not going to.
Michael tells Willow, she can still be her; wonderful, sweet, loving, and caring her. Wiley needs this, and to be honest, so does he. She says she loves Wiley so, so much. That’s why she has to let him go.
At the hospital, Elizabeth wonders what’s taking so long, but Franco says Curtis told them Cameron wasn’t hurt. She says she knows that in her head, but won’t know it in her heart until she sees him. Cameron and Trina comes out, and Cameron hugs Elizabeth, who says, thank God. Trina says she has to find her father. Jason tells Epiphany that Trina is Taggert’s daughter, and Epiphany says, they’re stabilizing him, and prepping him for surgery. She asks Trina to come with her. Jordan runs in and hugs Curtis. She asks if he’s all right, and he says, he’s fine. It’s her buddy Taggert who’s hurt. She says she knows; they’re working on him. She asks, what happened? and he says, it was crazy. She says, crazy is right. Both of them, and the kids, could have died. Never mind that she’s his wife. She’s the Police Commissioner; she should have been his first call. Instead, he and Taggert cowboyed their way in, guns blazing, on their own. They could have been killed.
Curtis tells Jordan, he wanted to call and fill her in, but Trina’s not his daughter, and she was caught in the crossfire. Taggert was told if he involved the cops, Trina would be killed. Jordan says Curtis knows better. The best thing to do in a kidnapping, is to call the police first. She would have made sure Taggert was protected. He says, maybe that’s what Taggert was afraid of. She’d try to save them both, and Trina would pay the price.
Willow says she appreciates Michael wanting her to be in Wiley’s life, but he isn’t hers; he never was. Now, knowing the truth about her son – that he died, that Nelle used him as a weapon to hurt Michael, and that Nelle and Brad treated her baby boy like a prop – it’s all she can think about, especially when she sees Wiley. Michael says he’s sorry she’s going through this. And here he is… She says, he’s thinking about his son. She’d love to stay a part of Wiley’s life, but children are sensitive to the people around them. She doesn’t want Wiley picking up on her feelings. It’s not good for either one of them. Michael wishes him getting his son back didn’t mean Willow losing hers all over again.
Jason asks Curtis how he got involved, and Curtis says, he was helping a friend. Jason tells him, Taggert wanted to team up with Sonny to take Cyrus down. Whatever is going on between Cyrus and Taggert isn’t just business; it’s personal. Where does Curtis fit in? Curtis says, he told Jason. He was helping a friend.
Epiphany says Taggert is stable, and will be in surgery soon, but Trina can stay with him. Jordan asks if Curtis squared everything with Jason, but Curtis says, not really. He wanted to know about Taggert’s personal connection with Cyrus. Jordan says she’s sorry she came at Curtis like that. He says he knows it’s not him, and she says, it is, but not just him. She’s mad at a lot of people, and at the whole situation. Taggert is fighting for his life because someone leaked the names of the original task force to Cyrus. Curtis says that’s not on her, but she says, they knew it was coming. If she can’t keep one man safe, how is she going to protect a whole city? Laura comes in, and says she was briefed. She asks how Taggert is, and Jordan says, he’s being prepped for surgery. Laura asks if it was Cyrus, but Jordan says she doesn’t know. Laura asks if the gunmen acted on Cyrus’s orders, and Jordan says, yes.
Carly tells Brando, he has to stay in Port Charles. Sonny says, like it or not, he’s a part of it. Brando says, if anyone asks, tell them that he’s out of town on a job. As for his son, he’s finishing the school year there. Sonny asks, what’s in Chicago that’s so important? and Brando says, just his job, his home, and his life. Carly asks, who says he can’t have that there? and Sonny says he’ll set Brando up. Brand asks if Sonny is going to put in a word to someone at a garage, and Sonny says Brando can open his own shop. Anything he needs, Sonny will get. Brando says, what if he needs to leave? and Sonny says, anything except that.
Cameron tells Elizabeth, the driver took him and Trina to a warehouse, where there were four other guys waiting. Trina’s dad showed up, and it was obvious they weren’t going to let any of them go. He started to fight, and so did Trina. Guns were drawn, Curtis came in, and there was gunfire; it was crazy. He broke away, and Taggert told him to run, so he did. He doesn’t think he ever ran faster in his life. One guy came after him, and he tripped. The guy was standing over him with a gun, and he thought the guy was going to kill him. He heard a gunshot, and the guy dropped. He looked up, and saw Jason. Elizabeth says, thank God Jason got there, and Cameron says, Jason saved him, but the guy… He was a bad guy, but he’s dead. Elizabeth says she’s sorry he had to go through that, and that it happened to him, but he’s there and safe. She hugs him.
Brando says he did as Sonny asked, and backed Sonny’s story, but that’s as far as he goes. Sonny says they’re family, and Brando says they’ve been family for five minutes. Sonny says, they’ve always been family, even though they just met, and family takes care of family. Donna cries, and Carly goes upstairs. Sonny says, five minutes or not, what Brando did at the warehouse, saving Carly, makes him a target. He’s not leaving Brando unprotected. Sonny’s phone rings. It’s Jason, who tells him, Cyrus used Taggert’s Daughter and Cameron as bait. They’re okay, and safe, but Taggert is going into surgery. Sonny says, keep him posted, but Jason says, there’s something else. The Commissioner and Taggert are connected somehow. Sonny says he’s on his way.
Elizabeth sees Jason, and asks if he has a minute. He asks how Cameron is, and she says, all things considered, he’s okay with just having had a brush with death. He told her that Jason saved him, and she can’t thank him enough. He thanks her for calling him. She says she needs to know; is Cameron safe? Jason says, they were after Taggert. Cameron was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. She asks, whoever is doing this, what do they want with Taggert? Jason’s phone rings.
Jordan tells Laura, the PCPD is running with everything they have. Laura says she has every faith in them, but what Jordan is describing are pretty straightforward police tactics. It’s clear Cyrus is capable of working around their methods. Jordan says, shootings, explosives, kidnappings; he’s leaving a trail. Laura says, he is, but his next attack won’t be conventional. They need to think of a better plan of attack.
Willow tells Michael, since she never knew her son was gone, she never mourned him, and it haunts her. Part of her feels like she should have known. The mother in her should have looked at Wiley, and known he wasn’t her child, but she didn’t know the difference. What kind of mother doesn’t know her own child? Michael says, what kind of father doesn’t? They were lied to; it’s not their fault. She loved Wiley the best she could, and he loved Wiley the same. He grieved her son as his own, and she fought to protect his son as her own. It kind of makes them brothers. He asks her, please don’t shut Wiley out. If anyone deserves a place in Wiley’s life, it’s her.
Trina says Taggert is waking up. Lucas and Epiphany run in, and Epiphany tells Trina that the police need to speak to her father. She can see him again before surgery. Jordan promises they won’t be long. Outside the room, Curtis says he’s going to tell Trina’s dad how brave she was, and Trina says he wouldn’t have gotten shot to being with if they hadn’t ditched him in the first place. Lucas comes out, and says they can go in now. Jason watches.
Jordan asks if Taggert can talk, and he says he guesses he’s in trouble. She says, not as long as he’s breathing. If he’d gotten himself killed, he would have been. Taggert thanks Curtis for making sure Trina got out okay. Curtis says, at least someone appreciates him. Taggert asks who’s been giving him a hard time, his wife or Trina, and Curtis says, all of the above. Taggert says Trina is everything to him, and he can’t repay Curtis for making sure she’s safe. Curtis says he was happy to help. Jordan asks what the hell he was thinking, going into the situation without backup. Taggert says he couldn’t involve the police, but Jordan says he could have involved her. Cops or not, she could have worked with him. He says his one thought was getting Trina out, and she says, two attacks, back to back, and he’s still alive. Be ready for the third. From now on, no exceptions. They work together as a team, and finish this together.
Cameron thanks Jason for saving his life, and Jason says he’s just glad Cameron is safe. Sonny says, Cameron told him what happened, and he’s glad Cameron is in one piece. Cameron thanks him, and says he’s sure Sonny and Jason have a lot to talk about. Sonny asks where Taggert is, and sees Curtis and Jordan come out of the room. He goes in, and asks if Taggert is up for a visit. Taggert says he’s still breathing; sorry to disappoint Sonny. Sonny says Trina’s life was on the line, but if their arrangement is going to work, Sonny has to be his first call. Taggert asks if they’re working together. Sonny never answered. Sonny says, this once. Don’t make a habit of it. Taggert says, it’s definitely a one-time thing. Sonny says, so Trina is his daughter. He never took Taggert to be a family man. Taggert says he got lucky, and Sonny says, Trina is the best. She’s smart, and always there for Josslyn. Always. Taggert beckons Sonny closer, and says he knows this isn’t over. Look out for Trina. Sonny says, that goes without saying.
Sasha walks in on Michael and Willow’s conversation, and says, sorry. She knows they have a lot to talk about. Michael says they’re not necessarily finished, but is everything okay? Sasha asks if he remembers their conversation earlier about training Wiley to sleep through the night. She’s a pushover. Wiley woke up crying, and she went in. She turned off the monitor, thinking she could get him back down, but she’s having trouble. Michael tells Willow that he’ll support whatever choice she makes to help herself heal, but she’ll always have a place in his family. He goes to tend to Wiley, and Sasha asks if Willow is okay. Willow says, not really, but she’s better than she was. It looks like Michael is adapting quickly. Sasha says, don’t let him fool her. He’s constantly doubting the transition from fun uncle to dad. Willow doesn’t think that should be a problem, and Sasha says neither does she, but it’s adorable watching him think it is. Willow says Michael will be a great father, and she’s glad he has Sasha in his life. Sasha thanks her, but as much as she can cheer Michael on, and pitch in to help with Wiley, she’s not his mother. Willow says, it turns out neither was she. Sasha says Willow is more of a mother than a lot of real, biological moms. The two greatest mothers Sasha has seen in Port Charles are Nina with Charlotte, and Willow with Wiley. No biology, and all the love. Willow says it’s kind of Sasha to say, but Sasha says she’s calling it as she sees it. Since she’s gone that far, she might as well go all way. Wiley isn’t the only one who needs Willow; Michael does too.
Jordan leaves a message for TJ, saying she’s checking in. She wonders how his big night went, and asks him to call her. Curtis asks Jordan if everything is okay. Jordan hopes so. If Cyrus is willing to kidnap Trina, he might do the same to TJ. Laura is right. Cyrus isn’t going to be stopped with them going by the book. He asks what she’s going to do, and she says, for starters, tell Laura the truth.
Sonny asks if Laura is okay, and she says it’s lucky Jason showed up to save the kids. Lucas tells Trina that Taggert is waiting to see her, and Trina runs in. Laura tells Sonny, she couldn’t help but notice that he visited Taggert. Was it about burying the hatchet, or more like an the enemy of my enemy kind of thing? He says, a little of the first, but mostly the second. She says, Cameron almost died. She’s grateful to Jason for saving him, but it’s a temporary fix. This guy is dangerous. If Sonny retaliates, God only knows what he’ll do next. As the mayor of this town, Cyrus is now her problem.
Trina says she was so scared she was going to lose him, and Taggert says, he knows. He’s sorry. She says, now that he’s there, maybe he can stay in Port Charles longer. She wants her friends to meet him. He says he’d like that, and bets she already has an itinerary for him. She says she has a debate this week, and a track meet next week. Maybe he could come. He says he’ll do his best. He tells her that he feels like having some malted milk balls, and she says, they’re gross, like candy chalk. He asks, who’s the one in the hospital bed? and she says he can choose the candy this time. He says she knows how much he loves her, right? She says, of course (🍷) she does, and kisses his cheek, saying she loves him too. She leaves, and he says he loves that kid.
Carly asks Brando where Sonny is, and Brando says, he had to take off after he got a call. She says it will give them a chance to talk. Brando wonders what’s left to say, and she says she always has more say. He says he’s getting that impression, and she tells him, Sonny offering him a garage isn’t a bribe. Maybe a little, but it’s a way of letting Brando know he understands the sacrifice of Brando leaving his life to stay there. Brando says he hasn’t changed his mind, and she asks what the real problem is. He says he doesn’t want to be beholden to Sonny.
Jordan tells Laura, she and Taggert worked on the DEA team to bring down Cyrus. There were four of them, and now two have turned up dead; murdered, and it was made to look like an OD. The attacker got away, and when the ambush failed, Cyrus went after Taggert’s daughter. Everyone is fair game. Laura asks if Jordan thinks Cyrus orchestrated everything from behind bars. Jordan says, he’s got people working on the outside, and Laura says, not if he can’t get in touch with them. Jordan says, the warden won’t move Cyrus to solitary without cause, and Laura says she’ll give him cause.
Trina tells Cameron that they need to stock the vending machines better. She had to go to the cafeteria to get malted milk balls. Cameron says, that matters because… She says her dad asked for them. He’s awake and talking, and promised to stay in Port Charles indefinitely. She and Cameron hug.
Alarms go off in Taggert’s room. Lucas runs in, and Epiphany follows. Everyone watches, holding their collective breath.
Carly says if Brando is afraid to be beholden to Sonny, he has it all wrong. Brando saved her life. If not for him, Donna would be growing up without a mom. If anything, they’re beholden to him. Brando says Donna is beautiful.
Willow tells Sasha, as much as she loves Wiley, it’s too painful. It’s not good for her, and she doesn’t think it’s good for Wiley either. Sasha wants to level with her, and says, after all Willow has done to fight for Wiley to have the best life possible, why stop? He deserves someone as fierce and selfless as Willow in his life. Willow thanks her, but says she can’t. Sasha asks how she knows if she hasn’t tried. Isn’t it important enough to try? Willow has so much love to give children. Anyone can see that; even Charlotte came around. And when Willow thought she was pregnant, it was profound. She doesn’t mean to strongarm Willow… Willow says she does, and Sasha says, okay, she is. Willow says, it’s okay. Sasha is looking out for Michael and Wiley. She’s glad there’s someone in their lives who cares about them.
Lucas comes out, and tells Jordan, he’s sorry. She says, no. He’s told them Taggert was stabilized. Lucas says they’ll do an autopsy, but it appears there was a blood clot.
Trina tells Cameron that it’s unrealistic to think her dad will make the debate, but he can probably come to her track meet. Cameron says, awesome. They turn the corner, and everyone turns and looks at them. Elizabeth asks Trina if they can talk, and Trina asks, why? What’s wrong? Elizabeth says she’s sorry, but Trina’s dad is gone. Trina asks what she’s talking about; they were taking him to surgery. She asks Lucas to tell her that her dad is going to be okay. Lucas said he’d be okay. Lucas says, sometimes with gunshot wounds, and blood clot is formed quickly, and goes to the brain. They did what they could, and he’s sorry. Trina collapses onto Elizabeth, weeping. Elizabeth holds her.
Jordan goes into Taggert’s room, where Trina sits next to him. She tells Trina that she doesn’t know how much her dad told her, but she had the privilege of working with him a long time ago. Trina says she didn’t know that, and Jordan says, sometimes on a job, you spend a lot of time doing nothing but waiting. Besides football, all he ever talked about was his little girl. He was proud of her. Trina says she was proud of him too, and Jordan says, she should be. He was the best agent she ever worked with.
Jason tells Sonny, when he asked Curtis what he was doing at the warehouse, Curtis said he was helping a friend. He barely knows Taggert. Sonny wonders what the connection is, and Jason says, Jordan. The whole time they were talking, Curtis was looking at her. Sonny says she’s Curtis’s wife, and Jason says, it turns out Jordan and Taggert have a DEA connection. Sonny says he knew Taggert didn’t come to Port Charles on business. Jason says, it was personal reasons. There were two attempts on Taggert’s life in the same day. This vendetta is as personal as it gets, but what if it doesn’t end with Taggert?
Sasha tells Willow, shutting Wiley out may be what she needs right now, but it’s going to hurt people. Not just Michael and Wiley, but her. They all deserve better. Willow says she hears what Sasha is saying, but sorry, she can’t. She jets, and Michael comes in with Wiley. He asks if Willow is gone, and tells Wiley, sorry, buddy, but look on the bright side. Michael brought him downstairs. Sasha asks, what happened with getting Wiley back to sleep? and laughs, saying, she couldn’t resist either. Willow watches them through the window.
Laura and the warden walk to Cyrus’s cell. The warden goes inside, and Laura gets a text saying Taggert died from his wounds. Cyrus tells the warden, he asked not to be disturbed, but the warden says he has a visitor. Laura goes in, and says she doesn’t think they’ve been properly introduced. Cyrus says she’s Laura Collins, the mayor of the great city of Port Charles. She says, correct, and he says she’s looking well after her recent ordeal on the docks. He asks if they ever found the gunman, but she says she doesn’t have the patience for a game of cat and mouse. A friend of hers died tonight. He says he’s so sorry, and Laura says, he was a good man. He was a good cop, and left behind a daughter. Cyrus says, how tragic. She must be devastated. She says he has no idea how she feels.
Carly tells Brando, to be honest, she’s scared. She doesn’t want him to be a target because he risked his life to save her. Is she clear enough? He says, if it’s that important, he guesses he’ll stay. Carly says he’s learned an important lesson. Don’t waste time arguing with her. When she wants something, she gets it. She takes Donna back upstairs, and Brando kind of smiles. I think he has a crush on Carly.
Trina holds Taggert’s hand, and Epiphany comes in. Trina puts the candy box on Taggert’s chest, and walks out. Jordan tells Taggert that she’s going to protect his daughter and make this right. She leaves, and outside, Trina walks past Curtis without saying anything. She tells Elizabeth, when they were kidnapped, their phones were thrown out. She needs to call her mom. Has Elizabeth been able to reach her? Elizabeth says she hasn’t, but in the meantime, Trina can wait at their house for her to call. Franco asks if Cameron is okay, and Cameron says, yeah. He was just thinking… When he thought they were going to lose Franco, Trina was there for him. He couldn’t shake her. She said there was always hope to hang on to, and Franco would come back, and here he is. Trina’s dad is gone, and there is no hope. He’s not coming back. Franco says, now is Cameron’s chance to be there for Trina. Cameron says he will. He just hopes he can be as good a friend as she was to him. Curtis comes by, and Franco shakes his hand. Curtis touches Cameron’s shoulder. Jordan tells Curtis that they’ll talk later. TJ is safe, and she knows what she has to do to keep him that way. Disappear. She’s going to resign.
Laura tells Cyrus that she and the warden were talking, and she persuaded him that part of rehabilitation is the ability to enjoy the solitude of one’s own thoughts. Cyrus says they can’t send him to solitary without cause; it’s a violation of his rights. She says there’s evidence potentially linking him to several violent crimes, the most recent one tonight. They can no longer afford him to have opportunity to contact the outside. He asks how he could possibly do that, and she says, give orders from behind bars? Let her count the ways. His attorney, visitors, other inmates and their attorneys, via code, and cell phones smuggled in. He says, if only she had proof, and she tells him to look around him. He’s in prison, not a court of law. She doesn’t need proof. He says, abuse of power on her part won’t stand. She says, if he doesn’t like it, file a complaint. He says, by the way, about her friend, he is sorry for her loss. She says, no, he’s not, but he will be. Cyrus is taken away.
Tomorrow, Anna asks Finn what he told Jason exactly; Maxie says if she and Peter don’t tell each other everything, there’s no relationship; Julian says Brook is bluffing, and Brook says, try her.
😥 This was not fair. Although it seemed like Taggert was dead at the end of Friday’s episode, the preview hinted that he would live, and so he did. Only to die of a blood clot. They lifted us up, just to bring us down. It was heart wrenching, especially when Trina left the candy with him. I’d already been calculating him into the cast equation. Was this really necessary?
Below Deck Sailing Yacht
Jenna tells Adam about Georgia being slow on turndowns, and acting disrespectful. He says, break her down to a pulp. He would can her ass personally. In Georgia’s interview, she says Jenna talking behind her back is becoming a bit of a pattern. It’s unfortunate she came across as disrespectful, and she’s going to have to watch her back. Adam says it’s good Jenna held her ground.
Some of the guests go to the beach for the campfire picnic. Madison says it would be nice to know where she’s going beforehand. Jenna and Georgia have one job; she has five. Paget takes the guests to the beach, where Madison is waiting. She welcomes them to their private beach. In Georgia’s interview, she says, face to face she thinks she and Madison are on the same team, but she doesn’t know if she can trust Madison at this point.
The beach looks so pretty in the firelight. The guests roast marshmallows, make s’mores and drink wine. One of the dudes says he hates sandy feet and wet kneecaps. I’m wondering why he wants to go to a beach then. After finding out he’s a 34, Georgia tells Paget that she doesn’t think he’s fat; he’s the manliest man on the boat. He jokes that she always upsets him, so he’s going. He leaves to bring the guests back. Jenna asks how the beach was, and all of the guests are happy. Ciara tells Paget that she’ll clean up, and he can go to bed. In her interview, she says they’ve been bickering a lot, and she doesn’t want to deal with it. There’s not that much stuff on the beach, so she can do it on her own. When she was little, her nickname was, I Do It. She just wants some space right now.
Jenna cleans up, and Georgia tells Madison that she hates to be the bearer of bad news, but the laundry isn’t finished. In Madison’s interview, she says, laundry is Georgia’s job. Either she’s bad at it, or Jenna is bad at giving instructions. This mystery needs to be solved. Madison is finally in bed at 4:30 am, saying, it’s been a long day. Some of the crew are getting up, and I once again despise the sound of their alarm clock, since it sounds like mine. I want to smash it.
Parker tries putting new covers on the tender cushions. Jenna asks how the guests slept, and tells them breakfast will be between 9 and 10. In Georgia’s interview, she says the laundry hasn’t been completed, and she has enough problems with Jenna. She doesn’t want to lose her job on the premise of someone else’s mistake. In Adam’s interview, he says he’s enjoying the flirtatious banter with Jenna, but he knows how quickly and easily he can be infatuated. We flash back to one of those infatuations, and he says, if it goes belly-up, it could be a disaster. He asks Jenna if it’s warm in there.
Breakfast is served. Jenna says, there are pastries galore (and there are!), and guest Adam says he’s going to need a major diet after this. Paget tells Parker that he needs to change into his polo shirt while they’re sailing. He doesn’t want Parker to look bad in front of the guests. In Parker’s interview, he doesn’t think the guests care if he’s wearing a polo shirt or T-shirt. They just care what they’re getting for breakfast. Georgia whines that Madison didn’t help her with laundry last night, and Madison says she understands what it’s like, and it’s frustrating. She’s doing the best she can, but even though she’s the middle person, Georgia needs to watch how she speaks to her.
Parker suggests to Parker that they wear ascots. Jenna tells the guests that Paget is going to take them cliff jumping, and Captain Glenn plans on doing some sailing later. Along with Ciara, Paget takes the guests on the tender to a beautiful little island with an old lighthouse on it. Georgia tells Jenna that she can get the cabins done, but has to do it uninterrupted, and in her interview, she says she doesn’t care who gets the gold star, she just wants to get through the day with no complaints. Jenna isn’t trustworthy. Byron asks what Jenna is bitching about. Jenna says she wasn’t bitching, and he jokes that he saw her lips moving.
The guests come back, and guest Adam says, it was solid. Captain Glenn notes the wind is 22 knots, more than was forecast. In the captain’s interview, he says he has to be cognizant of the guests’ safety, especially with a baby. As captain, he’s always a little worried, but they should be fine. Fingers crossed. The sails go up, and in Paget’s interview, he says, once the sails go up, they’re in the hands of the gods, so to speak. They sail a while, the guests marvel at how big the sails are, and anchor is dropped. In Parker’s interview, he says, there are endless things to learn, and he wants to learn them all. He’s a visual learner. Lunch is served, and primary Sylvia asks Captain Glenn to join them for dinner. She tells him that he has a great life. In his interview, the captain says, in the yachting industry, it’s hard to be in a relationship. He’s fine with it, and not having a partner to do things with doesn’t stop him from doing anything. The crew eats, and when Ciara sits down, Parker tells her that Paget wants one of them on deck. If she wants, he’ll go. In Ciara’s interview, she wonders why Parker is telling her what her boyfriend wants her to do. If Paget wants her to do something, he’ll tell her. Parker says, it’s a precaution to always have a person on deck. She gets up, and heads upstairs, saying, he’s the boss.
In her interview, Ciara says she’s pissed. She’s Paget’s number two. She doesn’t take orders from a deckhand. Adam flirts with Jenna in front of Madison. Ciara tells Parker that they have to put the covers on the tender cushions, and he says he did that already. She checks the tender, and says, they’re still wet. She wants to wring them out, and put them in the dryer, so they’re fresh. In Parker’s interview, he says he knows he’s green, but he knows what she’s talking about, Ciara thinks because she’s Paget’s girlfriend, she can boss him around. The guests see a little shore town, and ask if they can go inland for a drink. Paget tells Georgia that he loves hearing her voice; it’s sensual. In Georgia’s interview, she says she dates emotional unhealthy guys, and likely psychopaths that will leave her for her best friend.
Ciara asks Paget if they can talk. She’s pissed that Parker is telling her what to do and how to do it. And he doesn’t listen. The guests prepare to leave. Paget tells Parker to take Ciara’s lead. Parker says he and Ciara were eating at the same time. Paget says he wants one of them on deck. Parker says he was just telling her what Paget said, and asks if she thinks that’s undermining her. Ciara says, don’t tell her what to do; just tell her what he’s doing. Ciara asks Jenna to stall, while she puts the covers back on. Paget tells Parker that speaking directly to other people about what he wants them to do gets their back up. They’re adults, and have to work together and be a team. Parker says they’re on the same page; he’s not disagreeing. In Parker’s interview, he says, working for a couple, he can’t win. He did everything that was asked, and he’s still the one getting scolded. He tells Paget that Ciara put the covers back in the dryer when he said not to, and Ciara tells Paget, they were soaking wet.
The guests get on the tender with baby Angelica. In the crew mess, Parker asks if he can have some club soda, and Jenna says it didn’t come with the last provisions, and she needs to make sure they have it for the guests. Parker points out that Byron has one, and Jenna says Parker’s attitude is heavy. If he wants something, put it on the list. He adds it on the dry-erase board, and says he’s not trying to piss her off; he just wanted a club soda. Jenna says, if she tells him, no, let that be the end of it. His commentary puts people off. She says she’ll give him an example, but he says, that’s okay, and jets. Adam says, clearly, it went in one ear and out the other.
Paget picks up the guests, Adam makes dinner, and the table is set. Madison starts turndowns before dinner, and Jenna isn’t happy. In Jenna’s interview, she says they don’t start until the guests sit down to dinner. You need to be a magical fairy, who cleans the rooms, but the guests never see. In his interview, Captain Glenn says, dressing up for a fancy dinner is not his forte. He’s more of a burger, ribs, and pizza kind of guy. Jenna tells Madison that she should have waited, but Madison says there were no guests there. The captain says, wish him luck, and joins the guests for dinner. Madison goes to help with turndowns, and Georgia tells Madison that she should have waited until the guests were sitting down to dinner. Madison tells her, no one was there, and Georgia snarks that Madison is the boss. Madison says, no, she’s not; she’s trying to be proactive. Jenna radios for Madison to be on service. In Madison’s interview, she says, if you want respect, don’t flirt with the chef when you should be working. Jenna asks Ciara for help with service.
Captain Glenn tells Sylvia that he bought a sailboat in ’92. In his interview, he says he feels awkward, but he has to do his best to keep it going. It might be a nice rapport, but he doesn’t like being the center of attention. It makes him feel self-conscious. Dinner is served, Mmm… yellowtail… seared… Captain Glenn says he loves Adam’s food, and the guests agree. They discuss cooking, and Angelica cries. Jenna tells Adam that she likes the way he’s spreading the strawberries on the dessert, and he says he’s good at spreading things out. Jenna says, they’ll see, and in Madison’s interview, she says something like, errggh. Sylvia toasts to a great trip, and Angelica.
The captain says he’ll see them in the morning, and everyone goes to bed. If I was shelling out the kind of money it takes to go on a trip like this, I’d be up 24/however many days the trip was. Jenna tells Adam, it’s a calm charter, and Madison tells Georgia to go to bed; she’ll finish. Georgia says she needs to be up to make sure the laundry is done, and Madison asks if that’s a jab at her. Georgia tells her, stop making drama, but Madison says she’s not. Don’t say she has to get the job done as a jab at her. Jenna tells Adam that she’s going to bed, and he massages her shoulders. Madison tells Georgia, just let her know where the laundry is at. Georgia tells Madison that she started the drying cycle, and wrote down what’s needed. She goes to bed, and Madison mumbles they’ll have to work on that. Captain Glenn asks Georgia if everything is okay, and she says, it’s always good.
In the morning, there’s a glorious sunrise. Georgia sees that she finally got some help, and says, thank God. She did it. Paget’s hair is slicked back, and she tells him, she likes his wet look. Breakfast is served. Mmm… eggs benedict… with a crab cake underneath… The captain tells the crew, ETA, five minutes. In Paget’s interview, he says he and Parker have been butting heads the whole charter, and the last docking was a disaster. One screw up can cost tens of thousands of dollars in damage. They dock uneventfully.
The guests say goodbye. Sylvia says Captain Glenn is their favorite captain. They did a great job; the crew kept their rooms up, and the food was amazing. She gives him a fat envelope, the captain blows the horn, and everyone waves goodbye. Adam says they nailed it. The crew cleans up the boat, and Captain Glenn calls for a charter debrief. He says he thinks it was another great charter. The tip is $14,000 or $1550 each. In Paget’s interview, he says, the tip is the icing on the cake. Knowing the guests had a great time is what counts. Ha-ha-ha! I’m so sure I believe that. Captain Glenn says they’re on a roll, but he’s starting to see a grinding of the gears. It’s a lot of pressure, and they’re working long hours in small spaces. In his interview, he says the crew is starting to get on each other’s nerves. It’s like running a floating foster home. He needs to alleviate the tension before it blows up.
In Jenna’s interview, she says she’s excited to go out. She’s getting along great with Adam, but since the hot tub debacle, she’s going to let him make the first move. She tells him, she can’t wait to get out of there. The crew gets ready to go out. In Madison’s interview, she says she and Georgia are like sisters, but more like bro’s. They’re ready to kill each other, and the next moment, they’re bro’ing out. The crew goes to shore.
Why do so many cafés and bars have swings? Do people bring kids? I don’t think the option of a swing is a great choice where people are drinking. They eat at a table right next to the water. In Ciara’s interview, she says she hasn’t connected that well with the other girls. When she was younger, they moved a lot, and there wasn’t much of a chance to make friends. She’s very self-sufficient, but it’s lonely at times. After dinner, the crew moves on to a bar. Ciara doesn’t feel like drinking, but Jenna wildly swings her ponytail in a way that might be some kind of mating ritual. Paget asks if Ciara is going to be wiggling her butt, but she’s not having it. Adam and Jenna flirt, and in Madison’s interview, she says, she’s an awkward flirt. If she’s awkward and weird, she’s flirting, but Parker hasn’t noticed. He probably thinks she’s having a seizure or something. In Ciara’s interview, she says all she needs is a little alone time with Paget. Ciara tells Paget that she doesn’t want to be there; she’s tired. He asks if she’s crying, but she says she doesn’t want to talk. She’s not having fun, and just wants to sleep.
Ciara puts her head in her hands, and Paget walks away. Madison wiggles around next to Ciara, and Ciara asks what she’s doing, and laughs. Madison says Ciara isn’t going to cry; she’s going to laugh. She puts her boobs in Ciara’s face. In Madison’s interview, she says she wants everyone to be happy if it kills her. The crew goes back to the boat. In Parker’s interview, he says he’s aware that Madison might have a crush on him, but falling in love takes a very long time for Parker (he literally talks about himself in the third person). Adam and Jenna sit in captain’s chair, and curl up together. Adam says, it’s the best seat in the house. He likes her; she makes him laugh. She makes his day easier. She says she could tell he liked her, and he says, it’s not every day he’s attracted to his chief stew. She says, sh*t happens. Why question it? They kiss. In Adam’s interview, he says, the texual shension [sic] is high. Jenna says she really likes him, and Adam asks if she wants to go on a road trip. She says, yeah, and in her interview, Jenna says she can’t think of a better night. Adam says, round two, and they go to bed. Separately; not with each other.
Adam comes up behind Jenna while she makes juice, and they hug. Georgia sings as she does the laundry. There seems to be something about doing laundry on boats that inspires song. It happens a lot. Captain Glenn tells Madison that he’s going off the boat, and she tells him to enjoy his time. He leaves for who-knows-where. Ciara looks out, and notices the boat is hitting the dock. She calls for Paget, and then Byron, but no one is around. The boat continues to scrape the dock, and she runs through the boat, looking for anyone. She says she doesn’t know where he f*** anyone is.
Next time, Adam wants to take it slow, the guests are chest bumping Long Island dudes (looks promising!), Captain Glenn says hitting the dock is a big deal, and Madison says it’s absolute insanity on the boat.
🕶 Remember Her…?
No reason you should. I didn’t. I think she’s the one with the eating disorder.
(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)
The Walking Dead
Beta enters an RV. Two Whisperers remove a chair, and open a secret door in the floor. Beta drops down. He lights a lantern, and goes through a tunnel.
Baby Coco stirs, and Rosita gets up. She goes to get the baby’s blanket, and I gasp out loud. When she turns back, Beta is standing over the crib. Beta raises a knife, and plunges it downward. Rosita wakes up.
The gate at Alexandria parts. Gamma is standing there, surrounded by armed guards. She removes her mask, and says she’s the one who knows Aaron. Gabriel says they know who she is. She says, they’re in trouble. They’re trapped in a cave where Alpha placed the horde. They might have gotten out; she doesn’t know. Gabriel says she told them it was in a field, and she says, Alpha moved it. He says, the whole thing? Right before their group got there? Gamma says she’s just telling them what happened. She’s trying to help. Rosita asks, why? and Gamma says, the baby that the Whisperers left at Hilltop is her nephew. Gabriel asks where the baby’s mother is, and Gamma flashes back to pushing her sister into the zombies. She says, dead. Gabriel looks at Rosita, and asks Gamma, if they give her a map, can she show them where the cave is? She says she can, and the guards lower their pokey sticks. Gamma moves toward the gate, and Rosita punches her in the face, saying, she’s a liar.
Daryl hides in a crevasse, and sees Alpha. She takes an arrow out of the head of a zombie, and moves on. Daryl follows behind. Holding a knife. Another Whisperer comes out of a cave. They lead a group of zombies out.
Gamma wakes in the cell. Rosita says she’s not the first one, and Gamma asks if Rosita killed the last one. Gabriel says, he did. Rosita says they were sent to spy on them, and killed her baby’s father two days ago. Gamma says she doesn’t know anything about that, and Gabriel says it’s amazing how much she says she doesn’t know. He’ll lay it out for her. She’s working hard to convince them that she’s different from the ones who lie, walk with the dead, and eat worms. She says, what if she can’t? and Rosita says, then she’ll die. No second chance. Gabriel says, by the way, she’s the third one. Gamma says she’s telling the truth, and Gabriel says, this isn’t for show. He’s a servant of God. He’s heard many confessions, and he can tell she’s holding back. Outside the gate, her story was that she’s the baby’s aunt. Gamma says, it’s not a story, and he says it tugs at the heartstrings, but she’s hiding something. That makes the whole thing a lie. She says, ask God if she’s lying, and he says God told him to hang her. Gamma says she killed her sister. She killed her sister for Alpha. Alpha didn’t even have to ask; she just did it. Does he believe her now? Gabriel says, get her a map.
Alpha and two other Whisperers continue with a small zombie group. A zombie gets shot with an arrow, and the Whisperers split from the group. Daryl fights with Alpha, but gets cut, and there’s blood in his eyes. He can barely see, but gets her back down anyway. He asks where they are, as the zombies come closer. He slaughters a few, but Alpha grabs her knife from where it fell, and stabs Daryl in the leg. Daryl still can see a little, but everything is red, and he struggles.
Gabriel says, fourteen miles inland. He asks if there are any other ways in or out, and Gamma isn’t sure, but says they’ll be guarded. Rosita says, what about the border?It’s guarded all the way, but Gamma says, it’s too long for Alpha to defend. Most of the patrols are near the cave. Gabriel tells someone to take Gamma back to her cell. When she’s gone, Gabriel tells the others that they’ll get two rescue parties together. Rosita says they don’t know if the information is real. Scott asks Gabriel if he’s sure Gamma’s not lying. Gabriel says he is and he does know. They’re hesitating because they’re afraid, and they shouldn’t be. Scott asks, why? and Gabriel says he brought her in so they could see the Whisperers are cowards. They broke her completely, and they can break others. Keep them alive. Pull their teeth, and take their fingers; get more information. The more pain and fury they pour on the Whisperers, the sooner they’ll drop their act. Which is what it is.
Alpha follows Daryl to a gas station, carrying a shotgun, and is obviously hurt. A knife sticks out of Daryl’s leg, as he grabs for things on the table above him. He gets a metal bar. Alpha comes closer, but then sits down. She bangs on a pipe with the gun. Zombies start to come.
Gabriel arms himself, and Rosita does the same. He asks if she’s okay, saying, she seemed off in the meeting. He suggests she stay and work defense at the gate. The smart thing would be for her to sit this one out. She tells him, don’t worry; she won’t freeze. She’s good. He should worry about his sh*t. It’s erratic. It seems like he’s itching for a fight. He says, so what if he is? and Rosita says, she doesn’t want… He says he knows, and she says she’ll see him out there.
Judith talks to Gamma through the cell window, asking what her name is. Gamma says, no one has asked since she got there. It’s Mary. Judith asks where she was before the Whisperers, and Mary says she’s from Santa Monica; it’s in California. Her parents’ names were John and Alice. She went to school… She doesn’t remember. She tells Judith, Alpha has a way of making you forget. Judith says, she really doesn’t remember anything? and Mary says, echoes of left feelings. Her life was ordinary; that much she knows. When it all went down, she and her sister kept making bad decisions. They needed someone to make decisions for them. Then they met Alpha. Judith says they met the wrong person first. If they’d met her mom and dad, she wouldn’t be in the cell. Mary doesn’t look like a monster to her. Rosita calls to Judith, who says, bye. Rosita looks at Mary.
Alpha continues to bang on the pipe, and zombies continue to move toward the sound. They walk past her, except for one, who makes close-up and personal zombie noises in her face. Daryl kicks a fire extinguisher down from the wall, and whacks a couple of heads with it. He tussles with a zombie, and ends up pulling the knife out of his leg. He stabs the zombie in the head, but now he’s bleeding like a stuck pig.
The groups get ready to go out. Gabriel hears over the radio that a herd is headed for Alexandria, and makes the decision for Laura and Rosita to stay back. He and Scott will each take a squad, and break up the herd. He tells Rosita that he’s not speaking for her, but she admits it could get them both killed, and says, it’s better this way. He kisses her goodbye, and says he’ll see her soon.
A zombie rises out of the earth from a grave inside Alexandria. Oh wait, it’s Beta, that crazy kid. He brandishes a knife in both hands.
Inside a house, two guys talk about the Whisperers being a joke, and get ready to go out. Beta gets inside, and screams come from the house. Beta kneels on the floor, as a guy crawls away from him.
On the radio, Gabriel asks, what the hell happened? They saw nothing coming? Rosita says, nothing. Scott wonders, what the hell is going on? Beta kneels in the middle of carnage, bodies surrounding him. Gabriel says most of them are out there. There’s hardly anyone back home.
The dead start to come to life around Beta. Outside, Rosita leads a group through the street, and sees zombies coming. She radios Gabriel, saying, they’re here, and runs toward the zombies with the group. Beta goes to the cell, and unlocks it. Mary says, it isn’t what she said. She lied. Beta says, these are not her people, and Mary repeats, she lied. He says, she is your Alpha, and opens the door. He says she was dead the moment she came to them. Step toward him. He holds out his hand, and she says, why? He says, she wants you. She said death would be painless, but if you fight, it will not be. Step toward him. She stays where she is, and says all Alpha wants is her in pain. He’s lying for her. Again he says, step toward him. Mary moves forward, and says she’s not afraid of him. He says, yes, she is. Beta feels a blade at his back, and Laura stands behind him holding some kind of battle ax. She tells Mary, get help, and Mary runs out. Beta grabs the ax, and they struggle, but Laura jumps on him. Outside, Mary yells for help, and hears a voice says, up here. Laura and Beta fight, but he knocks her out. He stomps out to the street.
He goes inside house, and quietly walks upstairs. He looks around, slipping into a bedroom and out again. He sees a closed door, opens it, and a shot in the chest blows him back. It’s our girl Judith. She and Mary run, but Mary lingers, and Beta grabs her ankle, tripping her. Beta gets up, and we see his wearing some kind of chest plate. Rosita says, hey, and he turns. He has a huge chef’s knife, and rushes her, but Rosita slugs him in the gut with a bat. They struggle, and he gets Rosita down. Mary tells him, stop. Alpha wants her alive. She holds a knife to her own throat, and tells Beta, step toward her. Nice move.
Beta and Mary walk down the road. Beta says, you will fall. You will rise. You will walk with your sister again. Gabriel and his squad are suddenly in front of them. Mary hits the ground, shots are fired, and Beta jets. The group points their guns at Mary, and she says she didn’t betray them. He was going to… please. She’s telling the truth. Gabriel looks at her, and puts his gun up on his shoulder.
Alpha takes off her mask. She asks Daryl if he can see beyond the darkness to the light, but he says no. She says she’s teeming with joy. She sees the ones who brought her around them. She says, thank you for making me strong. They made her, and her daughter. Daryl says she lost her daughter. Alpha drove her away because she didn’t love her. She asks what he said, and moves toward him, saying, she’s all ears. She stumbles and falls, and crawls along the floor. She lies there a moment, and sees a blurry Lydia. Lydia takes her hand, and Alpha asks if she’s really there. Lydia says, yes, mama, and Alpha says, don’t call her that; Lydia knows better. She came home. Alpha says, I am you, and you are me, Lydia. She starts to sing, Lydia, the Tattooed Lady. She puts a knife in Lydia’s hand, and covers it with her own. She says she wants to make sure Lydia is ready, but Lydia says she can’t. She didn’t come for Alpha, but the others. They’re not perfect; just human. It’s all she ever wanted, and what Alpha never gave her. She touches Alpha’s face, and Alpha says she wants Lydia to stay.
Alpha opens her eyes. Lydia is gone. Alpha gets up, obviously in pain. She limps toward where Daryl was, but Daryl is gone. The knife is stuck in the table, with the words, your way is not the only way, carved next to it. Alpha laughs.
Gabriel walks with Scott and points to where Beta gained entry, saying, this was Dante. Scott says, the Whisperers sealed whole sections. Aaron returns, and Gabriel and Scott hug him. He says he’s all right, and Gabriel asks, what happened? Where are the others? Aaron says, they got separated, but most of them got out. Scott says, most of them? and Aaron says, not everyone.
Rosita sits in a wagon, and Gabriel asks if she’s sure she doesn’t want to take Coco. It’s a short trip. She says she wants Coco safe, and she’s safe with him. A little caravan gets ready, and Aaron lifts Judith into one of the wagons. Mary sits with Rosita, and Rosita formally introduces herself. They shake hands, and the caravan heads out.
Daryl comes to, leaning against a tree in the woods. Lydia tells him, easy. He asks how long he was asleep, and she says, most of the day. He says, she was just out there watching him? She says, and watching them. Deciding. He says, deciding what? Did she kill Alpha? Lydia says, if it was Daryl’s father, could he?
Alpha lies on her back, holding the knife. She says she’s no longer weak. She’s stronger than ever. The horde will consume them. Their screams will be songs to her. A couple of Whisperers help her up, and she says, bathed in blood; we are free. We love no one; we are free. We hear nothing; we are free. We are the end of the world.
Next time, Lydia says her mother coming, and everyone gets ready for a fight.
💥 News Flash: Starting this Friday – March 6th – the Shahs will be moving to Fridays at 9 pm.
Shahs of Sunset
Reza says he needs a new shoe closet, and Adam says he wants to convert the garage to a big closet. Reza is like, thanks but no thanks. He has a promotional gig in Las Vegas coming up, and says he has to kill it at Sally Beauty Supply with his haircare products. If he doesn’t, it’s $500K down the tubes. He tells Adam, the product isn’t generating the income they need to live. GG texts that she has to cancel coming along. Reza relays the news to Adam, and says Destiney will be coming. He says he’s forgiven her, and Adam says he’d rather move on than hold a grudge.
MJ and Tommy fawn over Baby Shams. Vida comes by, and says she thinks Shams should be on the cover of People. In MJ’s interview, she says she thinks she and Tommy are naturals.
GG’s mom Fati cuts up several pineapples. In GG’s interview, she says, in trying to get pregnant, she’s been googling everything, and pineapple is supposed to be helpful in thickening the uterine lining. She’s going the embryo transfer today. She started with IVF treatments in October of 2018, and says her ass is black and blue from the injections.
Mike visits Nema, bringing along his French bulldogs. Nema says he’s finally found the super ultra-modern home he’s always wanted. Mike explains microfiber to pup Lexi. Pet massage therapist Gene comes by to give Nema’s dog Jack a massage, since Jack broke his back a couple of years ago. In Nema’s interview, he says he rescued Jack, and got Jack in the divorce. Erica then became Jack’s stepmom, and got involved in Jack’s life, so now they’re co-parenting. Mike says he thinks Nema is leading Erica on, and Nema tells Mike that he never says Mike is leading Paulina on. They bicker, and then apologize to Gene. Gene says his focus is on the dog. Mike says Erica and Nema work together, and Nema keeps saying he’s going to marry her one day. We flash back to Nema telling Erica that they can’t not end up together, and her saying, not if he’s like he is now. Nema says, Paulina is dating a guy who cheated on his wife, and she has two kids. Mike tells Nema not to judge him on his past. In Mike’s interview, he says he’s grown, and deserves to be treated right. Nema says he doesn’t want advice from Mike. Since Mike is a dishonest guy, the advice it tainted. Ouch. He doesn’t think Mike is ready to be a stepdad. In his interview, Mike says Nema has never even seen him around Paulina’s children. They’re like his own. Mike gathers up his dogs, and leaves.
Destiney and Sara get ready to go to Las Vegas. In Sara’s interview, she says, Destiney is a lot. Destiney lives in Destiney’s own world, but Sara is glad to be getting to know her.
Reza and Adam check in at the Waldorf Astoria in Las Vegas. They meet with Dan and Sheree Funsch, Reza’s business partners. Reza says he’s so nervous, he had a nightmare that no one showed up. They sit near the pool, and a waiter brings over an incredible mini spread and Bloody Marys with lots of garnishes. In his interview, Reza says the products are selling on the website, but to make real money, they have to be in a national chain store. He asks what’s expected of him, and Sheree says he has to be the ultimate politician. In Reza’s interview, he says they have a one year exclusive, and he wants to convince them the products are going to fly off the shelves. Sheree says it’s his first big test, and in his interview, he says if he doesn’t kill it, he’ll be back to slinging real estate. He tells Dan and Sheree, let’s go do it.
GG frets about having to quit smoking weed. For the last three years, she’s only gone a couple of hours without it.
Sara and Destiney check into the hotel. Destiney tells Sara about the time she was mistaken for a prostitute in Vegas, and in her interview, Sara says she wouldn’t want to share that information with anybody.
MJ and Tommy talk about having another baby, and Vida says they’re crazy. In MJ’s interview, she says the night before the baby came, Reza checked in. After she’d delivered Shams, Tommy texted Reza about how she’d had complications, and was in the ICU. Reza’s response was, prayers for a speedy recovery. We see a clip of Reza reading his response to Adam, and that’s the last sentence in a rather long paragraph filled with care and concern. So wtf? Tommy tells MJ, Reza knew how bad it was, and starts getting loud and animated. In her interview, MJ says instead of racing to see her, he confronted her on the phone. Everyone knows that Adam has a sexually deviant sense of humor. Tommy calls Adam the hillbilly whore of WeHo.
In the Presidential Suite, Reza puts on his gold leopard belt buckle. In his interview, he says, it’s sad, being in Vegas without MJ. They’ve been going there together since they were kids. He’s doing this without the help of his best friend. Destiney and Sara come to the suite, and they make dinner plans. Reza says he has to hustle, but a car will be waiting for them to pick them up for the event.
GG is being a back seat driver from the passenger seat. In her interview, she says it was the worst decision of her life to ask her mom to drive. An Uber motorcycle would have been better. GG’s dad Mahmoud meets them. GG says it’s a scary, but fulfilling moment.
Adam tells Reza, the launch is going to be amazing. Adam wears the same shirt he wore the night Reza proposed, and tells Reza it’s his lucky shirt. In Reza’s interview, he says having Adam there means the world to him. He’d invested in the product behind Adam’s back, but they got over it. Ali tried to take them down, but he couldn’t. At Sally’s Beauty Supply, Reza talks with the buyer, and says it’s an honor to be there. He sets up a display table. It’s kind of like a book signing. In his interview, he says he is honored. He’s a little Persian kid whose dreams are all coming true. He explains, the secret to good salesmanship is, one, understanding who you’re dealing with; two, knowing how to interact; and three, knowing when to close the deal. If you master those, you can sell anything.
Destiney and Sara arrive, and buy one of everything in Reza’s line. The manager announces that they made 120% of their sales plan. In Reza’s interview, he says, it’s a big deal for a middle-American company to have confidence in a gay middle eastern man.
Vida fusses over Shams. I don’t think she’s going to give him back.
On the way back, GG tells Fati that she can’t believe it. She asks if Fati cares how her driving affects others. In her interview, GG says her parents are rock stars. Not many Persian parents would be okay with their daughter being single and getting herself knocked up. She shows her dad a video of the procedure, done using an ultrasound. In GG’s interview, she says, and no foreplay. Mahmoud tells her that she has to watch funny movies, and Fati suggests Mel Brooks. GG says, Mel Brooks is ancient. She starts a video baby diary, and explains to the baby that she’s got to lay low for the next 48 hours. Mahmoud tells her, everything is good; she’ll be fine. She says she can’t be the baby anymore. He says she’s almost 40, and she threatens to punch him in his bad knee.
Destiney makes plans on the phone to meet her mom for high tea the next day. In her interview, she says her mom loves Vegas, and is literally her best friend.
Mike tells Paulina that Nema said something was off about her since she was allowing a guy as dishonest as him around her and kids. Not quite what Nema said, although I do think it was none of his business. In Mike’s interview, he says, when people tear others down, they’re deflecting from their own shortcomings. Nema should get therapy, rather than talk sh*t about him. Paulina says she’ll confront anyone who talks sh*t about Mike.
In the car, Nema tells a friend he’s going on a blind date, and she suggests his teeth might be intimidating. Ha-ha! In Nema’s interview, he says Mike doesn’t get why he’s not sleeping with half of Los Angeles like him. He meets his date Aimee at a restaurant. He tells her it’s his first blind date, and she says she’s been on dating apps. In his interview, he says he was married in his 20s, when he was supposed to be out and fun. After his divorce, he dated Erica, so this is a new frontier. He asks about her last relationship, and she says, he cheated. He tells her that he was cheated on, as well as his father having been cheated on. His father always had a chip on his shoulder, and Nema didn’t want to turn into that person who’s pissed for the next thirty years because of a cheater. He says, it’s a great blind date, and in his interview, says this is proving he’s over Erica, and can enjoy someone else’s company. He says, let’s get out of here, but Aimee has already called an Uber.
Sara’s brother Sam joins them for dinner. In Sara’s interview, she says Sam lives in Vegas. He’s the brother of four older sisters, and the only boy. They’re very protective. She worries about his decision making. They’re shown to a private room for a four-course menu with a wine pairing. Sam says his goal is to make money between poker and sports betting. In her interview, Sara says, it’s a stereotype in the Persian community, if you’re not a doctor or a lawyer, you’re a failure. Sam and Destiney flirt. He says he’s never dated a Persian girl. In Destiney’s interview, she says he’s mysterious and edgy, and she likes his muscles. Reza says, the meal was off the charts. They have a shot of tequila, and make faces like I do when I taste that nasty stuff. Reza says he took care of the bill, and Sara says she loves having rich friends.
The group busts out on the party bus. In Reza’s interview, he says there’s a point in the evening where your buzz is in the perfect spot, and he’s in that zone. They go to a rooftop bar that also has golf. Destiney orders tequila. Reza says, Destiney is feeling Sam. In his interview, Reza says, Destiney is always talking about the man she wants. She doesn’t need to be a good picker in Las Vegas. He’s thinking it’s wham bam thank you Destiney ma’am. He tells Sam get behind her, and show her how to swing. In Sara’s interview, she says Sam hooked up with her makeup artist at her sister’s wedding. She’s not Sara’s makeup artist anymore. Reza says, she didn’t get ball in, but she’s going to have a baby in nine months. Sara asks Sam not to sleep with Destiney, but he says, Destiney’s got game. Destiney sits next to Sam, and he says Sara was telling him not to flirt with her. She says, is he flirting? She thought they were having a conversation. In Reza’s interview, he says he doesn’t know what’s bothering Sara, but he’d rather his brother hook up with an acquaintance than a skank from Vegas. Sam says he’s going to have Destiney, and Reza tells Sara, this is happening. Destiney sits on Sam’s lap, and they kiss. Reza says the car is there, and Sam and Destiney hold hands on the way. Back at the hotel, Reza drags Sara into his and Adam’s suite, and Destiney and Sam get busy.
In Reza’s interview, he says it’s hard to think about the milestone moments in his life without his best friend by his side to celebrate. It makes him sad, and he wonders if this is a new chapter.
Next time, a cooking class turns sour. This season, MJ and Reza have it out, Destiney says enough is enough, GG doesn’t believe either one of them, Tommy gets out of hand, and GG gets knocked up.
⚰️ Bring Out Your Dead…
Too bad George Romero won’t be around to see this.
(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)
General Hospital
Whatever want just hold her he does
Michael snoozes on the couch with the baby monitor in his hand. Sasha comes in, and touches him. He wakes, and she asks how his day with Wiley went. He says, Wiley doesn’t like sweet potatoes. Who doesn’t like sweet potatoes? She says, apparently, his son. He says, his son. He’s still pinching himself. He’s Wiley’s dad, and that changes everything.
Alexis runs into Lucas at the hospital, and says she didn’t expect to see him. He says they were nice enough to give him his job back. Alexis says, of course (🍷) they would. She asks if he’s okay physically, and he says he’s been given the all clear. The hospital is the only place he feels normal, and Alexis says they could all use more of that.
TJ tells Molly, he knows she has reservations about marriage, but they can make it work. He promises he’ll never ask her to sacrifice her career, or anything else. He wants them to be equals. He wants to spend his life with her. He loves her so much. So will she marry him? She just stares at him for a moment, and says, sorry; she’s overwhelmed. He says, that’s okay. He loves her. She says she loves him too, more than she could ever put in words. He’s very brave to propose after she went off like that, but she doesn’t want to marry him. He says, she’s saying no? and she asks if he’s surprised. He says he is, and she says she just spent 30 minutes railing against the institution. He says, as it applies to other people. This is them. They’re nothing like that. She asks him if being married is important; saying vows and wearing rings. He says, yes, and she says she guesses they’ve never talked about it. She had no idea marriage was something he wanted. He says, now that she does, does it change her mind? She says, no.
On the phone, Elizabeth tells Jason that she just texted the driver’s picture and license number. He can use it, right? Jason sees it’s Cyrus’s guy, and I see his name is Walker. Jason says he knows this guy, and he’s on it. He tells her not to call the cops, and she asks, why not? He says, if it’s what he’s thinking, she could make it worse. Let him check it out. Franco comes downstairs, and asks what Elizabeth is doing. She says, Cameron was kidnapped, and shows him Cameron’s text. He asks if she called the cops, but she tells him, Jason said not to.
Taggert goes into the warehouse. It’s empty, and no one is there. He says he’s there. He followed their orders. Where’s his daughter? Walker comes out, and says, take it easy. Taggert says, bring her to him, but Walker says, the way he sees it, Taggert is in no position to make demands. Taggert says, if he doesn’t see his daughter right now, their plan is going to go up in smoke. Walker calls out, bring them in. Trina and Cameron come out a door at the top of some stairs. Two guys with guns come out behind them, and Cameron practically gets shoved down the stairs. Curtis waits outside with a gun.
Trina asks, what’s going on, and Taggert tells her, don’t worry. He’ll fix this. Walker says, so how are they doing this so Taggert’s daughter and her friend survive? Some other guys come out, and Taggert is surrounded. Taggert says, whoa. They’ve got no problem. Let the kids walk. Walker says that’s not for him to decide. Taggert says he showed up; let them go. Walker laughs, and Taggert asks if he said something funny. Walker says he never thought a man like Taggert would buy into that fairytale. Let’s go.
Willow tells Chase, she doesn’t know what she’s feeling, and he says, it just happened; give it time. She says, it’s so strange. When she gave her child to Brad and Lucas, she missed him every day. At the same time, she knew he was living the life she’d dreamed for him, even if she wasn’t in it. Chase says, then she was in it, and she says, it was the biggest, most amazing surprise.This doesn’t change things. She loves him as much as ever. She’s devastated that he’s not hers, but at the same time, she’s flooded with grief for the baby she held after giving birth; the baby who didn’t make it, and was a physical piece of her. She’s quiet, and Chase says, what is it? She says, if hadn’t given him up, would it all be different? Would her son still be alive?
Michael tells Sasha, Wiley doesn’t go down easy, especially since he’s been moved all over the place. He thought he’d just read a book, sing a song, and rock him. Sasha says, now that he’s Wiley’s dad… He says, he knows he has to do what’s best for Wiley. Let him cry until he sleeps. She says, his first big parenting decision. He says, before, they just had fun. Now it’s his job to teach and guide Wiley. She asks if setting the rules doesn’t include having fun, and he says, sometimes he caves because it’s easier in the moment, but he’s doing Wiley a disservice. She says she senses Michael has great instincts. Trust them. He says, it’s that simple? but she says she never said anything about simple.
Alexis tells Lucas, she’s so sorry about Wiley – and Brad. It’s just awful that it ended this way. He says, talk about not according to plan. Alexis is one of the few people who saw him. She says, he was beautiful, and Lucas guesses it makes things more bearable if he can help other people. She asks, how can she help him? and he says he could use an assist in his divorce. She says he’s got it.
TJ asks if that’s a hard no, as in never, and Molly doesn’t know what to say. If he wants the truth, the truth is, no; she never wants to get married. He asks if she never did, and she says when she was little, she thought being a bride was like being a princess – the dress, the shoes, the veil – but she’s grown up, and seen how weddings turn normal, rational human beings into Bridezillas. He says, that’s not her, and she says, there are couples who are completely committed who aren’t married; they even have kids. He says that won’t work for him. They’ve been together eight years, and they love each other. He’d assumed marriage was the next step. She says she doesn’t need a paper to validate their relationship or their love. She thought he knew. He says he knew she hated the meaningless display, but he thought, after all they’d been through, when he proposed, she’d marry him. She says she’s sorry, and hands him the ring.
Elizabeth tells Franco, she told Jason that Cameron and Trina had been kidnapped, and sent him the driver’s information. He said he knows the guy, and he’s searching. Franco admits Jason has a set of skills the police don’t have, and Elizabeth says he told her the police would make it worse. She wonders how long she has to wait. He said he’d be in touch. Franco understands why she’d call Jason, and she says she was hoping he’d tell her it was unacceptable, and to call the police. He says, why call Jason? Call the police. Unless she doesn’t want to, in which case he’s behind her 100%. He gives her the phone, and says, it’s 911. She calls, and says she needs to report a kidnapping.
Cameron elbows the guy holding him, and Trina struggles to get away. Curtis comes in, and there’s chaos while they shoot at each other. Taggert yells for the kids to go now. Cameron seriously kicks ass for a moment and runs. Walker says, go after the kid, and shut him up permanently. Trina is still struggling, and Taggert shoots the guy holding her. Curtis grabs Trina and puts her behind some boxes. The shooting continues.
Outside, Cameron falls. One of the guys comes up behind him with a gun, but Jason shoots the guy in the back.
Willow tells Chase, she knows it’s irrational; nothing can change what happened. She’s dwelling on the bottomless pit when she should focus on the next step. Chase says before she does that, the guilt he’s hearing in her voice… She’s entitled to feel how she feels, but remember she’s living with the consequences of Nelle’s cruelty and Brad’s weakness. They did this to all of them, but most of all to Wiley. Nelle is heartless, only thinking of babies as weapons to get what she wants. That’s who she is. Now it’s time to think about the next step.It’s time the people who love Wiley do the opposite of what Nelle did, and make the best choices for him. Willow thinks she knows what that is.
Michael asks how Sasha’s day was. Anything new? She says, Lucy is insane, but in a good way. They had a productive meeting today; it’s an exciting time. Michael says, wow. It’s crazy how just yesterday, they were both in the same place. Now… She says, it’s a whole new world. He says, it happened so fast. They never had a chance to talk about what that means for them. She asks if he wants to talk now.
Jason checks the pulse of the guy he shot. Cameron asks if he’s dead, and Jason says, yeah. Cameron says, all this gunfire. Trina is still inside. Jason says he needs Cameron’s help. Focus. How many men were there. Cameron says, four. There were five, now there are four. Jason asks if they’re all armed, and Cameron says, yes. Jason asks if Trina is tied up, but Cameron says, a guard is holding her. Jason says, who else is in there? and Cameron tells him, Trina’s dad. He was looking to trade himself for them. There was a fight, and everything went crazy. Curtis showed up, and there was gunfire. That’s when he got out, but Trina is still in there. He says he’s going in to help, but Jason says, no. They need a plan, and that’s a bad idea. Cameron has to calm down. They only have one shot at this. Cameron says, tell him what he’s got to do.
TJ looks at the ring, and asks Molly if it’s because she never really dated anyone else. She says, there is no one else. She can’t imagine being with anyone but him. Marriage isn’t for her. He says, even if it’s something he wants? and she says, even if. He says, maybe she just thought she had faith in him that’s not there. He wants to build s life with her, and wants to grow old together. She says she wants that too, but they don’t need a big party to do that. He asks if that’s really what she thinks it’s about for him. He would love it if their mothers could be there, but he wants a commitment through vows. She says, then what? and he asks what she means. She says, sometimes saying the vows puts weight on the relationship, and is the very thing that breaks it up. What if everything is great, and they’re happy and in love, and they get married and expect too much? He says, just because it didn’t work out for her mom, doesn’t mean it’s not for them. She says it doesn’t mean it will either.
Walker says if Taggert was going to double-cross them, he should have made sure his daughter was in the clear first. By the sound of the gunshot, the kid didn’t get far, now he’s going to be forced to see his daughter die. Taggert signals Curtis, and goes around, trying to get behind Cyrus’s guys. Walker says he’s not making a deal; he doesn’t have to. Taggert has trapped himself, and now they’re going to finish it. They won’t be as easy to kill as he thought. Taggert chooses the wrong time to pop out, and gets shot. Trina screams.
Michael tells Sasha, he doesn’t want to make assumptions. He wants her to be involved and a part of this, but he doesn’t expect her to be instamom. He wonders if he’s contradicting himself, and she says, a little bit. He says he’s curious how she feels about all this. She says she’s 100% in favor of the sleeping through the night thing. As for the rest, not everything has to be defined every minute. They love each other, and adore Wiley, and Wiley comes first; his needs are the most important. As for them, she’s good with taking it as it comes, if he is. He says he is, and Sasha says they’ll figure out the Wiley part, and figure out them later. He agrees, and she says, it’s one decision he doesn’t have to make, or at least she’s not asking him to. Michael says, they’ll go with the flow, and she asks if he thinks he can manage to try. He says, somehow, and she says, on that note, she has a conference call in Italy. He says, dinner after? and she says she’d love it. They kiss.
Willow is concerned that it’s confusing for Wiley to be around her. She’s confused, and she’s a grown-up. If she feels this way, won’t Wiley feel it more? He needs someone strong that he can depend on, and she can’t trust herself to not feel grief over the baby she lost and the one who’s not hers. Chase says, it’s like she lost two children at once. She says, it’s too much inflict on Wiley. Chase’s phone dings, and he tells Willow, sorry. There’s been a kidnapping. She asks if there are any names, and he says, it just says, two local teens. She says, go; she’ll be fine. The kids need him more. He says he’ll be back as soon as he can.
Molly tells TJ, sometimes marriage is the very thing that messes everything up. She doesn’t want that for them. He says he asked to spend his life with her. Obviously, he doesn’t want to break up. She says, what about the timing? Does he really think best time is when she’s still finishing law school, and just starting out? He tells her, don’t do that. Act like there’s a chance. She said never. Did she mean it? She says, yes, and he says, then that’s it. Clearly, he did a lot of assuming. He has a lot thinking to do; he’s taking a walk. He leaves, and Molly cries.
Jordan asks Elizabeth to tell her everything. Elizabeth says Cameron and Trina were going to the winter formal, and Jordan asks, who ordered the ride share? Elizabeth says, Cameron; he texted the driver and license plate number to her. Trina’s dad was there only minutes after they left. Jordan says, Taggert was there? and Elizabeth says, he was disappointed he missed the kids, and she showed him the pictures. Then he suddenly left. Franco says, more like abruptly, and Jordan says she needs to know what Taggert said and did. Tell her absolutely everything.
Curtis drags Trina out, and says, listen to him. This is what her dad wanted. He acted as a distraction so he could get her out of there. Cameron says, Trina, and she runs to him and hugs him. Jason asks, how many are left? and Curtis says, three; Taggert got one. Jason says they have to get him out, but they need to know Cameron and Trina are safe. He tells them to get in the car, and lock the doors. Trina asks if he has a phone so they can call the police, but Jason says, no police; it will just make it worse. Curtis says, Cyrus’s guys think they have more time left than they do. That’s their chance. The kids go to the car, and Jason says Curtis has been in there. What’s the best way to do this?
Michael cleans up there’s a knock at the door. It’s Willow, who says she hopes it’s okay that she came around back. Can they talk? He says, Wiley fell asleep an hour ago, and she says, fingers crossed he stays that way. He says, tell him about it. She asks how it’s going, and he says, it’s growing pains for all of them. He tells her that he needs to apologize. He should have brought Wiley to see her immediately, and didn’t. He’s sorry.
Molly leaves a message for TJ to call her back. Everything she said came out wrong. She loves him. Alexis approaches the table, and Molly says she didn’t have to come back. Alexis says, her text suggested otherwise. She sits down, and asks, what happened? Molly says TJ asked her to marry him, and Alexis says, she said no? Molly says he caught her off-guard. She had no idea it was something he wanted. They’ve been together eight years, and grew up together. Somehow, she must have missed the importance. She didn’t know it was a deal breaker, and nothing she said came out right. She didn’t make clear how much she loves him, and that she committed to spending the rest of her life with him. Alexis asks how they left it, and Molly says, TJ told her that he had a lot of thinking to do, and walked out. He won’t answer his phone. Alexis says she’s sorry, and Molly asks if she’s crazy. Alexis says she’s just surprised. Molly always wanted everyone married, like Sam and Jason. Molly says she’s older now, and she’s seen what marriage can do to people. Alexis says, specifically what it did to her.
Elizabeth says there’s something Jordan’s not telling them; what’s going on? Franco agrees, and wonders if Jordan thinks the kidnapping is tied to Taggert. Jordan says she doesn’t know. As hard as it is, they have to sit tight, and let her do her job. She has to make a quick phone call, and goes outside. She calls Chase, and says she needs him to run a check anyone with a prior association to Cyrus; anyone who has a drug, organized crime, or racketeering conviction. And get back to her asap.
Trina and Cameron sit in the car. Train wonders if they’re safe, and Cameron says, yeah. She says, right, opens the car door, and throws up.
Jason and Curtis stand on either side of the door. Inside, Taggert lies on the floor bleeding. Walker says Taggert made this harder than it needed to be. If he’d died like he was supposed to, Walker wouldn’t have had to take his daughter. Taggert says, screw you, and Walker aims his gun at Taggert. Curtis and Jason bust in, and Jason shoots the gun out of Walker’s hand. He and Curtis stand there like the badasses they are.
Willow tells Michael, that’s not why she’s there. Michael says he doesn’t know if irony is the right word. He’s been where she is. He knows what it’s like to lose a child, and the grief is indescribable. Now she’s lost two, and he wants her to know he’s aware of it. He knows one child can’t replace another, but thinks it would be a great benefit to Wiley for her to stay a part of his life.
Cameron asks if Trina is okay. She doesn’t understand what’s taking so long, and Cameron says, Jason and Curtis will handle it. She asks, how? and he says, they just will. Trina says she knew her dad was a retired agent, but not in a million years did she think he’d be pulled into something like this. Who are these guys, and why did they hurt her dad? Cameron says, at least she got out. That’s all that mattered to him. Trina says, they’re the dumbest hostages ever, and Cameron asks what they could have done. She says, jumped out, or realized earlier. Cameron says, for all they knew, it was a ride share to the dance. How could they possibly know they were being kidnapped. Trina says, they should have, and he says, it’s not their fault. She says, if she’d realized earlier, maybe her dad wouldn’t have been there. She has to do something. She can’t stand it. She gets out of the car, and Cameron follows.
Inside the warehouse, there’s more gunfire. Jason signals Curtis, and goes around. He shoots two of the guys, and Walker runs out with the other one. Curtis runs after him.
Michael says he’s not asking Willow to be mommy, but a nurturing female presence for Wiley. Kids Wiley’s age put people in categories. That’s how they make sense of the world. He’s transitioned from the guy who puts Wiley on a swing to the bedtime guy. It could take some getting used to, but she can still be her wonderful, sweet, loving, caring self. Wiley needs that, and to be honest, so does he.
Alexis tells Molly, she doesn’t know why she thought none of that would affect her; watching Alexis crash and burn in relationships over and over. Of course (🍷) it mattered, especially with Julian. They were so good, and when they got married, it went so bad. Molly is her stable, intelligent, makes healthy choices girl. An amazing guy like TJ knows she’s the one to spend his life with. She’s sorry she’s been no incredible example in regard to relationships. Molly has no frame of reference, but she’s nothing like Alexis. If she chooses not to get married, that’s fine. It’s her choice to make, but she wants Molly to promise her mother’s past will never be a factor in her decision making.
Jordan tells Elizabeth, Chase is in the field. She knows it’s scary, but they’ll find them. Elizabeth says she called Jason and told him what was going on. She asked him to look into it. Jordan says, as a mom, she has no right to criticize, but as a police officer, she wishes Elizabeth hadn’t done that.
Cameron tells Trina, all they’re doing is putting themselves back in danger. Her dad didn’t want that. She says, she’s not a baby. She can do something; they both can. They get back in the car, and Cameron says he knows the situation is a lot, but Jason and Curtis are good at this; it’s what they do. They said to wait, and as hard as it is, as much as she wants to go back in to help, they need to stay there. She says, help by doing nothing? and he says, yeah. She says, look at him. All mature and stuff. He says, it’s not his first hostage situation. This is the third time. Trina says, it was crazy with guns going off. Curtis pulled her out, and when she looked back, she saw her dad get shot. He holds her, and she cries.
Curtis comes back, and Jason asks if it’s clear. Curtis says, they got away. Jason calls 911, and says, there’s been a shooting. Three men are dead, and one badly injured. Bring paramedics. Taggert asks Curtis if his daughter is safe, and Curtis says, yes. Taggert says, take care of her. He grabs Curtis’s sleeve, and repeats, take care of her. His arm drops, and he closes his eyes.
On Monday, Jordan says Curtis could have been killed tonight, Sonny wants answers, and Trina says he’s waking up.
💉 Mary Pat Lives On…
I was really hoping she’d stick around Port Charles longer, but she got one helluva ending.
Time is not the great teacher. Experience is. – Lynsay Sands
What I did or said should never be more important than why I did it or said it. – Andrea Kelly
Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it. – Andy Rooney
I think music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music. – Billy Joel
I am not good at noticing when I’m happy, except in retrospect. – Tana French
Find the things that matter, and hold on to them, and fight for them, and refuse to let them go. – Lauren Oliver
It’s a helluva start, being able to recognize what makes you happy. – Lucille Ball
When you lose your smile, you lose your way in the chaos of life. – Roy T. Bennett (I think my father said it better. His only advice to me upon leaving home was, don’t lose your sense of humor.)
📅 And You Get an Extra Day…
As we leap into March, see you when it’s time to get in step with the Dead.
(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)
General Hospital
Jordan tells Taggert, let her get straight. He asked Sonny to work with him to get Cyrus. Taggert says, it wasn’t an easy decision, and she says she bets it wasn’t. She tells Curtis that Taggert spent most of his time there working to put Sonny away. Taggert says if they want to take Cyrus down, they might as well team up with the most powerful man in Port Charles.
Sonny tells Jason, Laura means business. If they can’t stop this from getting bigger, she’s going to get involved. Jason says, if she does, it will make her a target – for real this time. He suggests they continue to stop shipments, so Cyrus’s distributers lose faith in him, but Sonny says it will take too much time. Jason says they know people on the inside at Pentenville, and could possibly arrange an accident.
Carly finds a bullet in the stuff that fell out of Dev’s backpack. She calls upstairs to him, but there’s no answer.
Trina tells Cameron, smile nice. Her mom and dad are going to see the pictures. She takes a selfie, and the driver watches in the rearview mirror. Trina says they’d better take more with Josslyn and Dev at the dance. Cameron asks if she’s sure they’re coming, and she says, Josslyn just texted; they’re on their way.
Elizabeth tells Franco that he didn’t have to get her anything. Cameron is at the dance, and Aiden and Jake have a sleepover. Franco says he’s aware they’re alone, and she says that’s all the gift she needs. He says, it won’t take long, and she opens the box. A note tells her that she’ll find a surprise under the fries, and he says, it’s a scavenger hunt. She asks if he’ll give her a hint, but he says he’s not going to make it easy. He loves her, and it might not be what she wants, but it could turn out to be something she needs. She says having him back is all she needs, and they kiss.
The driver says, it looks like there’s traffic; there’s an accident ahead. He asks if Trina and Cameron mind if he takes a shortcut, and Trina says, whatever’s fastest. The driver does something with his phone, and Cameron tells Trina, one more. She says, serious, but not too serious, and they take another selfie. They bicker, as the driver keeps an eye on them.
Alexis sees Molly at the MetroCourt, and says she’s dressed to the nines. Molly says, as opposed to her usual burlap sack, and Alexis asks what the occasion is. Molly says Alexis’s guess is as good as hers. TJ insisted on treating her to a special romantic evening. He’s the best boyfriend.
TJ is at the hospital, messing with his phone, when Neil comes by. Neil asks how it’s going, and TJ says he’s been busy. Neil asks if he’s cracked any more medical mysteries, but TJ says, it was a stroke of luck with Alexis, and he had a lot of people helping before he made the diagnosis. Neil asks if TJ’s luck has continued with Molly. Did he propose? TJ says, not yet, and Neil asks, what’s the hold up?
Trina wonders where they are, and Cameron says the driver is taking the scenic route. Trina thought it would get them there faster, and Cameron hopes so, since they’re going to be late. She teases him about wanting to see Josslyn, and says she can’t believe her dad didn’t show. He’s sure her dad has a good reason, and she says, at least Cameron dodged a grilling. He says when Trina showed up, she looked… She says, flawless? She knows. Cameron tells the driver they seem to be going out of the way, and the driver says he figured they wouldn’t mind alone time. It’s their first date, right?
Elizabeth goes into the kitchen, and asks Franco if she’s getting warmer. He says he’s not telling her, and she remembers there are leftover fries in the refrigerator. She takes the container out, and there’s another box inside. It tells her to look under the chapeau, but she says she doesn’t speak French. He tells her it means hat, and she sees a bowler on top of the paper towels. She finds a box underneath, with a note that tells her to look in the cabinets, where she finds one more box. That note tells her to look under the pillow. Franco tells her it’s technically under the pillow, but it’s really under the sofa. She pulls out a bunch of art supplies, and he says he and the boys were talking. They thought, like him, she’d like to have art in her life again. She thanks him, and he sits on the floor next to her. He says he can’t wait to see her paint. She kisses him, and her phone dings. She looks at her phone and says, Cameron sent the ride share information; it’s all good. Franco asks if she wants to set up her paint set, but she says, after this, and kisses him. She says she loves him, and he says he loves her more.
Jordan says, no way in hell is she working with Sonny, and Taggert asks, why not? She says collaborating with one mobster to stop another is ethically compromising. Taggert says, and they’ve never crossed the line before. Curtis asks if Taggert got Sonny on board, and Taggert says Sonny didn’t refuse; he sees the advantage. Jordan doesn’t get it. Just because they have a common enemy is no reason to partner up. If he wants to do that by himself, go ahead. Taggert says he never brought up Jordan’s name. He respects her position, and she’s made clear she wants nothing do with this. Jordan asks if he pitched a specific plan, and Taggert says she can’t have it both ways. If Sonny chooses work with him, he’s keeping it to himself unless she changes her mind. He gets up, and says his daughter has a big dance, and he’s late to take pictures. Keep in touch. He leaves, and Jordan asks if Curtis heard that. Curtis says he can actually believe Taggert. He’s right. If Sonny is down to help them, she should take him up on it.
Sonny says, it won’t be easy to get to Cyrus in Pentenville. Maybe Taggert has a way. Jason asks if Sonny wants to trust him, and Sonny asks if Jason doesn’t think he should. Jason doesn’t know, but says if Taggert is telling the truth, and he was on the DEA taskforce that took Cyrus down, he saw how Cyrus operates. He knows how much damage Cyrus could do in Port Charles. Maybe his offer is sincere. Sonny says they still have to be careful. Even if they cooperate, Taggert isn’t going to look the other way if they take Cyrus out.
Carly looks for Josslyn, and starts to panic. She remembers Josslyn said she changed her mind about going to the dance. She grabs the phone, and the doorbell rings. It’s Josslyn, Dev, and Brando. Carly asks what’s wrong with Josslyn? She specifically told her not to go to the dance. She said not to leave, but Josslyn did it anyway. Why? Josslyn says, it’s Dev’s last night in Port Charles. Unfortunately, Brando found them leaving. Carly is glad he caught her fugitives. Carly tells Dev, talk to her, but Josslyn says it was her idea to go to the dance. Carly says, it’s not about the dance, and Josslyn asks what the problem is. Carly says, this, and holds up the bullet. She asks, why was there a bullet in Dev’s backpack?
TJ tells Neil that he keeps waiting for the perfect time, and then things get in the way. Neil says, they always will. Does he want some advice? TJ says, by all means, and Neil says, don’t wait for perfection; it doesn’t exist. The truth is, the closest we get to perfection is when we stop trying to make things perfect. The time will come when TJ least expects it. TJ says he doesn’t want to regret anything, and Neil says, if it feels right, go for it. TJ says he was planning on tonight. He shows Neil the ring, and says he’d better go. He doesn’t want to keep Molly waiting. He asks Neil to wish him luck, but Neil says he doesn’t need it. He and Molly have something special; cherish it. TJ thanks him for the advice, and leaves.
Molly tells Alexis that she and TJ are giving their night out another shot. Their first try fell through. TJ had to study and went to the library, and she went through more emails from Jamie. She can’t believe how much time and effort has been wasted on this superfluous drama. Alexis tells her not to let it ruin her idea about a wedding and marriage. Molly says, too late, and Alexis says, it’s about love, and… yeah, she sounds like a greeting card. Molly says, a little, and Alexis tells her, enjoy her night.
Jordan asks if Curtis is siding with Taggert. He says he’s on her side – always. He understands her reservations about Sonny, but desperate times call for desperate measures. She says he just blew up a warehouse, but Curtis says, no one died. No one was hurt.But Cyrus lost a shipment and a lot of money. It’s a great way to send a message. Jordan asks if he approves of Sonny’s methods, and he says he approves of anything that will stop Cyrus. Taggert could have been dead from an OD like the other two, and he’ll be damned if Jordan will be next. She says she can protect herself without getting involved with Sonny, but Curtis asks, what if that’s the only thing that’s going to keep her alive?
Sonny admits the bastard is smart. Cyrus made it public, so it’s difficult to retaliate. Jason says they don’t want the Feds involved. Sonny says, if that happens, they have to make sure the Feds don’t find anything leading to them. He’s worried about Laura. She’s his friend, but she’s the mayor, and under pressure from the media to clean up the waterfront. Jason asks what he wants to do, and Sonny says, they have people in Pentenville watching Cyrus. Have them figure out when he’s alone, so they can get access to him. To be clear, he doesn’t want to take action. Not yet.
Carly says the bullet fell out of Dev’s backpack, but Dev says he doesn’t know how it got there. What would he do with a bullet? Carly asks him to walk her through every step of his day, and he says he woke up, went to school, and came back; that was it. She asks if he left early, and he says he went to all of his classes. She asks if he made a stop, and Josslyn asks why Carly is interrogating him. Carly says because she found a bullet and needs to know how it got there.
Elizabeth tells Franco that she’s missed painting. While she’s creating, time flies. He says, doing the portrait reminded him of how fulfilling it is, and he wants that for her. He asks if she’s going to set everything up, and she says, maybe later. She wants to do something else first. He likes that idea, and she takes his hand. The doorbell rings, and he says, don’t even. It rings again, and he suggests they hide; it’s not their problem. She answers the door, and it’s Taggert. She invites him in, and introduces him to Franco. She says, so he’s Trina’s dad, and he says, small world. They’ve both been busy since they last saw one another. He’s sorry he’s late, and guesses he missed the kids.
Cameron tells the driver, they’re not on a date; they’re going out as friends. Trina says she should have hired backup. Cameron is going to be trying to get Josslyn’s attention all night. Cameron says, make a left, but the driver says he knows a better way.
Alexis sees Neil at the hospital, and tells him, careful. He might turn into stone. She asks what he’s up to, and he says he’s in the running for a staff position there. They’re making their final decision after his review. How about her? She says she goes to meetings there. He thanks her again for agreeing to make a statement, and she says she never turns down a trip to the Big Apple. She’ll see an opera, he’ll keep his medical license; it’s a win-win. He says, except for them for the next two years. She says she was trying to be altruistic.
TJ arrives at the MetroCourt. He gives the hostess the ring, and she takes it in the back. He sees Molly at the bar, and says their table is ready. He asks, what’s wrong? and she says, Chelsea emailed her about lunch tomorrow to discuss her wedding. Her bridesmaid total is four gowns she’ll never wear again. It’s a consumerist joke. He says, there’s more to it than that, and she says, like a whole history of patriarchal subjugation. Fathers used to give dowries along with a woman. He says, it’s not like that anymore, but she says, want to bet?
Jordan goes to Pozzulo’s, and asks Sonny if it’s a bad time. He says he’s got to get home, but she says, it won’t take long, and he says, if she insists. Curtis says he’ll stay out there, and Sonny asks what he can do for her. She says she was hoping to ask about a visit from a former associate of hers. He says he was there earlier, shortly before he was attacked.
Elizabeth shows Taggert the pictures, and he says they look happy. Her son is a fine young man. She says, most of the time, but Trina is amazing all of the time. Taggert says, no argument, and Franco says he’s not clear on how they know each other. Elizabeth says she was friends with Taggert’s sister Gia a long time ago. She asks Taggert how Gia is, and he says she figured out what she wanted to do with her life, and got a law degree. She’s now an immigration lawyer in Texas. She asks what he’s doing there, but his phone rings. He says he needs to make a quick call, and goes into the kitchen. It’s a text with Cameron and Trina’s picture, saying, we have your daughter, and if he doesn’t meet them, she dies.
Cameron says the driver missed another turn. What is he doing? The driver says, driving, and Trina tells him, take them to the school now. He says, there’s been a change in plans.
Molly tells TJ, she knows she should respect their decisions, but she can’t watch them throw their lives away for a stupid fairytale. He says, maybe it’s not a stupid fairytale to them, and they want to get married. She says, since they were girls, they’ve been convinced marriage is the be all and end all, and don’t get her started on the ring industry. Why can’t it just be about love? TJ says, maybe it can, but she says, it’s rooted in the man controlling the narrative. Even the proposal. It’s so unfair. He says he’ll be right back.
Taggert tells Elizabeth that he has to leave. Everything is good, and he appreciates her hospitality. He’ll let himself out. When he’s gone, Franco says, weird, and Elizabeth says, hurry. They head upstairs.
Carly asks if anyone else handled Dev’s backpack. Brando asks if he left it when he used the bathroom. Dev doesn’t think so, and Brando asks if he had it the entire day. Dev says, no. He had to leave it in his locker when he went to gym. Brando says, it was planted, and Carly says, they were hoping she and Sonny would find it and get the message. Josslyn asks, what message? Brando says, obviously there’s someone watching everyone in their family, and they’re all within reach.
Jordan tells Sonny that Taggert said someone was tailing him when he left. He led them to an alley, intending on confronting them, when he was met with a second assailant. Any idea who’s responsible? Sonny says, it wasn’t his guys, if that’s what she’s suggesting. She says she’s not suggesting anything. She knows he and Taggert have a complicated history. Sonny says, it’s over now, and asks if Taggert is okay? She says, he was roughed up, but he survived. Jason asks who she thinks it might be, and she says, who does he think? Cyrus might be locked up, but his reach goes far. He has his eyes on Sonny’s place, and everywhere else he and his family frequent. Sonny says he’ll beef up security, and thanks her. He owes her one. She says she’ll remember that. Sonny leaves, and Jason asks if Jordan has a second. He has something to ask her.
Curtis asks Sonny, how’d it go? and Sonny says, it went. Curtis says he sure hopes Sonny gets a handle on the situation before anyone else gets hurt. Sonny leaves, and Curtis’s phone rings. Taggert says he needs Curtis’s help. Trina has been kidnapped; Cyrus’s man took her. Curtis says, hang on. He’ll get Jordan. Taggert says Curtis can’t tell her.
Trina tries the door, but shakes her head. Cameron says, let them out. They’ll find another ride. The driver just keeps going and Cameron says he’s going to file a formal complaint. The driver makes a sharp swerve, and takes out a gun. Trina says, don’t shoot, and he tells them to hand over their phones. Now. They do, and he starts driving again. Trina takes Cameron’s hand and cries quietly.
Alexis says Neil helped Kristina get out of DoD, and helped her out of a number of messes. And he saved her before Kendra rendered her road kill. He’s very good at saving people, and it’s unfair of her to keep him from saving anyone else. Two years will go by like that. He says he used to bury himself in work. Then he met her, and she made him want to pay attention to the world around him. She says he had his dating app, and he says, the dates were awkward, boring, or both. Until he went out with her.
TJ tells the bartender that he’s looking Candace. She’s supposed to deliver a dessert to his table. The bartender says, he’s the ring guy, and says, there she is. Candace is already putting a small cake on the table in front of Molly. The ring is on top, and Candace says, wow. Lucky lady. TJ tells Molly, he can explain.
Carly checks Josslyn’s backpack, but Josslyn says she had it he entire day. Carly says, all clear; nothing out of order. Dev says he’s sorry. He guesses he should have been more careful. Brando says, it’s not his fault, and Carly says he’s right. There’s nothing he could have done. Josslyn says, it’s insane. They just got over the shooting at the pier, and now there’s a bullet in Dev’s backpack. What next? Sonny walks in, and Carly says, thank God he’s there. They got another message. She gives him the bullet.
Elizabeth looks at her new supplies. Her phone dings, and she sees a message from Cameron. Kidnapped. HELP! She says, oh my God.
Curtis tells Taggert, he’s got to get the police involved, but Taggert says, no police, especially not Jordan. They made it clear, if he shows up with law enforcement, they’ll kill Trina and Cameron. Curtis says, they want Taggert dead, and Taggert says, at least he can trade himself for his daughter. He asks Curtis to help him.
Jason says, when Jordan first came to Port Charles, she was with the DEA, right? She says, yeah; why? He says he was just wondering, which I’m so sure she believes. Jason would never ask a question for no reason. She leaves the office, and asks if Curtis is ready to go. Does he want to grab some food? He says he just got a call from a client, and has to go. He jets, and she calls the station. She tells Martinez that she’s headed back, and to make sure the latest reports on the Corinthos shooting are on her desk.
Jason’s phone rings. It’s Elizabeth, who says she needs his help. Cameron has been kidnapped.
TJ tells Molly, the ring belonged to his mom. He thinks it was from an ethical source, but they can have it appraised and verify that. She says it’s beautiful, and he says he knows she has reservations about marriage, but they can make it work. He promises. He’d never ask her to sacrifice her career, or anything else. He wants them to be equals, and wants to spend the rest of his life with her. He loves her so much, so will she marry him? She sits there, just staring at the ring, and says she’s sorry. She’s overwhelmed. She loves him too, more than she can put into words. He’s very brave to propose after she went off like that, but she doesn’t want to marry him.
Alexis tells Neil, so they won’t mess with success. The one kiss they had was perfection. Neil says, the closest they’ll ever get to perfection, is when they stop trying to make things perfect. (Good for him. He was able to use that gem twice within an hour.) She asks if that’s a Neil original, and he says, as of a half hour ago. He told TJ the same thing. TJ was getting ready to propose to Molly. Alexis says she ran into Molly, who said they were having a special night. Does Neil think TJ is popping the question? Neil says, it seems so, and she says, maybe they’ll have something to celebrate in New York. He says he won’t be celebrating anything if he’s not still practicing. She says she doesn’t want to be late to her meeting. He says, take care, and she says, him too.
Brando tells Sonny, he thinks the bullet was planted while Dev was in gym class. Carly says, that means they got into the school; this has to stop. Josslyn says, maybe it’s a good thing Dev is leaving, but Brando isn’t so sure that’s a good idea. They know what everyone is doing. What’s to stop them from getting into the boarding school? Sonny says Brando has a point. It’s best stay to close where he knows he can protect them. He puts the bullet on the table.
Jason tells Elizabeth, they’ll figure it out. The best thing to do is stay calm. Elizabeth says Cameron was going to a dance with Trina, and sent her a picture of the driver and the license plate number. She sends it to Jason, and says maybe he can use it to find them. Jason looks stunned, and says, he knows this guy.
Taggert goes to the meeting place, and opens the door. The place is empty, and no one is there. He calls out that he’s there. He followed their orders. Where is his daughter? The driver/Cyrus’s guy comes out, and says, take it easy. Taggert says, bring her to him, and the guy says, the way he sees it, Taggert is in no position to make demands. Taggert says, if he doesn’t see his daughter right now, their plan will go up in smoke. The guy calls for Trina and Cameron to be brought in. Two men with guns bring them out, and practically shove Cameron down the stairs.
Curtis lurks outside with a gun.
Tomorrow, TJ asks Molly if she’s saying no, Willow thinks she knows the best thing for Wiley, and Jason tells Elizabeth not to call the cops.
Project Runway
Two designers were going to be ousted tonight, leaving four to go home and prepare collections for New York Fashion Week. The two-day challenge was avant-garde – ahead of the pack – what Brandon described as something that challenges your feelings, and goes beyond the norm. The destination for the runway would be The Vessel in Hudson Yards, a venue where no one had shown before. Geoffrey said it was his favorite building in NYC, and while I think it’s cool, we radically disagree on our style of favorite. Since she was the winner last week, Nancy got first pick of models, and then chose who would go next. It continued that way, until Victoria was the last designer, like being the last one waiting to be chosen for the team. In her interview, she said maybe the others were afraid of her, but I thought it was more that she was unfriendly, self-absorbed, and rude. The contestants were told to show why they deserve a collection for Fashion Week, and Brandon told them, go big or go home. In his interview, Marquis said he’d done a lot of ballroom work, which calls for avant-garde. In Brittany’s interview, she said she was nervous about the challenge, but Sergio was already thinking ahead to female samurai warriors, and how he wanted to show that while women were viewed as weaker, they can still do what men can do.
It was the designers’ final shopping trip to Mood, where Christian begged them not to use satin, or he would cut them. They got a whopping 60 minutes, and $600 to shop. Nancy thought the challenge was going to take everything she had, but Geoffrey said avant-garde was his thing. He was going for ceremonial and regal, and if he didn’t nail it, his client base would be blown. No surprise, he headed for the satin, but Christian intervened, telling Geoffrey how much his satin was hated by the judges the previous week. He decided to use latex, a skill set he hadn’t shown yet. In his interview, he explained he had a latex company, and he still does custom latex. He could make it do stuff no one else could. After buying a ton of horsehair fabric, Nancy puzzled over what she was actually going to make. Geoffrey said Nancy liked to do things on the fly, but he didn’t think that was a good idea for this challenge. Marquis rose to the occasion, deciding to make pants out of chains, but Brittany was freaked out by there being no rules.
In Sergio’s interview, he said he thought he set the bar high for the other designers, and his most difficult competition was himself. Modest too! Nancy FaceTimed with her husband, who she’d met on a golf dating site. She’d been his one and only date, but he hadn’t been hers. Christian interrupted the designers with a surprise, which caused everyone to panic, but he said it was a good surprise. He told the designers to follow him, and took them to a room that housed all the pieces they’d made throughout the season. Seeing everything she’d done, Brittany felt accomplished. In Marquise’s interview, he said his brother had been shot, and it was one of the reasons why he’d moved to NYC. His brother had given him $200, and told him to stay focused and make his dreams happen, because time is limited. He didn’t want Marquise to lose sight of why he was there. Christian said they were to show their unique point-of-view by choosing two past looks. They’d be creating a retrospective that proved who they were as a designer, and also showing what their collection would be like. They would also get a seamstress to tailor the garments to the models. Nancy said it was going to be one magical moment.
Approaching Brittany’s humongous, poufy pink jacket, Christian said he was afraid the judges would think it looked like a pink straightjacket. In Sergio’s interview, he said he wore his confidence like armor, and was voted most likely to succeed in high school. He told us, understanding you can do anything you set your mind to is empowering. Christian introduced the designers to Justine, a stylist from Tresemme (brand placement!), telling them that hair design was a crucial part of the avant-garde look. They’d be collaborating with her on hairstyle. In Nancy’s interview, she said it was all about the details, and she was taking every suggestion. Christian announced the show would be at dawn, and the contestants had to be back at work at 3 am.
Geoffrey pricked his finger, getting blood on his fabric. Since he’d gotten black from an iron on last week’s dress, I wondered if he’d been stain jinxed. He said blood wasn’t avant-garde, and immediately ran for the sink. Sergio suggested licking it, as saliva removes blood (good to know), but luckily it came out with water. Nancy was having trouble believing it wasn’t all a dream, while I pondered why there were geese wandering around outside the design studio.
At the Vessel, afraid of heights, Brandon refused to go one the admittedly scary glass elevator, and opted for the stairs, but freaked out a few flights up, and just stayed there. Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) was introduced as guest judge. When the judges were assembled, the models came up in the elevator, and walked down. I doffed my cap to every single one of them, going down those stairs in gigantic confections and high heels, without death-gripping the banister. Elaine said the designers had done a great job curating their collections, as everything was cohesive. Much of it was indescribable, but Elaine said it best when she described Nancy’s dress as a piece of walking art. She said Sergio was pushing the classic modern aesthetic, and always his own biggest fan, he said in his interview, he felt like he always did that more than the others. Victoria said she was trying to take pictures with her eyes of a once in a lifetime moment. The model trios stopped on various landings to display the collections, then came together to form a circle, so everything could be seen together. After that, it was back to the regular runway.
Brittany got kudos for the pink color of her jacket, which she thought represented her, but Karlie said although she was close, Brittany fell short. Brandon liked the coat, which was covered in plastic and fabric butterflies, but Nina thought the plastic took away from the upscale look. Elaine said Nancy’s garment was like looking at a sculptural piece, and Karlie called it wearable art. Nina said she was a fan, but also a truth teller. Because of Nancy’s black/bronze color combo, she felt like it was a black cloud, and said Nancy had missed the opportunity to use color. She thought Marquise’s outfit was over-complicated (although everyone loved the chain pants), and Brandon said that was a common mistake. He said Geoffrey’s piece – a jacket/shorts ensemble with a train – was other-worldly and sexy. Elaine added that usually latex was skin tight, and the fluidity was poetic. Brandon said Geoffrey’s creation matched the location the best, but it was very Land Before Time, whatever that means. Sergio explained how female samurai fought in wars alongside the males, and his design was an avant-garde version of who he is as a designer; it was theatrical. Elaine said the image of his model going up in the elevator was haunting, Nina said both Alexander McQueen and John Galliano had similar designs, and no surprise, Sergio pleaded ignorance, as he’d done before when called out on the backward tux. Victoria was praised for her use of color – champagne – and Karlie said she could tell Victoria’s model felt regal. However, Elaine was a bit taken aback by a huge earring thing going on, and said it overcomplicated the outfit. After the designers went backstage, Victoria said the judges had been tough on them.
Elaine said there wasn’t a single loser. Every designer left was talented. Nina said Geoffrey’s engineering blew her away, and while some designers fall, he’d gained momentum throughout the season. Elaine said, he takes his designs to another planet. Brandon said Victoria had brought out unexpected romanticism, but Elaine said Victoria’s design didn’t knock her dead. Brandon said he was surprised, since she’d been excited by a latex panty. Elaine said Nancy’s design was true avant-garde, and a show piece. Nina was impressed by so much passion. Elaine thought Brittany’s jacket was elegant and cool, and she wanted to buy it. Karlie said the jacket looked avant-garde, but up close was a full-on Monet. Nina said Brittany had the right fabric, but couldn’t carry it to the end. Karlie said Marquise had raw talent, but needed mentorship. Nina thought his silver effort looked like the Tin Man. She said Sergio’s problem was referencing the work of other designers, but Elaine said, considering the time constraints, Sergio was a cut above.
The designers were brought back out for the final critique, and Karlie said they were all deserving, but only four could go through to the finale. Geoffrey was the first one in. Brandon said he showed up and he showed out. Nina told him to think streamlined and sophisticated. Brandon told him, it was okay to be nervous (he is kind of a nervous guy in general), as long as it’s translated into confidence with his fashion. Victoria was the next one in (sigh), and Karlie told her to not just think of one woman while she was designing, but think of all the women who would want to wear her designs. NANCY was next, and the clouds parted to reveal angels singing. Nina said Nancy represented a second shot at living your biggest dream, and I swear, I got tears in my eyes. Elaine told her, no more oversized, ill-fitting garments, and she looked like she was going to cry. Karlie said she wished all of them could be in, but Brittany was out. Brandon said she was a great designer, and her strength was in the way she carried herself. It was a joy to be let into her talent. Brittany said she appreciated being there, and in her interview, said she didn’t think she’d be going home. It wasn’t that she didn’t think the others didn’t deserve it, but she thought she deserved it more. Sergio was in, and Elaine said it pained her to tell Marquise that he was out. He blossomed there, and should be proud. He thanked them, and said it had been a blessing. In his interview, he said, being self-taught, he was at a phenomenal standpoint, being able to show what he could do. He and Brittany commiserated, while Nina told Sergio not to hide behind excuses and other people’s work. She told everyone to go home, and in five months, create a ten-piece collection for Fashion Week (for which they get a $10K budget).
Christian said Marquise had amazing moments, and he’s going to do amazing things, because amazing is Christian’s favorite word. He said he was ready for it all in menswear from Marquise. He told Brittany that she’d also be amazing, and he was proud of them. In Marquise’s interview, he said he was thisclose. It was a bummer, but he was going to continue to grow, move on to harder things, and put his all into designing. In Brittany’s interview, she said she was allowed to come into her own, and was reassured that she’s on the right path, and doing the right thing. She’ll make it to Fashion Week eventually, but it might be a longer road. Christian poured champagne for the finalists.
Next stop, New York Fashion Week. And as Brandon said, let the games begin.
🍸 On Sunday, March 1st, Bravo will be having a Vanderpump Rules Leap Day Marathon. It starts at 10 am if you’re up for it.
👠 So I Was Thinking…
Not that any of my exes would be dating Lady Gaga, but if they were, I’d ask for an introduction. Way to use it to justify overspending though.
(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)
General Hospital
Ava tells Carly to notify the guard that she’s ready to leave. She says it’s inconvenient having an armed escort just to visit her daughter. Carly asks, more or less than living on an island? She wonders when Ava is planning on introducing Avery to her new husband.
Franco helps Cameron with his cufflinks, saying it’s a throwback to another era when men needed valets. He tells Cameron that he looks like James Bond, and Elizabeth says he looks adorable. Cameron says he doesn’t want adorable. There’s a knock at the door. It’s Nikolas.
Brook sees Julian at the MetroCourt. He tries to ditch her, but she says, no drink for her? He says, she gets no favors from him. What she thinks she heard in a private conversation was out of context. She’s jumping to conclusions. He had nothing to do with Brad passing off Nelle’s baby as Willow’s. She asks if passing off is a polite euphemism for kidnapping. She doesn’t think Sonny will appreciate the difference. Does Julian think Sonny will believe him or her when she tells him about her suspicions?
At the Pozzulo’s office, Sonny asks Jason how Michael is doing. Jason says, happy mostly. He knows it’s not over, and he still needs to gain legal custody. The cops have found evidence, and he hopes it’s enough to convict Nelle. Sonny wonders if it’s enough to show that Nelle had help.
Curtis goes to Laura’s hospital room, and is surprised to find her dressed and ready to roll. She asks what he expected, and he says, she’s recovering from a gunshot; maybe extra recuperation time. She says she’s going stir crazy in there, and the doctors said she’s healthy enough to leave. He asks where Doc is, and she says he’s the guest speaker at a medical conference. He wanted to cancel, but she told him not to. Her driver is also her bodyguard, and she’ll get home safe. He tells her that she needs to rest, but she says the sooner she gets back to work, the better. Port Charles needs her.
On the phone, Jordan asks if she and Taggert are on for today, but he says he’s working his own plan. She asks, what kind of plan? but he’s already hung up.
Sonny tells Jason that he doesn’t buy Brad and Nelle pulling it off by themselves. There’s a knock at the door, and one of Sonny’s guards says it’s someone who claims they knew Sonny back in the day. Taggert comes in, and Sonny asks if he took a wrong turn. Taggert says he and Sonny may have a mutual problem. Maybe they can help each other out.
Sonny says, this is a first. Taggert is on the side of the angels. Taggert laughs, and says, there are no angels in this room, or in Pentenville. Sonny doesn’t follow, and Taggert says, Michael was targeted on Pier 55. Carly was caught in an attack on the warehouse, and Sonny was targeted in Brooklyn. Then an industrial warehouse turned into a Roman candle. Sonny says he doesn’t know anything about it, and Taggert says he’s not there to bust Sonny. Sonny says, since when? and Taggert says, since they’ve been trading information about Cyrus.
Jordan joins Laura and Curtis, and Curtis tells her that Laura plans on going back to work right away. Jordan says, sounds right, and he says he should have known better. Laura asks to be brought up to speed. She heard there was an explosion on the industrial pier, and asks how much damage there was. Jordan says, whoever planted the explosive was a pro. No loss of life, but the warehouse and its contents were obliterated. They did find traces of opiates though. Someone blew a major drug operation sky high. Laura wonders who’s stupid enough to take on Sonny.
Carly tells Ava, then again, what’s the point?Not all marriages are built to last. Ava wonders how Carly is judging her marriage when hers involves a sharpshooter on the roof. Carly says she’s not judging; she’s giving Ava a heads up. Sonny is going to want to know how much Nikolas is in his daughter’s life, and he’s not Nikolas’s biggest fan. Whatever game they’re playing, the less it includes Avery, the better.
Josslyn asks if that’s what Dev is wearing to the dance, but he says he’s not going. Josslyn says she wasn’t planning on it either, but Cameron and Trina will be there. The more she thought about it, she realized the first rule of having fun is showing up. He asks, why be around people he won’t be seeing again? After tomorrow, he won’t be living there. He’s leaving Port Charles.
Franco asks Elizabeth if everything is okay, and she asks if he minds hanging out with Cameron. He says he’ll get Cameron pinned up, and goes back inside. Elizabeth tells Nikolas, make it quick. It’s a big night for her son. Nikolas says, Cameron has grown up, and she says, kids do that. Why is he here? He says he’s determined to prove what he told her, and she suggests another time. He says now that he’s secured his inheritance, he wants to make a donation to GH; something specific. She says he can talk to Monica, but he says Elizabeth would know where it would do the most good, and she’s his friend. She says, is she? Inside, Franco pins a boutonniere on Cameron, saying he thought it was only for weddings. Cameron says he did too, but Trina disagrees. Franco says, Trina is a good friend.
At the café, Brook tells Julian that she has a situation with a record producer. He says let him guess; the producer refuses to sign her. She says, just the opposite. He refuses to let her out of her contract. Julian says, get a lawyer, but she says she did, and it’s iron clad. He says, she’s a Quartermaine. Get daddy to buy him out. She says Julian doesn’t get it. Ned tried, but Linc won’t set her free at any price. He says she must be quite the talent. He’s not sure where he comes in, and she says she’s exhausted all legal alternatives. Julian has skills her father and the lawyers don’t have. Make Linc an offer he can’t refuse, and if he stonewalls, give him ten broken fingers for starters.
Julian tells Brook that her faith is flattering, but his days of breaking bones are over. He runs a respectable pub. She says he can either work with her, or take his chances with Sonny, and he says, there she goes again threatening him. Let’s talk about how that might go down. Say Sonny puts a bullet in his back. That’s a lot of weight to carry on her conscience. Does she want Lucas to lose another loved one because of her overactive imagination? Brook says, what Sonny does is up to him, and what Julian does is up to him. It’s his choice, and his funeral. Julian says, maybe there’s another way.
Elizabeth says she and Nikolas’s friendship wasn’t automatically restored. He says she was kind and sympathetic about Spencer, but she says that doesn’t take away the fact that her niece is without her mother because of Nikolas. He can’t buy her friendship with hospital donations. She tells him, find her sister. He says he hates disappointing her, and appreciates and respects their friendship; it means more than he can say. She says he needs to go. He says his inheritance wasn’t everything. You wouldn’t think Windymere could be colder or lonelier. She says he made his choices, and has to live with them. Unfortunately, so does Violet.
Ava says since Carly is so concerned about what’s best for her daughter, she doesn’t like Avery living under siege. Windymere is safer. Carly asks, how many have met untimely deaths there? And she doesn’t want Avery to be a witness to Ava and Nikolas’s spitefest of a marriage. Ava says she doesn’t know what Carly is talking about. Carly says she doesn’t know Nikolas well, but did know Emily, the love of his life, and Ava couldn’t be less like her. Now that Nikolas has his hands on the codicil, she doesn’t think Ava will be his wife much longer. Ava says Carly is very much mistaken. Carly says, we’ll see, and Ava leaves.
Elizabeth takes pictures of Cameron, and he asks if she has to take so many. The doorbell rings, and Trina comes in, looking gorgeous in a black and silver cocktail dress. Elizabeth asks if Cameron minds if she takes one more. Cameron says Trina looks great, and she says, he’s not so bad either.
Josslyn asks Dev, why leave town now? It’s only a few weeks until spring break, and they have the SATs and final exams. He says, it’s a top school, and they do that there; he won’t miss out. Sonny made it happen. She says, what about Gladys and Brando? What about everyone who cares about him? Everything is set up for Dev to stay there as Sonny’s cousin. He says he’s not dragging this out; it won’t change anything. Carly comes in, and asks for a minute with Josslyn. Dev gives them privacy, and Carly guesses Dev told her. Josslyn says, please don’t tell her Dev is leaving because of her.
Jordan tells Laura, there’s no proof that organized crime is behind what happened, but it’s happened too many times in this town. A crime lord decides he can make more money by taking over Sonny’s territory, and it escalates until it’s over – unless Sonny intervenes. Laura says she can’t help if she doesn’t know who she’s dealing with. Jordan says, Cyrus Renault. He’s a major drug trafficker in the Pacific Northwest. He was busted ten years ago, but it appears he’s trying to expand his territory from maximum security in Pentenville.
Sonny asks what Taggert knows about Cyrus, and Taggert says, more than Sonny. He helped put Cyrus away. Jason says, when Cyrus was busted by a DEA task force, and Taggert says, right. When he left, he signed on with the DEA. Cyrus was a high priority, and his team did all they could to have Cyrus put away. Sonny says, Cyrus is behind bars, but still in operation. They underestimated his reach. Taggert says, right now, Cyrus has his eyes on Port Charles; that’s where Sonny comes in. He has more options than a former agent. He tells Jason, the warehouse explosion was a nice job, but Jason says he doesn’t know what Taggert is talking about. Sonny asks, what’s it to him? Taggert doesn’t live there. Taggert says there are people he cares about in Port Charles, and no one is safe when Cyrus is in play. Jason asks if Taggert is offering his help, or asking for theirs.
Sonny says, so Taggert wants to work with him to help take Cyrus down. Taggert says he has no use for Sonny’s business, but he knows Sonny’s not like Cyrus. Cyrus is bad news, and they don’t want him taking charge. He’s seen the ugly things this man can do. Sonny says, give him some time to think, and Taggert says, don’t take too long. He leaves, and Jason asks if Sonny buys that. Sonny says, every word.
Through Pozzulo’s window, we see Taggert’s shadow go by. A few seconds later, another shadow follows.
Jordan tells Laura, it’s a dangerous lot connected to Cyrus, and Laura says, someone is letting him pull strings while he’s behind bars. Curtis says, it’s convenient, and Jordan says she’d be interested in finding out how Cyrus landed there in the first place. Laura says he ride is there; they’ll continue later. Curtis asks her to tell him that she’s going home to rest, and she says, wars are fought on many fronts. Let them work on their side of the battlefield, and she’ll take care of hers. When she’s gone, Jordan says **j has ocnn don’t have info can’t afford share until Cyrus is no longer a threat
Josslyn tells Carly, it was one kiss. She’s over it, and hopes Dev isn’t overreacting. Carly says, it’s not about the kiss. Josslyn says, Brando agreed to cover, but Carly says there’s only so much they can ask Brando to accept. Dev thinks it’s best, and she and Sonny agree. Josslyn says, Dev was there after Oscar died, and it helped. He drove her crazy sometimes, but she’ll miss him. Carly says she will too, and hugs Josslyn.
Brook asks what Julian’s plan is, but Julian says he doesn’t have one yet. He needs some time. She says every day she wastes is killing her career. She needs to get back out there before she loses the little momentum she had. It’s the only way out of her contract, so is he helping her or not? Nikolas approaches their table, and Brook says she doesn’t know whether to slap him or kiss him. He says he gets that a lot, and Brook thanks him for the call. She would have been offended if he’d come back from the dead and left her out. She heard he got married. Who’s the lucky lady? Ava joins them, and says, good; Nikolas got her message. She asks who this is, and he says, Brook Ashton, but Brook says she’s Quartermaine now. Nikolas says, this is his wife, Ava Jerome. Ava says, actually, Cassadine now. Mrs. Nikolas Cassadine.
Cameron gives Trina a wrist corsage, and she thanks him, saying, it’s beautiful. He’s glad she likes it, and she says she wishes her dad was there already. He wanted to take some pictures.
Taggert walks near the piers, and someone follows. We see it’s one of the guys from Cyrus’s warehouse. Taggert goes around, and comes up behind the guy. He asks if the guy is looking for him, and the guy says, no. He’s looking for him. Another guy walks up, and they’re on either side of Taggert.
Sonny tells Jason, for Taggert to come to them, he must be desperate. Jason says, Cyrus was convicted ten years ago. Why is Cyrus after Sonny at the same time Taggert shows up? The guard knocks again, and says Sonny has another visitor. Sonny says he’s busy, but Laura asks if he has time to see an old friend.
Carly says, it’s so unfair. Josslyn has had all these losses, and now she has another one. Josslyn says, this is different. Letting Dev go is doing right by him, and she understands. She says she needs to get dressed if she’s going, and Carly asks, where? Josslyn says, it’s the mid-winter formal, and Carly says she thought Josslyn was going. Josslyn says she changed her mind. Cameron and Trina are going, and Trina gave her a whole lecture about showing up to show school spirit. She has a point. How can Josslyn expect her peers to show up to her volleyball games, and cheer her on, if she doesn’t support them? Carly says there’s no way Josslyn is leaving the house tonight.
Brook asks if she can borrow Ava’s husband, and Ava says as long as he brings her back a drink. Nikolas and Brook go to the bar, and Ava sits with Julian. She says she hopes Nikolas remembers she likes vodka martinis. Like any of us would forget that. She asks Julian why he was huddled with Brook. Or to rephrase that, what the hell kind of trouble is he in now?
Brook says Nikolas looks good for a guy who’s been dead three years. He says she’s still gorgeous, and impossible. She says if she didn’t know better, she’d think he was flirting, but he wouldn’t be doing that with his wife there. He says, true. Ava is never far from his thoughts. His marriage is more important than he can possibly say.
Sonny is glad Laura is up and about. She says she just got out thirty minutes ago, and he says she came straight to see him; he’s honored. He gives her his word that he had no idea who the people were targeting his family. She believes him, but asks, what’s really going on? How’s his family? She heard what happened in Brooklyn, and knows Mike was there. He says his dad is okay. Everybody is okay, and it’s going to stay that way. She says, he can’t guarantee that, and they both know it. So let’s talk – for real.
Jordan and Curtis find Taggert in an examining room. Jordan asks, what happened? and he says he got jumped by two guys. He realized he was being followed, and led the guy into an alley. Taggert got the jump on him, but another guy came from behind. He got a shot off, and they ran toward the 500 block. Curtis asks what Taggert was doing there, but Taggert says he’s answering Jordan’s questions, not Curtis’s. Taggert takes out a handkerchief, and gives it to Jordan. She unwraps a syringe, and says Taggert was going to OD, like the others.
Julian tells Ava that he thought he’d buy himself some time by getting Brad a lawyer. Now that spoiled pop star wannabe is tightening the screws. Ava asks, how? and he says she came into Charlie’s when he was arguing with Brad. He had no idea who she was, and they talked. He vented, and said too much. Ava asks how much Brook knows, and he says she figured out that he was helping Brad with the baby switch. Even better, she’s tight with Sonny and she’s threatening to get him involved. Brook laughs, and Ava says, she seems like a handful, all right, but Julian was already doomed when he got mixed up with Brad to begin with. He says he doesn’t know what to do at this point. He’s tired of the shakedowns. Ava says, too bad. If Brook goes to Sonny with her theory, it won’t go well. He asks what she suggests, and she tells him, just say yes for now; buy some time. Two Jeromes are more than a match for one measly Quartermaine.
Brook says she’s sorry about what Nikolas has been through, and Nikolas says she’s the only person who hasn’t come down hard on him. His mom, his sister, his son, even his best friend Elizabeth, all judged him without caring about what he’s been through. Brook says, Elizabeth judged him? Shocker. He guesses Elizabeth is entitled to her feelings, but Brook says, so is he. It’s hard enough coming back without people lining up to criticize. She knows what it’s like to need a friend, and thinks maybe she can fill that void.
Josslyn tells Carly, there’s plenty of security. One of Sonny’s guards can stay at the dance, and Dustin is chaperoning; he saved her life. Carly says, he’s an English teacher, not a superhero. She and Sonny agreed, it’s best to avoid public gatherings, and she wants to err on the side of caution tonight. Donna cries, and Carly goes to tend to her, while Dev comes back into the kitchen. Dev asks if Josslyn’s mom explained it to her. She asks if he’s really okay with it, and he says, it has to be this way. Josslyn says, then he has to say goodbye to Cameron and Trina. She tells him, get dressed, and meet her in the living room in ten minutes.
Cameron tells Trina that their ride share is almost there. She says her dad hasn’t responded to her texts; she guesses he’s not coming. Cameron looks out, and sees an SUV. He says they’re going premium tonight. He tells Trina that he can talk to the driver, and see if he’s willing to wait, but Trina says, let’s just go. She thanks Elizabeth for the pictures. She’ll have some great shots to show her dad. Elizabeth tells them, have fun, and Cameron says, will do. Franco hustles them out, and Cameron wonders if he’s trying to get rid of them. Elizabeth reminds him to text the driver’s information to her. They leave, and Elizabeth asks Franco if Cameron is right. Was he trying to get rid of them?
Jordan says Taggert is lucky it wasn’t worse, and Curtis says, then there would be one. Taggert says Cyrus will find him if he wants to. Jordan says they’ve been catching up since Bob was killed, and it’s time to get in front. Taggert said he had a plan; let’s hear it. He says she’s not going to like it.
Laura says she and Sonny have been friends a long time. She knows there’s a line he won’t cross in his business; he has a certain integrity. When she took the oath of office, she vowed to put Port Charles above all else, including her personal relationships. Sonny understands where Laura is coming from, and says he’d never ask her to compromise for his sake. She appreciates that, but says she can’t look other way if a turf war threatens the safety of the city. Jason says, with all due respect, they care about the city as much as she does. She says she doesn’t doubt that, but in Sonny’s business, there can be some very ugly turns, and she thinks that’s what happened. Sonny says he didn’t start it, and she says she knows that, but it doesn’t matter. This is on her watch. When innocent people are shot at, the piers are a war zone again, and warehouses are blowing up, the people who live in those areas – low income people who don’t have a lot of choices – are afraid. The parents wonder if their kids will get home safe, or at all. All they want, is for it to stop. That’s why she’s there. If anyone knows how stop this thing, it’s him.
Elizabeth tells Franco, she thought Cameron and Trina were just friends, but after the way Cameron looking at Trina tonight, she’s not so sure. Franco says, it’s a big night for them – and him and Elizabeth too. He says, she thought he forgot. He gives her a small box, and says, happy anniversary.
Brook and Nikolas clink glasses. Ava says it will be her pleasure to help Julian handle Brook, and it might help her solve a problem of her own. She needs Nikolas to cheat, and she needs to have proof, or she can’t get out of the marriage. Julian says, that’s barely a minor inconvenience, and she says Julian is so grouchy when he thinks he’s backed into a corner. He’s lucky he has a sister who’s a pro at thinking outside the box. She was going to use Elizabeth to tempt Nikolas, but it’s important to have back up, and Brook just might fit the bill. Ava walks over to the bar and says, forget the drink. She’s changed her mind. She’d rather be home with Nikolas. She takes his hand, and leads him out. He asks if she’s jealous. She can always divorce him. She says, not on his life. They made a deal, and he’s sticking to it.
Brook returns to Julian’s table, and says, so before they were rudely interrupted, what’s his answer? He says, she told him, all ten fingers, correct? He holds out his hand, and they shake.
Laura tells Sonny, she came out of respect because he’s an old friend. She gets up, and says, but if she’s wrong, and Sonny isn’t able to end this thing before it escalates any further, she’ll have to do what she has to in order to protect the city. Sonny gets up, and says he wouldn’t expect anything less. After all, he voted for her. Jason holds the door open, and she walks out, holding back tears. Jason and Sonny look at each other.
Josslyn comes downstairs, looking lovely, also in a shimmery cocktail dress. Dev asks how she did that so fast, and she says nothing inspires her more than being told she can’t do something. She tells him, they have to go, and he follows her out.
Taggert tells Jordan, he’s crossed the line in the past. Each time, he weighed the risks, and made a choice, believing the ends justified the means. Now he’s crossed a line he never thought he’d cross. Curtis says, desperate times, and Taggert says, right. The stakes are too high for pride or holding a grudge. He went to Sonny, and asked if Sonny would work with him to take Cyrus down.
Carly sees Dev’s backpack, and says, really. The kids leave everything lying around. She picks it up, and everything falls out. While she’s picking it all up, she finds a bullet.
Cameron asks the driver if he can step on it; they’re a tiny bit late. Trina says she doesn’t mind, and tells him to take his time. Better safe than sorry. Cameron and Trina chatter back and forth, and we see the driver is the guy who followed Taggert to the pier.
Tomorrow, Neil tells TJ, if it feels right, go for it; Carly asks why there’s a bullet in Dev’s backpack; Taggert calls Curtis for help; and Cameron and Trina’s driver says, there’s been a change in plans.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey
When Melissa met with Danielle, Danielle said boutique owner Steven told her to pull Marge’s hair, and Teresa encouraged her. We saw a clip of Teresa getting in Danielle’s face, and saying, do it! Do it! Do it! Melissa said she was shocked, and going to let Teresa know what Danielle said. Rather than badmouth Teresa, Melissa said it confirmed that Teresa was not in the right frame of mind. Danielle said Marge had put her through a lot, but Melissa wasn’t having it. She said Danielle had gone too far and shouldn’t have put her hands on anybody, and ended their friendship. At the house, the party was beginning to start, with an amazing barbecue that had just about everything imaginable on the grill. In Melissa’s interview, she said Danielle was a pathological liar, but she didn’t think Danielle would throw Teresa under the bus like that if it wasn’t true. And if it was, it was the end of Marge and Teresa’s friendship. By the time Melissa got to the party, it was in full swing, and there were tons of guests, including my favorite, Marge Sr.
Melissa was basically accosted by the group, who wanted to know how the meeting had gone. Melissa told them it was rough. She said Danielle said that Steven told her to pull Marge’s hair, and Marge didn’t believe it, but we saw a clip of that too. I find it a lot more disturbing that a grown man, who owns a boutique, is making this kind of suggestion to a woman, than table-flipper Teresa encouraging that behavior. Melissa said Danielle also said Teresa told her, do it. Marge didn’t believe that either, and of course everyone said what a liar Danielle always is. Melissa asked Teresa if Danielle was lying, and Teresa said she was drinking and everything happened so fast. In Dolores’s interview, she said it never crossed her mind that Teresa was involved in the hair pulling. Marge called Teresa an a-hole, and said Teresa’s good friend Danielle threw her under the bus to save herself. Marge walked off, and Teresa gave the finger to the camera, then went on a rampage, flinging a Solo cup at the camera, and throwing stuff around. Girlfriend was very stressed.
Teresa stomped inside, saying they were all effing a-holes. I’m not sure if she meant the group, the party guests in general, or the production team. She said she was going home. In her interview, Melissa said she’d known Teresa a long time, and when you call her out on something she shouldn’t have done, she doesn’t take it well. Teresa holed up in the bathroom, and outside the door, Dolores said the only way to rectify it, was to apologize to Marge and never talk to Danielle again. Melissa said she got that Teresa wanted to have fun with all the stress in her life, but she was choosing the wrong people to have it with. When Teresa emerged, she said she was glad Danielle stood up for herself. In Teresa’s interview, she said she was angry at Marge, and drinking a lot. Out in the yard, while Marge didn’t let this stop her from enjoying the food, Joe #2 said he thought they should talk it out. Marge said it made her sick. Dolores told Teresa that Marge deserved an apology. Right then and there, Teresa called Danielle, and told her that Melissa had outed her for outing Teresa. But ultimately, it was Danielle’s decision to pony pull. Danielle told Teresa that afterwards, she’d said she wished she hadn’t done it, and not to let this come between them. Teresa stood firm, and said they weren’t friends anymore. She told the others, she wanted to talk to Marge in private, and she’d be on the front porch.
Marge met with Teresa, who apologized, and said she felt bad. Marge said her first instinct was not to believe it. Teresa said she knows she shouldn’t have done it (can you hear this in her voice?), but maybe it had to happen for her to wake up, and be done with Danielle. Marge said she needed time to process it. In Marge’s interview, she said the idea of someone she’s close with being in on attacking her was mind-boggling. And on top of it, Teresa defended Danielle. In the backyard, Jennifer said, if any good came out if it, at least Teresa realized her friendship with Danielle is toxic. When Marge came back, she said she didn’t know whether to sh*t or go blind, and I wondered when was the last time I heard that phrase.
Since the second half-hour was dedicated to Teresa’s Italy trip with the girls, they did the finale credits here. There was absolutely nothing of interest, except that David still hasn’t moved into the new house. He’s living with Dolores and Frank. Dolores can’t get him to move out, or give her a ring. Whatever works.
Five months later. We sped through what happened with Joe, ending with him moving to Italy. He now looks like Mike The Situation Sorrentino. There was the fastest trip to Italy ever, not even using the Concord, and we flashed back to a previous trip when the girls were little. The girls were thrilled to see their dad, but two seconds in, Joe said he’d forgotten how stressful they could be. They checked into a gorgeous hotel, and Teresa asked if Joe expected sleep with her. They hadn’t been together in four years, and it was kind of weird. He was the same uncommunicative jerk he’s always been.
They took the girls to the Amalfi coast, and on the way, a rainbow dazzled us all. Gia leaning her head on her dad’s shoulder broke my heart. They went shopping, and in Gia’s interview, she said their family had been on an emotional roller coaster. It made her realize it was the little moments that count. She was holding on to every moment, and cherishing it. In Teresa’s interview, she said she thought Joe wanted to be a couple again, but she hadn’t been happy with him for a long time. She didn’t want to hurt him, but sometimes you can’t get over what happened, and need to move on. At a tearful dinner, Joe told the girls that he was sorry about what happened, but would always do what he could to keep them together.
Teresa asked Joe how he saw them, and said she wanted someone with her every day. She reminded him that he’d said hurtful things, like he wished he’d never married her. He was supposed to protect her, and she trusted him. Joe said it was a bogus crime that people don’t even do time for, and it was in the past. Teresa said she hadn’t been the same since. A lot had happened, and they lived in two different countries. He asked if she wanted to just end it now. In her interview, Teresa said it was infuriating. After four years, Joe still wasn’t taking responsibility for what he’d done. He hadn’t changed. She told Joe that she never wanted to hurt him, and wanted him to be endlessly happy. He said he felt the same about her, and that he’d spend the night with the girls. They hugged for the first time, and it seemed genuine.
Teresa said she wasn’t ready to tell the girls, and they were still fighting the appeal. There was still a chance Joe could come back to the US. She was just happy Joe was out and free, and that her daughters can be reunited with their dad, even if they had to get on a plane to do it. It wasn’t the end.
The ending text said that the girls spent Christmas with Joe. They were still waiting on the appeal, and were hopeful. Teresa said since now that chapter was closed, she could start thinking about what makes Teresa happy.
My big question. Why does everyone think a party is where to bring up a personal issue? In Melissa’s case tonight, she was immediately surrounded, but the traditional practice is for someone to bring up a hot button issue in the middle of a party. Usually the celebration of some poor, unrelated, unsuspecting person, and it ruins the good time. Even better, it’s often in public. I’m just glad I don’t know any of these people personally.
💰 She Does Have Bank Now…
I actually think this is one couple who won’t need a prenup because they’re going to make it.
I honestly think she’s just thoughtless, and I’m sorry to see her go. And it’s kind of like when new neighbors move in. Even if you’re glad to see the old ones go, you wonder what you’re going to get.
What I Watched - TV With Theresa 