Tag Archives: Alycia Debnam-Carey

December 1, 2023 – Ava Spills To Nina, Posing, Side Gig, Shade On, VanderUpdate, Parade Pics, Windows, Finale Of Fear, More Turkey, Holiday Pets (!), Just Over 8 Quotes & Philly

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Brook walks into the nook where Lois is chopping vegetables. Lois says, there’s her girl, and Brook says, okay, but Lios says she can do better than that. Where’s her main squeeze? Brook asks if she means Chase, and Lois says, no, her other main squeeze. Yes, Chase. Brook says, he’s probably halfway to Canada by now after grandma’s tirade on marriage.

Kristina shows Molly into her apartment and tells her to stay there while she secures the necessary provisions. She leaves and comes back with two glasses and a bottle of wine. Molly is still standing by the door, and Kristina says she didn’t expect her to still be in the same position. She leads Molly to the sofa and says, talk to her. What happened? Molly says she realized she’s never been here before.

Elizabeth and Finn are having dinner at the PC Grill (the restaurant of the moment), and Elizabeth wonders if they’re celebrating a special occasion. He says, that depends, and she says, on? He says, whether you deem the calm before the storm special.

A tall, impeccably groomed, well-dressed man walks up to the counter at Kelly’s and Carly welcomes him. She asks if she can get him something, and speaking with a British accent, he says he certainly hopes so.

Sonny and Dex walk into Pozzulo’s, and Dex says, Hume would have been waiting for Sonny if they’d have let him. Sonny asks if he was alone, and Dex says, just him and his briefcase, which he can only assume was full of cash like last time. Sonny says, okay, let’s hear what Pikeman has to say, and takes out his phone.

At Windymere, va opens the door to Nina, who says she’s completely freaked out. Ava sounded frantic. What’s going on? Ava says, this arrived in the mail today, handing her the note with the picture of dead Austin.

Elizabeth says she takes it that it didn’t go well with the hospital lawyer. What’s her name again? Finn says, Dede Clark. It went fine on the surface. She talked a lot about cooperation and implied they’re all in this together on the malpractice suit, and that he could do his part just by answering some questions. She says, but underneath? and he says, the more questions she asked, the more clear it became that GH’s plan is to sacrifice him and save themselves.

Kristina says, that can’t be true, but Molly says, it is. Think about it. Whenever they hang out, Kristina comes to her place, or they meet up at mom’s or Sam’s or a restaurant somewhere. Never here. Kristina says, Molly’s never been to her apartment (neither have we), and Molly says, no. Kristina says, that is weird. Well, welcome. Molly thanks her, and Kristina says, for the record, it’s not like she’s throwing parties or entertaining. Her kitchen is essentially a barren desert. It’s easier to go out. She pours the wine, and Molly says, Kristina doesn’t have to defend herself, but Kristina says, doesn’t she? Molly is her sister and hasn’t even seen her apartment. She hopes Molly knows it’s not intentional. She now has an open invitation, any time she wants to come here, day or night. Molly says, be careful. She just might take her up on that. Kristina says, she better, and they clink glasses.

Lois tells Brook, tirade is a bit of a stretch, and Canada is not that far away. Doesn’t she think she’s being a little overdramatic? Brook says, no. After some of the things grandma said to Chase, she can’t even go there. It was mortifying. Lois says, it’s a good thing to know, nobody ever died from embarrassment, and it didn’t seem to bother Chase all that much. Brook says, he was being polite, but Brook says, or maybe he was seeing Gloria for who she is, a meddling Italian grandmother whose views on modern relationships are stuck in the 1800s. Lois says, exactly, and Brook says, she and Chase have never even discussed marriage. They just moved in together. Lois says, indicating that marriage is probably the next step, but Brook says, they’re nowhere near that step and that’s okay by her. Lois says, good to know, and Brook says, it is good. Lois tells Brook that she just said that, and Brook says, she and Chase are perfectly happy the way things are. Chase walks in with a bottle of wine, and Lois says, he made it.  

The man tells Carly that he’s in Port Charles on business, and he has a craving for a burger. The concierge at his hotel recommended this place. Carly says, he must be staying at the MetroCourt, and he says, she knows it. She says she knows it well, and he says, if he were staying somewhere else, would they also recommend Kelly’s? She says, absolutely. Kelly’s is a Port Charles institution, and they have the best burgers in town, if she does say so herself. He says, wild guess. She works here. She says she owns the place, third generation. So how does he like his burger?

Nina looks at the photo and says, is this real? Ava says, as real as it gets. Austin is dead. Nina asks, how? and Ava says, he was shot to death in Pautuck. Look. She shows Nina the envelope and says, a Port Charles postmark. It could have been sent by anyone. Nina asks if it was just the picture, but Ava says, no. It came with this sweet little note. She gives Nina the paper that says, you’re welcome, and Nina says she doesn’t understand. Ava says, join the club, and Nina says, clearly, the killer wrote this. Oh my God. Would they just assume Ava would be grateful Austin’s dead? Ava says, that’s her guess, and Nina says, she has to take this to the police. Ava snatches them back and says, no. That’s the last thing she’s going to do.

Sonny says, before Hume gets here, how long did Dex tail Austin? Dex says, only when that nanny was working for Sonny. Betty? Sonny asks if anyone called Dex on it, and Dex says, a couple of times at the hospital, he was asked what he was doing there, but he always had a cover. Sonny asks if he roughed Austin up, and Dex says, when Ava disappeared, he questioned Austin. He stonewalled, Dex put him in a headlock and told him if Ava wasn’t back, he’d be back for him. Sonny says, that could be a problem. Austin was murdered and if anyone saw Dex threaten him, they could assume he did it.

Ava says, Dante has already been out here to question her, and Nina asks, why? Because of Austin? Ava pours drinks and says, there’s so much Nina doesn’t know. Nina says, then fill her in, and Ava asks if Nina remembers walking in on her and Sonny having an intense conversation a few months ago, and Nina says, yeah. She asked what was going on, and neither of them would tell her. Ava says she was being blackmailed, and Nina asks, for what? Ava says, when Nikolas went missing, she had every reason to believe he was dead, and Nina asks her to define every reason. Ava says she thought she’d killed him, and Nina says, oh my God. Ava says, he came here, and he was in a rage. He was threatening to disappear and take Avery with him. She had to do what she had to do to stop him, and she grabbed a statue and she hit him. She just wanted to stop him, that’s all, but he fell. He stopped moving and she panicked. She thought he was dead. Nina says, thank God she was wrong, and Ava says she was trying to hide his body when Austin found her. He told her that he’d help her cover it up. Then the body disappeared, and Austin’s cousin Mason claimed he had it. He said he would bring it to the police if she didn’t do everything he told her to do. Nina says, so Austin’s cousin Mason was blackmailing Ava because she killed Nikolas, but he wasn’t actually dead? and Ava says, but Mason wasn’t acting alone. It turned out, Austin was working with him.

Dex says, after questioning Austin about Ava, he never went near him again, and Sonny says, if the cops decide Dex is a suspect – and that’s a big if – tell them that he’s not talking to anybody without his attorney present, and that includes his son Dante. Dex says, understood, and Sonny says he takes care of his people. If Dex gets picked up, he has the best representation. Dex says he appreciates that, and Sonny says, let’s hope that doesn’t happen. The less attention the cops pay to Dex, the more valuable Dex is to him.

Carly presents the man with his burger and says, tell her what he thinks. Don’t spare her feelings. He takes a bite, and she says she wants to know the real deal. He makes happy food noises and says, talk about the real deal. She says, really? and he says, it’s delicious. It’s full of flavor, perfectly cooked. She tells him to enjoy his dinner. She looks at the door and says, not again, and they turn to see a homeless man hanging around the doorway. She goes outside.

Carly tells the man that he can’t be out here, and he asks her not to call the cops, but she says, that’s not what she means. It’s too cold. He needs to come inside.

Kristina asks if Molly wants to tell her what happened, and Molly says, shoot. She had a folder at the park. It’s filled with really personal information… Kristina says she’s got it. She picked it up from the ground when they were leaving. Molly thanks her and says, she’s a life saver. Kristina says, of course (🍷), and takes the folder out of her bag, giving it to Molly. What’s in it? She doesn’t have to share that. It’s 100% her right. Molly says, no, it’s fine. Open it. Kristina looks inside and says, surrogacy candidates. She doesn’t understand. Is there something wrong with them? Molly says, there’s something wrong with her, and Kristina says, watch it. That’s my sister you’re talking about. Molly says she has this whole folder of potential new surrogates and TJ has no clue she’s even looking at them.

Lois brings out glasses and thanks Chase for the wine. She says, it’s very thoughtful of him, and he asks if she wants him to open it. She says, is the Pope Catholic? and tells him to pour while she works. She goes back to the cutting board, and Chase asks if they have a corkscrew. Brook gets it for him, and he asks what they were talking about. Lois says, you, and Brook says, you and Blaze. And how you used to sing together and now she sings alone. Speaking of which, what does he think of her new song?… Hello? Chase says he’s sorry. He got distracted. It’s amazing how Lois can do all that with those nails. Lois says, there’s nothing she can’t do with these nails.

Elizabeth says, Finn has to separate the hospital from the hospital’s lawyers. Sure, it may be a good legal strategy to use him as a scapegoat, but Portia and Terry would never, and she’s sure the Board would follow suit. He says he doesn’t know anymore. If the Muldoons can prove that the hospital somehow knew he was negligent and turned a blind eye, it’s possible they’d be liable for damages. Martin thinks GH’s best plan is to say that he was negligent, but he acted without the knowledge of the hospital. She says, but he wasn’t negligent and he’s going to explain that to a jury when he testifies. They’ll have to be sympathetic to him. He says, really? Has she met him?

Finn says, his testimony alone could tank the case, and Elizabeth tells him, says who? He tells her, says his lawyer; he said it a bunch of times. She says, that’s ridiculous, and he says, really? She says, if Martin Grey doesn’t believe in Finn, fire him, and Finn says, Martin does believe in him, but he’s also a lawyer. Good lawyers point out the landmines. This case at the core is about a grieving family who are looking for answers, and really, can you blame them? She says, of course (🍷) not, and he says, then it’s possible a jury might feel that way too. She says, and it’s possible to have empathy for the family, and realize their loss wasn’t his fault. He says he doesn’t know. He just feels that when he gets on the stand, the jury’s sympathies are going to be with the Muldoons, and the only way he can win them over is to get them to… like him. She says, he did it with her and she’s a way tougher sell. A bunch of strangers? Cakewalk. He says he doesn’t know whether to take that as a pep talk, but all he heard was, she likes him. She says, very much so.

Chase asks if Lois is sure she doesn’t need any help, but she tells him, just sit back and relax and enjoy the wine, which is very good by the way. Brook says, it’s delicious, and Chase says he’s got a guy. Lois says, he’s got a wine guy? and Brook says, it’s true. His recommendations are always on point. Lois says, good to know, and she’s very glad the two of them can join her for dinner. Chase thanks her for the invite, and she says, it gives her a chance to get to know him better. And to apologize for all things Gloria. He says, get out of here, and she says, not really apologize, because God knows she loves her mother, but she does know she could be a bit much. Brook says, a bit? and Lois says, but she means well. Her mother is a romantic. She’s in love with love, and for a woman from her generation, if you’re in love, you put a ring on it. Brook chokes on her wine.

Molly tells Kristina that she was contacted by the matching professional about looking for a new surrogate, and she was excited about getting things going again. Kristina asks if TJ felt differently, and Molly says, when she told him, he said it was too soon. Kristina says, too soon for whom? and Molly says, for him. For them, she guesses. He’s not ready to get back on that roller coaster again. Kristina asks how Molly feels about that, and Molly says, deflated… frustrated. This whole thing is bad enough, but to not be on the same page as your partner. Anyway, she ran into Dr. Navarro when she was leaving the hospital, and she says so kind and steady, and she really put things in perspective. Kristina asks what the doctor said, and Molly tells her, basically, the risk of miscarriage is the chance that you take, no matter who’s carrying the child. But when you weigh that against the chance of actually having a baby, so many people have had success through surrogacy. She wants to be one of those people. Kristina takes her hand, and Molly says, she took the meeting alone. Kristina asks if it was productive, and Molly says, it was, until mom showed up.

The homeless man tells Carly that he’d rather stay outside. He doesn’t like being around too many people. She says, at least let her bring him something to eat, and he says, really? Carly says, of course (🍷), and he says, that’d be great. Thanks. She says she’ll be right back, and if he changes his mind, the door’s open. She runs inside and goes directly to the kitchen, as the man at the counter watches.

Nina says, she didn’t know Austin well, obviously, but he seemed to really care about Ava. Ava says she thought so too. She thought Austin was someone she could trust. When he tried to convince her that he was being coerced, that he didn’t want to help his cousin, that he was trying to get her out from under the blackmail, she believed him. But Nikolas wasn’t dead, and she’s convinced Austin knew all along. Nina says she just doesn’t get it. What was his endgame? Ava says, per usual, in this underworld at least, all roads lead back to Sonny.

Dex shows Hume into Sonny’s office, and Sonny says, well? Hume says, Pikeman needs him to facilitate another shipment, and Sonny says he thought he made himself clear. He doesn’t do anything for Pikeman unless they tell him who the shooter was at the MetroCourt. Hume says, they’re not the police or the WSB. Pikeman is a manufacturer. Sonny says, that exports merchandise through his channels, and Hume says, and they’re willing – he puts his briefcase on the table and opens it – to pay double this time. We see the briefcase is crammed with stacks of bills.

Kristina asks if Alexis is trying to discourage Kristina from trying again, but Molly says, no. It was just typical mom. She wants what Molly wants. But when Molly told her about taking the meeting without tell TJ… Kristina says, technically, she did consult TJ, but Molly says, Kristina knows what she means. Mom said whatever she and TJ choose to do, they have to make the decision together, but she just has this sinking feeling that TJ might never be ready. So she went to the park to clear her head and ran into Willow and Amelia. It was nice. Willow was really sweet, and she got to hold the baby. Kristina asks if it wasn’t hard for her, and Molly says, at first, but it was so amazing to hold this tiny little human in her arms. Once she left them, she couldn’t stop thinking about how she might never have the child of her own. She wants to be a mom so badly. She starts to cry, and Kristina says she knows Molly does.

Chase asks if Brook is okay, and Brook says she will be once her mom changes the subject. Lois says, in a sec. The biggest thing Chase can take away from all of this is that Gloria obviously likes him. That’s not an easy feat because that’s not a woman you can win over very easily. And for what it’s worth (🍷), Lois likes and approves of him too. Chase says, it’s worth more than she knows, and Lois says, he makes her daughter happy. She can see it in her face. She can hear it in her voice and in the way she moves. As a mother, that’s all she could ask for. Chase says, for the record, her daughter makes him very happy too, when Lois’s phone rings. She says she has to take this and asks Brook to finish up for her. She leaves and Brook asks if Chase brought his shovel for the hole he’s going to dig, where she’s going to hide for the remainder of her days. He asks if she doesn’t think she’s being a little dramatic, and she asks why everyone keeps saying that to her… Do not answer that. She’s so, so sorry. He says, why? He’s not.

Finn says, it’s too bad they can’t clone her and have a whole jury box full of Elizabeths. She says, that’s a terrifying thought, and I laugh at the mental picture. He says, not to him, and she says, truth? He says, sure, and she says, sometimes he can be a little… He says, abrasive… guarded… socially awkward, and she tells him that she was going to say standoffish. But once people get to know him, they see what she sees. He says, and what’s that? and she says, a man of the utmost integrity; a brilliant researcher; a dedicated physician; a loving, sometimes neurotic, father. He says, sometimes? and she says, a person who really cares and a doctor who never quits on his patients… and someone who needs a little work on their maple tapping skills. He says, a lot of work, and she says, he’s saved hundreds of lives, and he has the potential to save so many more. He says, not if he loses this malpractice suit.

Carly takes a to-go bag out the homeless man and says she hopes he likes goat cheese. There are fries in there, she threw in a piece of pie, and here’s a coffee. She hands him a cup, and he thanks her. He asks if it’s okay if he sits out here and eats, and she tells him, of course (🍷), and stay as long as he likes.

She goes back inside to the counter and asks the not-homeless man if he’d like anything else. He says he thought she was going to run that guy off. Instead, she fed him. How come?

Nina asks what Sonny has to do with any of this, and Ava says, Austin and Mason were working for Cyrus Renault. Nina asks if Sonny knows, and Ava says, he’s the one who told her. Nina wonders why he didn’t say something, and Ava says, he doesn’t want Nina involved. God knows she wishes she wasn’t involved. Nina says, so Cyrus is the one who had her kidnapped? and Ava says, yes. He wanted Austin to testify for him at that hearing in Pentenville. Nina says, his hardship release. So he had Mason take Ava hostage to guarantee Austin’s testimony. Ava says, helluva guy, huh? and Nina says, Austin did what Cyrus wanted and testified to save Ava. That means Ava did mean something to him. Ava says, something maybe, but not enough.

Sonny closes the briefcase and tells Hume to take it back to his superiors along with this message – he’s out. He’s not moving anything else for Pikeman for any price. Find another harbor. Hume says he’ll relay the message, and Sonny says, you do that. Hume leaves and Dex closes the office door. Sonny says, Dex is going to have an opinion on what he just did. So what does he think? Dex says he thinks Sonny made a mistake.

Finn tells Elizabeth that he thinks the biggest question is going to be why he didn’t screen Muldoon for more tests that would have indicated the presence of cancer. She says, Finn told her that he wanted to, and Muldoon didn’t want to have any more tests. Finn says, he knows, but they might say something like he didn’t explain it to him fully, or maybe he was open to the tests and Finn just didn’t bother. She says, and what? Finn told him he was fine and pushed him out of his office? Finn tells her that they might say he got busy with his research or other patients. She says, he would never do that, and he says he knows that, and she knows that, but what if the jury doesn’t know that?

Brook says, all this marriage talk has got to be wigging Chase out, and he says he’s not wigged out. And he’s pretty certain no one says that anymore. She says her family just really loves weddings, in an unhealthy co-dependent kind of way, and he asks if she’s been to a lot of them. She says, weddings? Oh yeah. Between the Cerullos and the Falconaris, there are too many to count. He asks what they’re like, and she says, big, loud, enough food to feed an army… and the people there fighting. And the dancing. Nobody dances the tarantella like her grandma. He says he’d love to see that someday, and she says, he will. Not at their wedding… She didn’t mean that. She meant at a wedding, probably one of her gajillion family members. Is it hot in here? She fans herself and he says, she needs to relax, but she says she feels terrible. Everyone’s all up in his grill. He says, nobody’s up in his anything, and she says her grandma has probably already reserved a church for them, but they can’t blame her. It’s all she knows. The moment you turn 18, every nona keeps asking when it’s going to be your turn. So she understands it from her grandma. Or at least she’s trying to. But from her mother? That’s a completely different story.

Counter man says, not to sound callous, but he can’t imagine it’s good for business to have a homeless man hanging around outside, and Carly says, probably not. She did tell him to come inside, but he didn’t want to, so she just brought him some food. He says, that was kind of her, and she says, they wrap up all the unused food and send it to the homeless shelters, so she would have been feeding him anyway. At least this time he’s getting a hot meal. The man says he’ll pay the check when she gets a chance, and can she give this to her friend outside. He hands her some cash, and she says, thanks.

Ava tells Nina that Austin came to see her at the gallery the night he died. When she found out he’d known she was held hostage… He could have gone to Sonny. He could have gone to the cops, but he did nothing. He was silent. She was furious. They fought about it. She told him to leave and he left. Nina says, and that was the last time she saw him? and Ava says, yeah. She just doesn’t have any way to prove it. Nina asks if there aren’t cameras at the gallery. Can’t they prove Ava was there at the time Austin was shot? Ava says, the cameras in the back aren’t working, and that’s where she was most of the night, and Nina says, well, that is going to be an issue. Ava says, even if the cameras were working, she doesn’t think it would help her. That’s why she can’t bring the note and picture to the cops. They’re just going to think she hired somebody to get rid of Austin. Even dead, that man is still making trouble for her.

Sonny says, Dex thinks he should have taken the deal? and Dex says he thinks it’s better to play along than make himself an obstacle that needs to be removed. When he was in Afghanistan, there were a lot of these private security groups there. Sonny says, including Pikeman, and Dex says, these are powerful people. They have connections to all the major security ops, the CIA, the WSB. If they come at Sonny, it may be at a level he hasn’t seen before. Sonny says he appreciates Dex’s insight. He’s already considered all that, and he realizes his best move right now is to get out. He doesn’t want Pikeman investing any more in him. He’s betting that they think he’s more trouble than he’s worth and move on.

Molly says, it’s like she’s lost all self-control, but Kristina says she thinks that’s a good thing. Molly says, that she’s a human walking waterworks? and Kristina says, yes actually. For the first time, Molly’s allowing herself to feel what she feels, without trying to edit it or control it. Being a mom is hugely important to her. Molly says, it’s like she won’t be her if she doesn’t, and Kristina says, that’s really beautiful. Molly says, not if TJ won’t consider these surrogates. And she won’t have a child without him. She won’t do that to him. Kristina takes her hands, and they sit down. She says, TJ will come around. She knows he will, and when he does, let Kristina help her. Let her carry a baby for them.

Chase says he doesn’t want Brook to be mad at her on his account. He thinks she’s awesome. She says, he does? and he says, Brook obviously comes by her beauty and her spark naturally. Brook thanks him for the compliment and for just being overall amazing. How’d she get so lucky? He says he asks himself that every day… about how he got lucky, not her. (Ha-ha!) She suggests they agree they’re both lucky, and he asks what she say were the three most important moments of her life. She says, when she scored Jonas Brothers tickets in 2010, and he says he’s being serious. Humor him. She says, all right. The last time she ever saw her great-grandfather Edward; that’s a big one. The first time she ever wrote a song, and when she gained a little brother in Leo. He says he wants this moment right now to be on that list, and she asks what he’s talking about. He says, Brook Lynn Quartermaine – he gets down on one knee, taking her hands – will you marry me?

Finn pulls his chair closer to Elizabeth and says, she called him caring. She says, because he is, and he says he thinks he knows that somewhere deep down. He also doesn’t like being questioned or doubted, and when he gets defensive, he gets awkward. These jurors aren’t medical professionals, and this medical jargon thing will go right over their heads, and the only thing that’s going to resonate with them is that this man is dead, and his family is grieving. And there’s this doctor on the stand saying he did everything right. She tries to interrupt, but he says, no. What if he would have pushed harder for Muldoon to get those tests? Made him. Demanded he get that colonoscopy. Would Muldoon still be alive? She says, no one can answer that question. But what she can tell him is, all they can do as medical professionals is their best, and he did that. She knows that. So they need to teach him how to project that inward kindness outward, so the jury will believe him and maybe even like him. He asks if that’s even possible and she says she thinks… Yeah. They’ve got their work cut out for him. They kiss.

Kristina takes Molly’s hand and says she knows Molly was originally against it when she offered to be their surrogate. And admittedly, she hadn’t really thought it through, not fully. Maybe there was a part of her that wanted to swoop in and be the hero. Molly tells her, when she said that before, that was her pain talking. She was disappointed and bitter that Kristina could carry a child and she couldn’t. But that was unfair and she’s sorry. Kristina says she’s sorry Molly is going through this at all, and she’s sorry Molly lost her first baby. Molly says, it’s not Kristina’s job to fix it for them, and Kristina says she doesn’t think it is. Not at all. That’s not the way she sees it. Bringing Molly’s child into this world is something she can and truly wants to give her. Not just for Molly, but for this baby who’s going to be in this family with the most incredible parents. Molly says, she’s absolutely positive? and Kristina says, 100%, no backsies. Molly says, now she knows Kristina means business, and Kristina says she does. Molly says she has to talk to TJ about it; they have to be together on this. Kristina says, of course (🍷), and Molly says, no matter what they decide it means everything that Kristina has offered. Molly thanks her, and Kristina says she loves Molly. They hug, and Molly says she loves Kristina too.

Ava looks at the photo of dead Austin, then picks up the note and puts them both in the fireplace. She watches them burn.

Dex says, so Sonny will end his association with Pikeman and hope they cut their losses, when there’s a knock at the door. Nina comes in and says, Frank told her that she could come in. Sonny asks, what’s wrong? and Nina says she just came from Ava’s. She knows about Austin and Ava said he was working with Cyrus. More importantly, she said Cyrus still may be after Sonny. Sonny says, damn. Ava has no business telling her that. Nina says, no, she doesn’t really. The person she should hear it from is him.

Carly thanks the man for coming by, calling him Mr. Brennan (I guess he used a credit card). She hopes they see him again at Kelly’s soon, and he says he can practically guarantee it. He gathers up his things and heads for the door, when Hume comes in. He tells Brennan, we have a problem. Corinthos refuses to move any more of our shipments.

On Monday, Brook says, let’s take the topic off the table and forget it ever came up; Ned says, if he doesn’t figure out how to stop him, Michael will push him out; Molly wants TJ to hear her out first; Blaze asks if Kristina wants to celebrate; and Nina tells Sonny that she’ll do whatever she can to make sure someone comes home.

📸 Meant For More…

I never knew this. That photo doesn’t even look like him.

💣 Happier Villainy…

I still haven’t seen this, but it looks like a fun show.

💎 Shades Of Mess…

While I don’t normally side with Erika, I thought this was weird too. Denise seemed drunk. Maybe she was. Maybe there’s something we don’t know. First world problems.

🍸 Take Two…

If anyone still cares.

🍂 Goodbye Autumn…

In case you didn’t see the parade.

🎁 Switching Gears…

Another thing better seen online. You would not believe how crowded this stuff gets. The tree lighting looked insane.

⚰️ Rehashing the Dead…

All about the Fear finale. The best part – if you haven’t seen it, major spoiler – Skidmark made it! Even better, when he showed up, secretly thanks to Alicia, Daniel just asked, where have you been? No, how the hell did you appear out of thin air after disappearing for years? Or even, what are the odds? It was a great moment. It was a great finale. Nothing left unsaid.

https://ew.com/fear-the-walking-dead-series-finale-kim-dickens-interview-8402455

https://ew.com/fear-the-walking-dead-colman-domingo-reacts-to-victor-strand-finale-ending-8403734

https://ew.com/fear-the-walking-dead-showrunners-explain-alycia-debnam-carey-finale-return-8404001

🦃 Twice the Thanks…

I saw Thanksgiving for my birthday. They were giving out swag and I got a poster.

While it was a good time, and Eli Roth is a great director, this news surprised me.

https://people.com/thanksgiving-slasher-film-getting-sequel-2025-director-eli-roth-8409658

🫏 Practice Run…

Warming up for pets dressed as Santa, Santa’s elves, the Grinch, and whatever other humiliating holiday costume their pet parent can find.

I have no clue who these people are, but their celebrities somewhere and they have cute pets.

https://push.abs-cbn.com/2022/12/24/celebrities-flex-their-pets-on-christmas-day-1413

🐳 Quotes of the Week

My songs will pass and be forgotten. What counts, however, is that I sang them. – Father Andrew Greeley

Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.Lou Holtz

Compassion is the ultimate and most meaningful embodiment of emotional maturity. It is through compassion that a person achieves the highest peak and deepest reach in his or her search for self-fulfillment.Arthur Jersild

No man can tell whether he is rich or poor by turning to his ledger. It is the heart that makes a man rich. He is rich according to what he is, not according to what he has. – Henry Ward Beecher

No matter who you are, we’re creatures of habit. The better your habits are, the better they will be in pressure situations. – Wayne Gretzky

The world needs a-holes. Otherwise, where would the sh*t go out? – Dusan Mirkovic (Christoph Waltz), Downsizing

If you’re going to be able to look back on something and laugh about it, you might as well laugh about it now. – Marie Osmond (Who knew she was such a philosopher?)

Some people believe holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go and then do it.Ann Landers

Tomorrow I’m going to feel the pounds. – Andrei Castravet, 90 Day Fiancé, The Other Way: Pillow Talk

🐹 On the Holiday Hamster Wheel…

Take some time to stop and smell the pine needles this weekend, and join me on Monday really Tuesday for soap and that mess in the Med. Until then, stay safe, stay keeping realistic expectations of yourself and others, and stay allowing yourself to feel what you feel, without trying to edit it or control it.

August 18, 2023 – Anna Discovers the Truth, PS, Back Again, Drama Chat, Ultimate Legacy, Sharing, VanderMash, The Con, From Dead To Flowers, Tasty, Unusually Cute, An Eighter Of Quotes & Never Gonna

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Sonny shows up at his old Carly’s place late at night, and she says, please tell her everyone’s okay. He says, everyone is okay, and she tells him that Donna’s been asleep for a while. He says he figured, and she says, yet here he is. He must want a favor.

Tracy sits in the nook with her head on the table and a towel over it. Eddie/Ned puts on the light, and she groans and says, whoever you are, go away. She pulls the towel off her head and ha-ha-ha! It’s Tracy with a hangover looking more disheveled than we’ve ever seen her.

Kristina says she was under the impression that things were good between her and Molly, and Molly says, they were… They are. Kristina says, but not good enough for Molly to invite her to a family gathering, but Molly says, it wasn’t a family gathering. Kristina says, except for one sister it was, and Molly says, it’s getting late and TJ’s going to be getting back… Kristina says, TJ is the one who told her about Kristina’s sushi party; the one she had for their mother, their sister, and her mother-in-law. She guesses her invitation got lost in the mail.

Getting ready for bed, Dante says his terrible day is over, and Sam says, he wouldn’t believe what happened to her tonight. He says, try him, when his phone rings. He says, Detective Falconari… You checked the surrounding areas too?… So Valentin Cassadine’s car never entered the ELQ parking garage the night Anna Devane’s townhouse burned down… Okay. He hangs up and says, why are you lying to Anna?

Anna and Valentin go into a room at the MetroCourt, and he says, it’s a lot nicer than the place she stayed last night. The MetroCourt was booked, but it’s available now. She can have it as long as she wants to. She says she guesses this is home, but he says, it’s not home; it’s just temporary. As far as hotels go, it’s pretty comfortable. She’s always liked staying in hotels. She says, but she had a home to come back to and now she doesn’t.

Gregory tries to sweep the beads from the table into his hand, but some of them end up on the floor. Finn comes in and says he’ll get that. He picks up the beads and sits next to Gregory on the couch. He asks if Gregory is okay, and Gregory says, he’s fine. He’s just tired… and clumsy. Finn asks if that’s why he fell, or is it something else? After a pause, Gregory says, it’s something else… something awful, and Finn asks if he’s sick. Gregory nods, and Finn asks if he’s been diagnosed. Gregory says, yes, and Finn says, maybe he can help. Will Gregory tell him what it is? Gregory says, ALS.

Eddie/Ned says, good evening, and Tracy says, it would have to be him. He says he never took her for someone who was a hard partier, and she holds up her hand, saying, stop talking and just leave. She reaches for a bottle of aspirin and knocks it on the floor. She groans and puts her head in her hands. Ned picks it up and says, she’s drunk as a skunk, but she says, no. She’s not drunk. She just wishes the room would stop spinning.

Anna looks through some shopping bags and tells Valentin that she doesn’t even know what she bought. What’s wrong with her? He says, her house burned down, and she says she’s been through worse. He says, that’s true, and she says she wasn’t in any danger. She was out running. Thank God Charlotte wasn’t there. She was with Dante and Sam, and Valentin was at ELQ. She needs to get it into her head that she has a lot to be thankful for, and she needs to just move on. They sit down, and Valentin says, she’s not a machine. She lost her house. It was a violation, and they can be thankful no one was killed, but she doesn’t have to pretend it doesn’t hurt. She says, it really does, and he says he’s with her. She’s going to get through this. They’re going to get through this together, and they’ll find who did this to her and stop them from doing it again. Does she trust him?

Carly says, if this is about Avery having another sleepover, she’s welcome here anytime, but Sonny says, the Avery situation is under control. Carly says she’s glad to hear that. Ava must be relieved. She was really worried about… something. He says he’s not here for a favor. Actually, he’s in a position to do her a favor. She says, no thank you.

Sam wonders what’s up, but Dante says, it’s nothing that can’t wait. But there is something that can’t wait. Sam asks, what? and he says, this, and kisses her. No matter what kind of day he has, he knows when he gets to see her, everything’s going to be okay. She says, he stole her line, and he says, it’s his line because he just said it. She tells him that she was going to say, when she has a day where she thinks she won’t be able to sleep at night, she thinks about coming in here and getting into bed with him and turning out the lights, and everything else just melts away. They kiss, and he says, maybe the should talk a little bit before they turn out the lights. Her first. She says, he can go first, but he says, she knows how rock-paper-scissors work. She says, since she was twelve, and they play. She picks rock and he picks scissors, and rock beats scissors. She says, her crazy day. Where does she start? Molly and Kristina are headed for World War III.

Molly says, this is so typical, and Kristina says, Molly not inviting her to something? She agrees. Molly says, no. Kristina’s reaction. Is she not allowed to have a dinner party and invite who she wants? Kristina says, Molly invited everyone in the family but her, and Molly says, fine, she’ll say it; Kristina wasn’t invited. But despite what Kristina always thinks, it wasn’t about her. It was about Molly and TJ. She wanted to share the good news with mom and Sam and Jordan that they found a surrogate.

Finn says, Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and Gregory says, yeah. Finn says, there are other conditions that have the same early symptoms. Is he certain? Gregory says, yes. When he told Finn he was going to Milwaukee for a seminar, he was actually in Rochester at the Mayo Clinic. They did extensive testing and the results were conclusive. Finn says, that trip was over six months ago. He’s known all this time? Gregory says he’s sorry. He couldn’t bring himself to tell Finn. Finn asks, why not?

Anna comes out from her shower, and sees Valentin pouring some wine. She says, he read her mind, and he asks what they’re going to toast to, handing her a glass. She says she has no idea, and he says, then to us. To our future together, which can only get less complicated and less dangerous. She says she’d like to believe that, and they clink glasses. He says, she may not believe it now, but they have a lot to be grateful for, and she promises not to keep wallowing in self-pity. He says, it’s not self-pity. She’s been traumatized and she’s dealing with some very powerful emotions. She’ll work through them. She says, and they’re going to find out who’s behind this, and he says, yes, but in the meantime, he has something to talk to her about. It’s something important. He’s going to buy season tickets to the ballet in New York. Charlotte still loves dance, and he knows she does too, so why doesn’t he buy three tickets? She can join them. She says her house just burned to the ground, and someone is trying to kill her, and he’s talking about Swan Lake. He says he can’t think of anything he’d rather do than spend time with the two women he loves most in this world. And he likes Swan Lake. She says she likes it too, and he’s about to kiss her, when there’s a knock at the door. Anna wonders who it is, and he opens it to Martin. Anna says, it’s a bit late for a business call, and Valentin says, whatever this is, he’ll deal with it quickly. He goes out into the hall with Martin and closes the door.

Tracy tosses a couple of pills in her mouth and drinks some water. Ned says, Leo told him that a guy like him needs 15½ cups of water a day, and she says, Leo’s a very smart kid. She can’t tell him how grateful she is Leo’s not here now. She holds her head, and Ned says, she doesn’t seem very experienced at this sort of thing. She says, if by that he means she doesn’t look like someone who gets drunk all the time, she didn’t get drunk this time. He says, she didn’t? and she says, no, she did not. Well, she did, but it wasn’t her fault. Somebody insisted on putting too much alcohol in those Mai Tais at the MetroCourt pool… ugh. He asks if some old bartender was trying to loosen her up for her dough, but she says, no. Actually, it was not some old bartender trying to loosen her up; it was Ned’s daughter. Not that he even acknowledges that he has one. She rubs her forehead.

Finn says he doesn’t understand. Gregory didn’t think he could handle it? Gregory says, it wasn’t Finn; it was him. After all these years, they were finally getting to spend time together as a family; Finn, his brother, Violet, and him. It was so special. Finn says, it is, and Gregory says, the big stuff, Christmas and Halloween with Violet; and the little things, him bringing over muffins from Eckert’s or showing Violet videos of Uncle Chase singing. Finn says, it wouldn’t have changed, but Gregory says, of course (🍷) it would. It will. It already has. When he looks at Finn, he can see it in Finn’s eyes, he knows what this disease does. Finn knows he’s dying.

Sonny says, Carly’s not even going to listen to him? and she asks if he can’t listen to her. Did he not hear her down at the police station? He says, that was different. He was there to help Ned and she was there, so he thought he’d help her. She says, he decided she needed help. He didn’t listen to her. He says, and when she turned him down, she spent the night there. She says, and she was fine with that. She can take care of herself. He says he’s sure she can, and she says, it’s taken a while, but they’re both moving on. They respect each other and want each other to be happy. And as he can see, there’s no For Sale sign in the front yard because Kelly’s is doing great. She’s going to take care of herself on her own, so whatever his favor is, no thank you; she doesn’t want it.

Dante asks why Molly didn’t invite Kristina, and Sam says, because she was revealing her big news that she and TJ had found a surrogate who was perfect. She thinks Molly didn’t want to hurt Kristina’s feelings. He says he understands that. It is Molly’s decision. Sam says she understands that too. She also understands Kristina being hurt. She’s sorry. She shouldn’t be going on like this. He asks, why? and she says, because of the situation he and Lulu had with Maxie. He says, that’s okay. It was a long time ago. TJ and Molly have to realize this is a big decision. You can’t take this lightly. She asks if he thinks Molly’s making the right choice by not having Kristina be the surrogate.

Kristina says, that’s great. She hadn’t realized Molly and TJ were even interviewing surrogates yet. Molly says, they wanted to keep it quiet, and Kristina says she gets that. She’s sure mom, Sam, and Jordan were thrilled to hear the news. Molly says, they were very happy for her and TJ. This is what they want. Kristina says she knows, and Molly says, the woman they found is perfect, and she’s willing to go through the process right away. Kristina says, that’s very exciting, and Kristina says, it is. After everything they’ve gone through, there’s still a good chance she and TJ could have a child within the next year. Kristina says she’s happy Molly is so happy, and Molly says she planned on telling her first thing tomorrow. Kristina says, just not tonight with the rest of the family, and Molly says she wanted it to be a happy occasion. She knew mom, Sam, and Jordan would be happy for them. Kristina says, and she wouldn’t? She would have spoiled all that? Molly says she doesn’t know. They’ve been getting along so well, but she didn’t want to take the chance that tonight would turn into a discussion about why they turned to a surrogate instead of Kristina. Kristina says, now that everyone is gone and Molly brought it up, why are they paying a stranger to have their baby when she was willing to do it?

Finn says, six months. They could have done so many things. Gregory says, the last six months have been perfect. What he didn’t want was to be a burden to Finn, or have Finn spend time with him out of some sense of obligation. Finn says, that wouldn’t have happened, but Gregory says, of course (🍷) it would. He knows Finn and Chase. He’s so proud of both of them, and he and Finn finally got the time to know each other. Finn says, that’s meant everything to him. He’s the one who’s sorry. He’s sorry for costing them all that time. Gregory says, there’s no need to rehash that now. Getting to know Finn and getting to understand and appreciate his incredible accomplishments over the years has been so rewarding for him. Finn and his brother make it almost impossible for him not to be one of those obnoxious bragging fathers. Finn says he’s one of those too, when it comes to Violet, and Gregory says, Violet, what a gift she is. Every single moment he spends with his granddaughter is even better than he imagined. Finn says, she pretty much thinks her grandfather’s the greatest guy in the world, and Gregory asks how she’s going to feel when all he can do is sit and stare at her, when he can’t even speak her name?

Ned asks, why would Brook give Tracy too much booze? and Tracy says, Brook’s up to something and she should have known the minute she saw the fire eater. He says, fire eater? and she says, it was a luau, with tiki torches and leis. He says, sounds like fun, and she says, he would think so. She should have gone right back down to the lobby and ordered a car. He says, it sounds like maybe she had a lot of fun. What’s wrong with that? She rubs her temples, and says, that’s all he ever thinks of; having fun and being Eddie Maine. Anything to avoid facing the reality of his life.

Valentin says, Martin understands this is critical, and Martin says he does. Valentin asks if he’d act like it, and Martin says, his fee, as exorbitant as it is, grants him 24-hour access, but doesn’t give him or any other client the right to abuse him. Valentin says, point taken. He has a lot on his mind. Martin says he understands, and yes, it’s hot off the wire. He gives Valentin an envelope, and Valentin checks out some paperwork inside. He says, looks good, and thanks Martin, opening the door. Martin says, he’s welcome. Although why he insisted on doing this tonight instead of first thing tomorrow morning makes no sense to him. Anna hears that part, and Valentin goes inside and sets down the envelope. Anna asks if it’s important, but he says, not really. Why Martin insisted on coming by in the middle of the night makes no sense to him.

Ned says, Tracy wants him to face the reality of his life, which means she wants him to ride around in limousines and pretend to be some hotshot tax dodging executive. She says, it’s a start. Or he could just stop singing on street corners, and running around all night to sleazy bars, and getting arrested for fighting. He asks if it’s embarrassing to her somehow, and she says, it’s embarrassing to the whole family. He says, so it’s best to just shut Eddie up? and she says, he’s not Eddie. He says, and she wants to prove that by having someone strap him to a table and have electricity shot through his head. She says, what? and he says, I’m on to you, lady. He overheard her tell Olivia that she wants him committed.

Carly says she doesn’t know if Sonny knows this, but Drew is in solitary confinement. Sonny says he knows, and Carly says, of course (🍷) he knows; he’s protecting Drew. She’s really worried about him. She knows he went through worse in Crete, but still. Sonny says, he’s been through a lot. He’ll get through this. She asks if Sonny thinks he can get a message to Drew, and he says he might be able to do better than that.

Finn says, Gregory has to give Violet more credit. She constantly surprises him by how much she understands. Gregory says he hopes Finn is right, and Finn asks what the doctors told him in terms of prognosis. Gregory says, luckily, he was still in the first stage when he went to the Mayo Clinic; muscle cramps and occasional difficulty walking. Finn says, and now? and Gregory says, it’s progressed. His hands cramp more frequently than before. Finn asks, what happened tonight? and Gregory says he was trying to help Violet make some bracelets. He could barely hold on to the thread. He doesn’t think she noticed, but then she got up to get some clasps from her bedroom and he tried to stand up to shake out his hands, and that’s when he fell. Thank God she wasn’t here to see it. Finn says, but she came back in, and Gregory says he told her he tripped over the coffee table (he did not; he said it was probably a bead on the floor). She had to watch him struggle to get back up on the couch. He knows he can’t hide his disease any longer, and he’s so ashamed about tonight.

Molly says she’s so glad she didn’t invite Kristina tonight, and Kristina says, she’s made that perfectly clear. Just answer the question. Why would she rather a stranger have her baby as a surrogate, when her own sister offered to do it for her months ago? Molly says, with a surrogate, they sign a legal, binding document, and Kristina says she knows how it works; she rents out her womb and throws in her egg at a discount. Molly says, both sides benefit. She gets money she needs for her family, and they get the child they want. Kristina says, the child they want; there it is. As opposed to the child she’s offering to give them that they clearly do not want. Molly says, the surrogate is performing a service, not racing around town working on some pie-in-the-sky project, and letting everyone know she’s saving her poor sister from her own infertility. Kristina says, if Molly has some stranger as her surrogate, she’s not even going to be related to the baby.

Sam says she’s sorry. She shouldn’t have put Dante on the spot like that. It’s a really confusing situation. He says he gets it, and stop apologizing. They’ll be playing rock-paper-scissors all night long. It’s a personal thing for Molly and TJ, that’s all. He’s sure Kristina had the best of intentions when she offered to be their surrogate. Sam says she understands that, but Kristina and Molly haven’t been close lately. He says he knows she loves her sisters and wants to fix all kinds of things for them, but maybe this one… She says she should let them work it out for themselves. He says, maybe, and she says, he’s right. Now it’s his turn. Spill. He says, it was just kind of a regular weird day, and Cody shows up at the station while Gladys is there, filing a restraining order against Cody on Sasha’s behalf. Cody loses his mind completely in the middle of the squad room, saying, Gladys is the one having Sasha drugged. He lost it. He went crazy, and Dante and Mac had to restrain him. She asks if he had to arrest Cody, but he says, not this time. Those two hate each other. She says, Cody and Gladys? Definitely. He says, and the whole time this is happening, he’s investigating Anna’s townhouse burning down.

Valentin asks if Anna left him some hot water, but she says she feels like the MetroCourt has an unlimited supply. He says, give him five minutes, and goes to the shower. She’s about to look at the envelope, when her phone rings. Dante says, sorry to call so late, but there’s something he thought she should know. He had one of their tech guys look at the ELQ security footage from the night her house burned. Valentin’s car never exited or entered the ELQ parking garage. He had them check the surrounding area to see if the car was parked somewhere else too, but they got nothing. She says she sees, and he says, Valentin told her the reason he went to ELQ was, there was a water main break and he was concerned about the mainframe computer? She says, that’s right, and he says, there was no water main break. She says, thanks for that information, and listens to hear if the shower is still running. She takes the envelope, and looks at the papers inside. It’s an invoice or something with Pikeman’s letterhead.

Tracy says she did ask Olivia to commit Ned, and he says, because he embarrasses her? She says, because this can’t go on. She thought just maybe if he was in a hospital, they could help him stop faking this ridiculous… He says he’s not faking anything. He is Eddie Maine. And by the way, he didn’t ask to be in this house. They all want him here. So he’s trying to make them understand he can’t choose to be who he is. He’s Eddie Maine and there’s nothing he can do about it. She says, okay. He’s Eddie Maine, but she’s Ned Quartermaine’s mother, and she’s never going to stop fighting for her son.

Finn says, Gregory has nothing to be ashamed of, but Gregory says he does. He’s so selfish to put his daughter at risk. Finn says, that’s okay, but Gregory says, no. He shouldn’t have agreed to watch her alone tonight. Somehow, he convinced himself he’d be okay. Finn says, it turned out okay, but Gregory says he had no right to take that risk. The other night, he went to one of those hatchet throwing places and he did it. Maybe it’s human nature, but he thinks he’s been trying to convince himself that he can beat this thing, or at least hold it off, but that’s just denial. He needs to stop that before he puts someone else in danger like he did Violet. Finn says, it’s happening to Gregory and he has to figure it out on his own, and Gregory says he needs to stop driving. He shouldn’t have been driving this long. Finn says, so stop driving. No one’s going to judge him for how he’s handled this so far. No one’s going to judge him. Finn wishes he’d had someone to talk to besides his doctor. Doing this all on his own all this time must have been hell. Gregory says, Alexis knows. She was snooping around and they got in a big argument, and he collapsed. He had to tell her. He couldn’t bring himself to tell Finn. He didn’t want to see the look on Finn’s face that he’s seeing right now.

Carly asks if this is the favor Sonny came over here to talk to her about, and he says, before she turns him down, hear him out. She says she’s listening, and he says, when he got news of Drew’s situation, he did some digging and he has a connection with someone who could arrange for Drew to get out of solitary early. So when he’s released, she’ll be able to go see him. She asks if Drew is going to owe anybody anything, but he says, absolutely not. She asks what it’s costing him, and he says, from the look on her face, it means everything to him. She sits next to him on the sofa and says, Drew’s going to wonder why the sudden change. He says, when she talks to him, just tell him no strings attached. It’s just a gift from him. She says, he knows Sonny is protecting him. She doesn’t know how he’s going to feel about this. Sonny says, it’s not a gift to him; it’s a gift to her. She asks if there are any stipulations for her if she accepts.

Sam comes back in the bedroom and says, it looks like Dante’s rotten day is still with him. He says, it’s just hitting close to home this one, and she says, and he can’t get into specifics. He says he can tell her that Valentin is being dishonest with Anna, and she laughs, saying, when has Valentin ever been honest? He says, she’s right, but it’s weird. Valentin really cared about Anna, and she cares about him. He told her all this pretty surprising stuff, then he lies about where he was the other night. Sam says she’s not that surprised about it. She knows he lives a complicated life. Who knows what he’s got going on? Dante says, he wants to know what Valentin’s got going on because his daughter’s in the room down the hall.

Anna lies awake, but pretends to sleep when Valentin gets into bed. He turns out the light, and she opens her eyes. She says, he lied to her.

Gregory says he understands. Finn’s a doctor; one of the best. He knows all about this hideous disease. Finn knows what it’s going to do to him. Finn says he looks at Gregory now, and he looks fine; he looks good. Gregory says, that’s what’s so hard to grasp. He looks in the mirror, he feels good, but he knows this thing is in there somewhere. Finn says he also sees the man he grew up with. The man who used to toss him so high in the air, and he was never once afraid Gregory wouldn’t catch him. Gregory says he remembers that guy too. As you get older, try to hang on to that self-image as long as you can. The thought that he’ll be less than that for Finn, for Violet… Finn says, never less. He’s still that man, and he will always be that man, no matter what happens. Gregory thanks him for that, and Finn says, he knows what Gregory is facing, so there’s no point in trying to tell him no, because he’ll be by Gregory’s side every step of the way from here on out. Gregory tells him, do what you have to do, but he has one favor to ask, and Finn says, anything. Gregory says, help me tell your brother. Because he’s afraid it’s going to crush Chase. Finn says, it will, and they’ll be there for him. He tells Gregory that he loves him and starts to cry. Gregory says he loves Finn too, and they hug.

Ned asks if loving her son means locking him away somewhere, and Tracy says, stop being so dramatic. If he overheard her saying that, he also overheard Olivia refuse. And she’s his… She has final say. He says, but he’s watched Tracy. She can be very persuasive. What’s to stop her from changing Olivia’s mind about putting him away? She says, answer her something. If he’s so worried about them having him put away, why is he still here? Why isn’t he at Sonny’s? He says, Sonny is a nice enough guy, but too many goombahs around. Tracy says, there it is. She knew it. You are in there, Ned. Somewhere.

Sonny says, there’s no strings attached in there for Carly either, but he’s sure Drew is going to be happy to get out of that little cell. He wants to be clear, this is for her – or not. It’s her decision. She says, he’s unbelievable, and he says, yes. She says, he came to the police station the other night and he was so offended when she said he couldn’t help her. He came up with a favor he knew she couldn’t turn down. He says, maybe he’s just being nice, and she says, yeah, he is, but he still wins. He asks if that’s a yes, and she says, yes, please get Drew out of solitary. He says, all right, and gets up. He’ll let her know when it’s done. He heads for the door, and she says, thank you. He says, you’re welcome, and leaves.

Molly says, that was mean, even for Kristina, and Kristina says, that came out wrong. Molly says she thinks Kristina said exactly what she meant, and Kristina says, fine. If they’re saying what they really mean, why doesn’t Molly say what she really means. She would rather have a baby from a stranger than one from her own sister. Molly says, yes, and it’s true she might not be biologically related to the baby, but TJ will be, and that baby is going to be created for them as a result of their love for each other. Kristina says, if she had the baby for Molly… Molly says, if she did, it would be a gift for my sister, and no one would ever be allowed to forget it. Kristina says, wow. She guesses she never realized how selfish and insecure Molly is. She leaves.

Sam says, Charlotte is Rocco’s sister, so she and Dante need to find a way to get along with Valentin. Dante says he knows, and he’s glad she’s here with them, especially with a threat to Anna. She says, burning down someone’s house is definitely a threat. Any theory on why Valentin would lie to Anna? He says, not yet. He never really trusted that guy. She says, as much as they don’t trust him, she really does believe Valentin loves Charlotte, and she doesn’t think he’d ever do anything to hurt her. Dante says he agrees. Intentionally, he wouldn’t hurt her, and he probably loves Anna. She says, but he doesn’t think Anna trusts him, and he says, no, and neither can they.

Valentin asks what Anna said, and she glances at the Pikeman envelope as she turns to him and says, he lied to her. He said he was going to be five minutes, and he was way closer to fifteen. He says he’s sorry; the water felt good. He kisses her, and she says she’s so exhausted. He says, so sleep, and kisses her forehead. They turn back to back, but their eyes stay open.

Tomorrow, Carly tells someone that she’ll be there; Anna tells Valentin, it’s unsettling when someone you know is acting strangely; Sonny says, maybe we should just call this off; and Cyrus tells someone, we meet again.

💣 GH FYI: Mason did say the boss was a woman. So I’m not crazy. Well, maybe I am, but I didn’t imagine that. The theory is that there are already enough female villains on the canvas – i.e. Selina and Gladys – so they changed the boss to a man. Still, just a wee bit insulting to viewers’ intelligence.

👨‍👧‍👧 One Of the Boys…

Jake pops back before they can excuse his absence with back to school.

🗽 Discuss Amongst Yourselves…

The new RHONY cast talks about their favorite subject – themselves.

🦕 Old New York…

Well, if the Countess says it’s cool, it can’t possibly be uncool. But did they get the yacht?

🦘 Not Down Under…

More on the Deck drama that rocked the franchise. I actually tried to catch this episode the other night, but came in too late. And I’m not desperate enough to hunt it down on Peacock. Not yet anyway. João ended up as one of the replacements, much to the mini distress of Aesha.

🍸 VanderBreak Is Officially Over…

I couldn’t figure out how Graham was bait here, but we know she’s prone to flights of fantasy.

I’ll definitely be getting Ariana’s new book. I requested and got Fancy AF Cocktails for Christmas after it came out, but this looks a whole lot juicier better. I dunno about Scheana’s music, although I have to admit Good As Gold is on one of my playlists.

The minutiae.

🎪 More Bravo Than You Can Shake a Stick At…

All the guests at BravoCon 2023.

💐 Not Those Flowers, Lizzie…

This looks suspiciously like a V.C. Andrews book.

🌍 Padma Is the New Waldo…

Where in the world is she?

https://www.padmalakshmi.com/taste-the-nation

🐙 Behold the Unusual…

I want them all.

https://www.alwayspets.com/s/cutest-unusual-pets-754c25d1fa0043c2

🐚 Quotes of the Week

Immature love says, I love you because I need you. Mature love says, I need you because I love you. – Erich Fromm

If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything. I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes. – John Wooden

What we fear of doing most is usually what we most need to do. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power or our will.Epictetus

Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death. – Albert Einstein

You can’t make somebody your number one if you’re always their number two. – Judge Star Jones, Divorce Court

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

It’s not easy having a good time. Even smiling makes my face ache. – Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry), The Rocky Horror Picture Show

🧋 Drinking the Milkshakes In My Yard…

Let’s reconvene on Monday really Tuesday for soap and whatever tea I can pull out of a hat. Until then, stay safe, stay living your best life as your best self, even if it’s only in your mind, and stay never judging how someone is handling their illness.

May 29, 2022 – Alicia Saves a Friend, Bird Tale, Time To Go, Dissecting Rick & America

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What I Watched Today

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

Fear the Walking Dead

Alicia is being carried on a stretcher. She’s in and out, and alternately sees zombies and the people carrying her. Alicia is parked on the beach, as everyone gets the rafts ready. Alicia says hi to a bird, and Jacob says, she’s waking up. He calls for June, and June tells him to get saline and epinephrine, and tells Alicia that she’s low on fluids. Alicia asks why the rafts are being prepped, and June says, she doesn’t remember? The tower is burning. When the walkers from the canyon burn, it’s going to be released into the air. Alicia asks where they’re going, but June says, they don’t know. Alicia wonders where Morgan ended up, but June says, he hasn’t landed yet. Alicia struggles to get up, but June tells her she can’t; the fever will kill her. Alicia asks, where the hell is Victor? but June says, he didn’t want to come. Alicia asks if they know where is he, but June says, as far as they know, he’s still in the tower. Alicia looks at the column smoke rising in the distance, and gets up, telling them to put everyone in the rafts, but June says, Alicia needs rest. Alicia looks around, and notices a girl in a mask. She says, someone heard the message, and calls, over here. The girl goes in the other direction, and Alicia says, come back, and follows. She tells the girl not to run away, and the girl says, she’s not running. She has to find her friend. Alicia says she wants to help, and the girl says, then help her find her friend in there, and gestures toward the tower. He knows how to get to Padre. She runs into the smoke, and the smoke gets heavier. Alicia walks into it after her.

A zombie struggles, caught under a shopping cart, and Alicia stabs it in the head. Luci radios, asking where Alicia is, and Alicia walks up to an armored truck. She tells Luci that she found the girl she told Luci about; she might know where Padre is, and they need a place to go. Luci asks why Alicia left on her own, and Alicia says she can’t put them in danger. Don’t come looking for her. She walks on, and has a flash of seeing zombies. The girl says, over here, and walks into the smoke. Alicia asks what she knows about Padre; is it real? The girl turns out to be a zombie, and Alicia slashes its head into a pile of mess. She looks at her artificial arm, and it morphs into a melting skeletal arm. She looks at her reflection in something, and sees a zombie. She opens her eyes, and she’s inside the truck. She sits up, and the girl says, it’s okay. Alicia passed out on a body; the girl heard her scream. Alicia asks how the girl got her in here, and the girl says she dragged Alicia. They almost didn’t make it. Alicia asks her name, and says, she’s Alicia. The girl says she knows; she heard Alicia’s message. That’s why she was at the beach. Alicia says the girl can take her mask off, but the girl says she doesn’t take it off. Alicia says, the girl helped her in the woods; why didn’t she stay? The girl says she was looking for her friend. She asks why Alicia is sick; is it her arm? Did one of them bite her? Alicia can tell her. She’s not scared of bites. Alicia says, it doesn’t matter; there’s nothing she can do about it. Alicia looks through the stuff in the truck, and asks if the girl’s friend can really help them find Padre. The girl says, yes, but they have to find him first. He’s all she’s got left; he’s like family. She asks what Alicia is looking for, and Alicia says, anything to bring down her fever. The girl asks if fevers don’t come from infections, and Alicia asks how she knows that. The girl says, her mother says she’s too smart for her own good, and Alicia says, her mom said the same thing about her. A huge lightbulb comes on over my head, and I know who the girl is. Alicia says, this infection is different. She’s been fighting it a long time. The girl asks if Alicia found Madison, and Alicia looks at a tape labeled Amina. She asks how far away the girl’s friend is, and how she’s going to contact them, and the girl says, the same way Alicia contacted her when she heard the message. Alicia says, that’s not going to work. The tower is on fire, and the irradiated dead are headed there. Alicia barely made it here. They’ve got to get to the rafts before the dead get to the flames. The girl says she’s not getting in a raft, and aims a gun at Alicia. Alicia takes it out of her hand, and says, it’s not loaded. Has she looked for bullets lately? There’s none. The girl asks why Alicia followed her, and Alicia says, to help save her friend, but also to do something that will outlast her. The girl asks if Alicia thinks she’s going to die, and Alicia says, look at her; she might not make it to the beach. This thing is going to beat her, and she won’t be able to help her friends. The girl says, Alicia is wrong. She can beat it and help her friends. Alicia insists that’s not true, but the girl says she was bit too, and she’s still here. She shows Alicia scars on her arm, and says she needs to get to the tower and make contact with her friend. He saved her, and he’ll save Alicia too, then get them to Padre.

Speculative Spoiler: I could be very wrong, but I wonder if Alicia is talking to herself. They’ve already been borrowing heavily from Z Nation. Why not again?

They walk, and Alicia asks when the girl got bit, and how. It must have been a while ago. The girl can trust her. She’s here, isn’t she? A zombie comes toward them, and the girl says she’ll deal with it, but Alicia says, she won’t even reach its head. The girl hands Alicia a bullet on a cord, and Alicia asks where she got it. The girl says she found it near the truck. Shoot him. Alicia has a zombie flash, and stabs it in the neck. She falls to the ground with it, and it grabs ahold of her. The girl whacks it with a hammer, and asks if Alicia is okay. She almost got herself killed. Alicia says, the walker is mulch, and the girl isn’t hurt. There’s nothing to be upset about. They start walking again, and the girl asks why Alicia didn’t use the bullet. Alicia says, it would have drawn more dead, and the girl asks why Alicia has a bullet if she’s not going to use it. Alicia says, so she doesn’t turn, and the girl asks if Alicia has dreams about turning; she had them too. Alicia asks if she still has them, but the girl says, no. It was only when the fever was really bad. Her friend will help Alicia. She’s not going to end up like one of them. Use the bullet next time.

They walk closer, as the tower burns. Alicia says, they need to go to the rafts, but the girl says, maybe other people got Alicia’s message. Alicia can go if she wants, but she’s staying. Alicia says, this is impossible, and the girl says, what about the other people who heard Alicia’s message? Is she going to let them walk into that? Alicia says, when they see it, they’ll turn around, but the girl says, they won’t know to go to the beach. They could end up someplace worse. They need to go. Alicia says she can’t push much further, but the girl says she’s not leaving. She walks toward the tower, but Alicia stops her. Alicia says, if they go in there, they’ll both die, but the girl says, they’ll die if they stay out here. Alicia asks what she means, and the girl says, Alicia knows what she means. Alicia faints, and the girl fights off some straggling zombies. She tells Alicia to stay with her, and gets on the radio, asking if there’s anyone there.

Alicia is on a rolling cart, and Sarah says, she’s waking up. They stop, and Luci says, they weren’t going to leave without her. Dwight takes off the straps holding her to the cart, and Alicia asks how they found her. He says, they heard her SOS. A new guy says, hello, and Sarah tells Alicia, his name is Josiah; he’s friendly. Alicia asks, where is she? and Dwight says, who? Alicia says, the girl who helped her. She can help them get to Padre. Luci says, they don’t even know if that place is real, and Alicia says, the girl helped her kill the walkers. Dwight says, it sure looks like Alicia killed them, and Alicia sees her arm weapon (weapon arem?) has blood all over it.  

Alicia says, the girl saved her twice; it’s blood from before. She wipes it off, and June says, Alicia is still burning up. Alicia wonders where the girl is; she was there. Josiah says, Alicia was alone when she went back to the tower, and Luci asks why she did that. Alicia says, to send a message; the girl wanted to find her friend, and she promised to help. She has to go back there. Sarah says, Alicia is going on the raft, by force if she wants to play it that way. Alicia says she’d be doing the same thing if she were in their position, but she’s not leaving. Luci asks why it’s so important, and Alicia says, the friend is going to tell her how to save them. June says, the raft is their best shot, and Alicia says, the girl was bit, but she’s alive, and her friend helped. She’s been dreaming of turning into one of them for months. She doesn’t want to die, and she doesn’t want to turn. The girl’s friend can help her live. June asks if Alicia is sure she’s not just saying that because she wants it, and Alicia says, she knows how it sounds, but she’s real. Daniel says, when people doubted him, it didn’t feel good, and Sarah says, but he didn’t have all his faculties. He says, maybe he still doesn’t, but Alicia helped him think more clearly. He can’t let he go on her own; he’s coming. Luci says she owes Daniel one, so she’s in, and June says, she’ll clear the tunnel faster with help. Dwight says, Sherry will kill him if he lets Alicia go by herself, and Sarah says, she doesn’t want be the only a-hole who says no. She tells Dwight, let’s get us some crispy critters.

Alicia keeps trying to radio the girl, when she finally answers. Alicia asks where she is, and the girl asks if Alicia thinks she can get to the roof, but Alicia says, it’s too dangerous to do on her own. She’s coming, and her friends are clearing the tunnel. The girl says she’s on the stairs, but the radio goes dead. Alicia takes out the bullet, and Luci tells her, if she talks to the girl, ask if they can get in there. Alicia says, she talked to her, and she’s going in. June says, not alone, and Sarah says, they’re not leaving. Josiah says, they opened it pretty good, but he can’t be sure it will stay stable. Alicia says, they need to get to the raft. If she learns where Padre is, she’ll radio them. Sherry needs Dwight, Sarah just found her brother, and Daniel’s got to be there for Charlie. She tells Luci that they’ll need someone to show them the way, but Luci says, they have Alicia. Alicia says she has to do this on her own, and Luci nods, saying, she’ll see Alicia and the girl at the shore. Alicia goes inside, and the door closes behind her.

Zombies toddle around the tower as it burns. Alicia goes upstairs wearing a mask, but then takes it off. She thinks about being a zombie, and radios the girl, asking, where are you? Are you in the stairwell? The girl says she’s on the roof and needs Alicia’s help, but Alicia says she’s not sure she can make it. The girl says, she has to; it’s the only way. Alicia stops, pants, and says to herself. you can do it. She sees a bird flying up through the stairwell.

She opens the roof door, and the girl says, over here. Alicia says, you’re alive, and the girl says, so are you. Alicia says she doesn’t want to die; she’s not ready. She suggests they find the girl’s friend, and gets the radio, but she sees it’s been burned by the fire. She yells, no! and the girl says, what? She tells the girl, it’s broken, but the girl says, it’s okay. Alicia says, they need to get in touch with her friend, and the girl says, they still can. Her friend isn’t out there; he’s in the tower. That’s why she wanted to come. Alicia says, her friend (and I say in my head, Victor), what’s his name? The girl says, Victor Strand, and I pat myself on the back for figuring everything out so early on. The girl says she’s sorry she didn’t tell Alicia sooner, and Alicia flashes back to Victor saying, those people were never part of his vision… She’s never going to forgive him, even if he saves everyone, because the damage has been done… He’s trying to save her life… Alicia says, no; it doesn’t make sense. She remembers Victor saying he knows she thinks he’s a monster, but he’s the same man he’s always been. She can’t stop what’s coming. Alicia says, right. She shouldn’t have come. The girl says, Victor needs her to help him, and Alicia asks why she should. The girl says, Victor is her family. He can save them; save us. Alicia knocks the girl down, and holds the pointy end of her arm to the girl’s throat. She asks if anything the girl told her is true, and the girl says, Victor can help her if she helps him. Alicia says, no, and the girl asks if she’d rather die than save him. Alicia says she would, and the girl asks, why? Alicia says, Victor took everything from her, and the girl says, don’t let him take her life too. If Alicia leaves him, she’ll die. Alicia keels over, and asks the girl why she cares what happens to Victor, but the girl says, it’s not about Victor. It’s about Alicia.

Alicia hears the door clank, and tells the girl, wait. Where is she going? No one’s there. She goes back inside, and sees the bird. She wonders why the girl would come in here, and keeps walking. She comes to Victor’s quarters, where the lights are flickering. Victor says, who’s there? Is there a visitor? Alicia says, Victor? and we see Victor, lying in bed with an empty booze bottle next to him. He asks if his mind is playing tricks on him, but Alicia says, it’s not a trick, and flops into a chair. She says she’s here, and he says, she’s got to get out. She says she can’t, not now. She’s not going to make it. He says he’s sorry. he wanted to give her everything. She says, he didn’t give her anything. He took everything. He asks if it’s because of what he did to Will, but she says, Will is just another person she outlived. So many people had to die so she could live. He says, this is about her mother? but she says, it’s about so much more. It’s about making what her mother gave them, mean something. What she didn’t get was to make a place that would last beyond herself. He says he’s so sorry for everything, and she puts the bullet in the gun. He tells her, don’t do that. If she turns, he deserves anything she does to him. She says, it’s not for you – she flashes on the zombie side – it’s for me. She puts the gun to her head, and says she’s sorry. She remembers Will and Charlie, and says again, she’s sorry. She remembers Luci, Daniel, Morgan, and Madison. She sees the bird on the windowsill, and tells it to go. Please leave, goddammit. She thinks about Madison telling the story of Amina, and how Alicia had decided that bird was going to live. Alicia walks over to the bird, and we hear Madison say, the bird lived because her kids didn’t give up on her. Alicia holds out her funky glove-covered hand, and the bird hops on. She says, maybe this is the last thing she was meant to do. She tries, unsuccessfully, to smash the glass, and the girl helps, smashing through the window. Alicia holds her hand out the opening, and the bird flies away. She thanks the girl, and asks why she came back. The girl takes her mask off, and says, because she can’t leave Alicia. Alicia says, no… I… I don’t understand. The girl says, she does, and Alicia says, you’re… me. (Another pat for me.) Alicia hears Madison say that Alicia gave them a chance when there aren’t a lot left in the world, and asks why the girl brought her hear. The girl aka Little Alicia, says, Alicia knows why. It’s on that tape. Alicia looks at the Amina tape, and the girl says she was wrong. Her mom didn’t die to build something like this. She died so that part of Alicia didn’t give up on the people who would live. She shows Alicia the scars on her arm, and says she wasn’t lying when she told Alicia hat she survived the bite. So will she. She’s the only one who can make sure this isn’t the end for her. Alicia says, she can’t; she’s going to die. The girl says, not if she makes sure people remember this part of her, and Alicia asks, how? The girl says, Alicia knows how. She has to save Victor.

On the beach, June tells everyone, don’t leave anything behind. They don’t know how long they’ll be out there. They get the rafts ready, and June says, they can’t miss the tide. Alicia will catch up. They can’t be there when the walkers catch fire. Try to stay clustered in case they get separated. Luci says, they’re shoving off, when Alicia radios that she needs help. Luci asks where she is, and Alicia says, the MRAP. She can’t make it much father. Luci asks if she found the girl, and Alicia says she did; she found someone else too. Victor says, they’ll never take him, but Alicia says, they will if she asks. He coughs and groans a little, and asks, why save him after everything he done. He laughs, and says he asked her mother the same question. She asks what her mother said, and he tells her, she said she did it because she knew who he was.  Alicia asks if he thinks she really did, but he says, not like Alicia. So he’s asking again, why save him? She says, it’s not about him; it’s about her. So he can do what she doesn’t when she’s gone; find a place where everyone is safe. He asks if she thinks he can, and she says, she’s not sure, but she think he’ll try. He tells her, stay with me, but she fades out.

June feels Alicia’s forehead, and says, she’s waking up. She tells Alicia, don’t move. She’s got to get fluids. They’ll make the raft as comfortable as they can. Grace says, the readings have spiked. They’ve got to go. Alicia asks Grace to tell Morgan something for her, but Grace says, Alicia can tell him herself, and hands her the radio, saying, Morgan wanted to talk with her too. Morgan asks, is that her? and Alicia says she’s sorry she didn’t do what she said she would. He says he got Mo in the raft, and that’s all that matters. He wanted to tell her that she might be right. He’s heard chatter on the radio. There might be a Padre. He thinks Padre is real, and thinks they might actually have someplace to go to. How about that? How is she feeling? She says she needs to tell him something. No matter what happens to her, he won’t be doing it alone. He says, no, because she’ll be all right, right? He hears only static, and asks if she’s there. Mo cries.

Grace tells Alicia, if he didn’t hear, she’ll make sure he knows. Charlie comes over to Alicia, and Alicia says she’s sorry she couldn’t stop it from happening to her. Charlie says she’s sorry she wasn’t there for Alicia, and Alicia tells Daniel, look after her. Charlie says she knows it’s going to be okay. She got to do something she never thought she would. They finally got to see the beach. Alicia says, they did, and Daniel says, it’s time. Alicia tells Daniel, it’s going to be oaky, and Daniel says, he wasn’t there for Ofelia at the end, but he can be there for Charlie. He will see Alicia again. Sherry says, they’ve got to go, and she thanks Alicia for taking them in. Luci says she’ll be in the raft with Alicia, but Alicia says she has to do this alone. Victor says, no she won’t. He gets in, and says, they’ll rough it out together. Alicia says, stop, and gets out of the raft. She doesn’t know how fast she’ll turn. He says he’s willing to take that risk, but she says she’s not. It’s up to him – she chokes up a little – to make sure everything they’ve been through means something. People may have heard her message, and are headed to the tower. He cries, and says, she did make it mean something. She saved all of them. She saved him. She did what he asked back in Lawson. She pushes his raft into the water, and says, she didn’t just save him so he could live to do what she couldn’t. She did it because she loves him too. He smiles, and she laughs.

The rafts go down the river. Victor waves, and Alicia waves back. Alicia falls to her knees, then all the way down.

Alicia opens her eyes and sees the bird. She looks good, like fully made up good. She sits up, and sees everyone is gone. She drinks some water, and feels her forehead. She takes a reading, and the girl appears. Alicia asks what she’s doing here, and the girl shows Alicia her arm. The scars are gone, and Alicia asks what it means. The girl says she thinks it means Alicia saved her. How does Alicia feel? Alicia says, she feels… like she hasn’t felt in a while. Like herself. They smile at each other, and Alicia picks up her mask and the gun. The girl asks where she’s going, and Alicia says, to find people who heard her message. She’s going to spend whatever time she has left making sure they have someplace safe to go. They smile again, and a zombie comes down the beach. Alicia walks toward it, shoots it, and continues to walk in the direction of the tower, as she puts her mask on.

Next time – the finale – weird people who wear hoods grab Morgan, accuse him of stealing their children, and try to bury him alive. Madison returns.

🐦 A Bird In Alicia’s Hand…

Madison’s Amina story.

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/fear-the-walking-dead-who-is-amina-explained-fear-twd-season-7-episode-15/

🚪 Exit Interview…

Well, it does seem kind of open-ended. And we all saw Madison go down, yet she’s coming back, so who knows?

You never know. That mortgage might need to be paid one day. Never say never.

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/alycia-debnam-carey-exits-fear-the-walking-dead-season-7-goodbye-post-alicia-clark/

⚰️ Serious Nerd Talk…

Delving into the depths of Rick.

https://screenrant.com/walking-dead-rick-first-zombie-negan-ending-explained/

🌼 Spring Into Summer…

If you have tomorrow off, enjoy, or if tomorrow is just another day off, enjoy that too. There’s no soap tomorrow (GH is a rerun), but I’ll be on Deck. Until then, stay safe, stay striving for honesty in all relationships, and stay knowing, if the walker is mulch and no one was hurt, there’s nothing to be upset about.

April 24, 2022 – It’s What Victor Would Want, Butterflies, Season Of Fever, Double Dead Duty, They Had a Secret, Origins, Lots To Spin & Skies

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What I Watched Today

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

Fear The Walking Dead

New guy Dev Ali is looking at Victor’s butterfly collection. John tells him, Victor is particular about those, and asks why he’s here. Ali says, Howard sent for him, and John says he’ll see if he can find Howard, but Howard comes in, saying, it’s not necessary. Ali asks what Victor is looking for, and Howard says, that’s between Victor and his rangers. Ali asks when he can join the rangers, and Howard says, when he’s ready. Ali asks when that will be; he thought he was closer. Howard asks how old Ali is, and Ali says, 15. Howard says he admires Ali’s ambition, and he knows Victor does, but everyone has to start somewhere. He points at a picture of a butterfly in a book, and tells Ali, it’s the Mourning Cloak. It’s rare, and only lives for a year. He knows the perfect spot; Ali just has to find one. Ali says he doesn’t know how that proves he’s ranger material, and John says, Ali should have seen what he had to go through. It was no picnic. Howard says he asked John to assist him, not spook the kid. It’s not hazing; it’s showing him how they see the world. Caterpillars started as one thing and became something better. That’s what Victor did, and it’s how they’ve survived. Ali needs to show Victor what he’s capable of, and then he’ll be ready. He can be something greater.

Ali rides into the woods, and immediately spots one of these extremely rare butterflies. A zombie is heading for him, and he puts a jar over the butterfly with one hand, and stabs the zombie in the head with the other. He goes back to where he’s tied his horse, and sees a masked woman there. He takes out his gun, and says, hands up. Turn around. Who the hell are you? While he takes a second to shoot an approaching zombie, she grabs him, but he kicks her away. He says, mask off, and we see it’s Charlie. He says, she’s just a kid, and she asks what that makes him. He asks what she was stealing, and she says she got separated from her group, while they were looking for food and water. He picks up the jar with the butterfly in it, and says she’s lucky the jar didn’t break. John and Howard ride up with a few rangers, and Howard says, they got concerned when Ali wasn’t back when he said he was going to be. John says, howdy, to Charlie, and Howard asks if they know each other. John says, she did a spell with them when they were trying to stop Teddy, and Howard says, she’s one of Morgan’s. A ranger leads Charlie away, and John tells her, it will be okay; stay calm. Ali asks Howard, what’s going on? and Howard says, Charlie is coming with them. Ali needs to show Victor what he’s capable of, and he might get his shot.

Howard asks why Charlie was stealing, and she says she wants to talk to Victor. Howard says, Victor is out assuring the safety of the tower. He needs her to tell him the truth. It’s not a coincidence she ran into Ali, was it? She says, no, and Howard says, Morgan put her up to it, but she says, Morgan doesn’t know she’s here. He asks why she is here, and she says, she’s been looking for a way to sneak in here. John wonders why she didn’t just use the callbox, and Howard says, she knew Victor would say no. He knows everything about his previous allies, and she has a checkered past. Charlie says she wants to have a chance at a normal life, like June. On the sub, they can see what day it is, and she’s turning 13 this week. She was so young when everything changed. Every day has been one fight after another, and she doesn’t want to fight anymore. She just wants a normal life. She can have that here if they give her a chance. Whatever Victor wants her to do, she’ll do it. The house phone rings, and John answers. It’s June, who says, they have a problem. She’s in the infirmary.

Garcia lies on a table, looking pretty sick, and Howard asks, where’s Victor? Garcia says, Victor split off before they got there, and the others didn’t make it. Ali says, Garcia has radiation burns; they see them a lot out there. Garcia says, too many. He wanted to protect the tower. He’d do anything for this place.

Ali tells Charlie to keep moving. Howard wants her in the conference room as soon as possible. Charlie asks how Ali got in here, but he says he’s not sharing information with her. He wonders if she wanted to be here, why she didn’t run away before. She wonders why he’d want to go out there instead of staying in the tower, but he says she wouldn’t understand. They hear a scream, and go to find out what it is.

On the roof, Ali says, Garcia jumped? and John says, he did a triple axel right off the edge. Howard says, it’s what Victor would have wanted. Garcia said he would do anything to protect this place, and couldn’t when he was alive. June says, he probably didn’t want to suffer; he had radiation poisoning. Charlie says she thought this place was safe, and Howard says, they were scouting for elevator parts. Charlie says, what if she gets them? Will they let her live there? June says, it’s too dangerous, and John says, look what happened to the other scouts. Howard tells Charlie, okay, and June says, he can’t be serious. He says, she volunteered, and Charlie says she thinks she can do it. Will she get to live here? Howard says, it’s Victor’s call, but Victor listens to him, and if she does this, she’s in. She says she’ll do it, and he says she’ll leave tomorrow. Howard takes Ali aside, and tells him to go with her. Ali can fill him in on what Charlie is really looking for, and he’ll get the chance to prove himself. Ali says, by getting elevator parts? but Howard says, it’s not about that. It’s about finding out why Charlie is here. They need to consider the possibility she’s lying. Ali says, she could die, and Howard says, if she wants to live there as much as she says she does, she’ll be careful. Ali says, it feels wrong, and Howard says, it’s never easy, but it’s what separates the caterpillars from the butterflies. It’s what rangers do, and Ali said he wanted to be one.

Charlie sits behind Ali, as they ride into the woods on a horse. She wonders why Victor collects butterflies. She thinks it’s a sh*tty thing to do for no reason. He says, they only live for about a year, and she asks if he thinks that makes it okay. Doesn’t he think they should get a chance to live no matter how short? He says, it doesn’t matter what he thinks. As long as he can prove what he can do for Victor. He stops, and sees there are Stalkers ahead. He says, they’ll use the two of them against Victor. He knows a place to hole up.

Ali brings Charlie to a bowling alley, which he unlocks with a key from under the mat. She asks why being a ranger is important to him, and he looks around, telling her, it looks clear. She says she always wanted to play a game, and he says, she never bowled? The Stalkers come to the door, and Ali tells her, don’t move, and gets a gun from behind the desk. He waits near the door, out of the Stalkers’ sight, and a Stalker calls out, is anybody in here? Another says, there’s really nothing, and they leave. Ali tells Charlie, they’re gone. He guesses they were just passing through. Charlie asks how he knew the gun was here, and the key, and he says he used to live nearby. He would come to play a game once in a while. She asks if he’s any good, and says, it can’t be that hard. She bowls a gutter ball, and he says she has to put a spin on it. She says, show her, and he says he will when they get back. She says, what if she doesn’t make it back? What if he doesn’t make it back? He says, one ball, and shows her how to place her hand. He tells her to aim for the center pin, and follow through with a twist in her wrist. He puts his hand over hers to guide her, she gets a strike, and says, that was good, right? He says, they should get going, and looks at a bulletin board where there are pictures of bowlers, including one of him with an older man. Charlie asks, what is it? and he says, let’s get going. They go outside, and he replaces the key. She says she saw his name under one of the photos, and asks if the man was his teammate. He says, it was his dad, and she says, Mohammed and Ali? and laughs. He says, his dad loved boxing, and she asks if he was in the military. He says his dad was an Imam in the Israeli army, and she asks, what happened? He says, the bomb and all the bad sh*t that went with it. It was in his blood; he didn’t make it. She asks if Ali was with him to the end, and he says, yeah.

They arrive at what used to be a town, and Ali says, this is the building. Garcia said there were dead inside. Charlie says, they’re probably at ground level, so she’ll start higher. He asks, how? and she says, she’s done this before. He says he’s coming with her, but she says, it’s better if she goes alone. She asks, what’s wrong? and he asks why she’s really doing this. She says, to live in the tower, and she wants to help him be a ranger. He gives her a walkie and tells her, if anything happens, he’ll be on channel 4. Be fast. She doesn’t want be exposed to what Garcia was. She puts on a mask, climbs onto a dumpster, and gets on the fire escape. As she goes inside, a woman tells Ali, hands up.

Ali says, if the woman tries anything, Victor will kill her, and she asks why they’re sending people to the pit. He says he doesn’t know what she’s talking about. He’s not even a ranger. She says, what about his friend? but he says, she doesn’t know anything. She asks why Charlie went in, but he says nothing, so she says, they’ll go in and find out. Move. He tries punching her, but she knocks him down, and another Stalker holds a gun to his head. They go to the door, and he asks if he can please put his mask on; it’s not safe. She says, open the door, and he opens it, stepping aside as zombies scramble out. The Stalkers try to shoot them, but there are too many, and the zombies overtake them. Ali sees a gun on the ground, and grabs it while the zombies are feeding. He puts on his mask, and goes inside.

He calls Charlie, and shoots a couple of zombies who are wandering around. He runs out of bullets before he can kill the last one, and it gets him on the ground. He’s able to keep its mouth at a distance, but he’s getting tired. In the nick (no pun intended) of time, Charlie stabs the zombie in the head from behind. She asks if he’s okay, and he says she was going to ask her the same thing. Where’s her mask? She says she lost it in a fight. They walk to elevator, and there are a bunch of zombies lying all over the floor. He says, she killed all these? and she says, one grabbed her mask as she was closing the door, but she’s not going back to get it. Besides, these are reading clean. Zombies scrabble at the door and window, and she pries open the elevator doors. He tells her, be quick, and she says she saw what he did outside. He says, it was the only way, and she says she feels terrible, but he says, it’s fine; he handled it. She says she doesn’t mean that. She didn’t tell the truth about why she came to the tower. Morgan sent her. She’s supposed to turn off the beacon to clear the way for Morgan to get Grace and the baby out. He says she made them believe she was going to help. Victor is going to be mad when he finds out. Charlie says, he won’t; she’s not going through with it. She wants what she said she wanted, but she still wouldn’t have done it if it puts him in danger. He says, they don’t have much time, and she gets to work. Howard radios, asking what’s taking so long, and Ali says, they were just leaving. He steps away from Charlie, and Howard asks if Ali found out what he asked. Ali says he did, as zombies start to bust through a door that looks like it’s made of balsa wood, and Ali tells Charlie that he’s sorry. He pushes her into the elevator, and pulls the doors shut. She begs him not to do this. If he does, she’ll die, but he says she’ll be safe.

Ali tells Howard that he’s got the board, and he’s coming back, and Howard says, just him? From the elevator, Charlie says, Ali asked why she didn’t run sooner. She didn’t want do this alone. Ali tells Howard, just him, and Howard says he made the right decision for the good of the town. Charlie says, they can do it together, and Howard tells Ali, it’s what Victor would want. Charlie says, they can get away from everyone; away from Morgan and Victor. They don’t have to be stuck in the middle. Zombie hands and arms are starting to come through the small opening between the elevator doors, and there’s suddenly shooting, the zombies dropping to the floor. Ali pries open the doors, and shoots the remaining straggler zombies. He says, he told her that he was with his dad to the end, but that’s not true. When his dad got sick, he left him. Charlie asks, why? and he says he couldn’t handle it; he couldn’t see his dad like that. He was a coward. She asks why he’s telling her this, and he says, he thought becoming a ranger would make everything okay, but he’s just being a coward again. He’s not making the same mistake twice. She said she didn’t want to run away alone. She doesn’t have to. She says, what about Victor and Howard? and he says he’s not afraid of them. Is she? He holds out his hand, and she takes it. He says, all those things she never got to do, she can still do; some of them anyway. There are still a lot things he hasn’t done either. She says, like what? and he kisses her. She says, well, that was a first. He says, and? and she says, it’s so much better than bowling. He says he found some places when he was on patrols where they can hole up until they find something better. She suddenly faints, and he radios John, telling her to stay with him.

Back at the tower, John says, it’s a good thing Ali called. This is where Charlie needs to be. June and Grace come out, and Ali asks how Charlie is. June says, she’s stable, and he asks, what’s wrong? June says, she was exposed to radiation, but he says, no, that’s not possible. She says she should check him too, and he tells her, Charlie said she was careful. Grace says, sometimes that’s not enough. There are things they can’t see. He says, but June can treat her, right? How bad is it? June says, given the amount of exposure, Charlie should make the most of every day. She’s sorry.

Looking at some Polaroids in his office, Howard tells Ali, it’s been a  hell of a day. Ali says, the scouts who never came back sort of looked like the ones in the building, and Howard says, he’ll mention it to Victor. Ali asks where Victor is, and Howard says, he’s waiting until tomorrow to journey back given the state of the state. He asks why Charlie is here. What did Morgan send her to do? Ali says, Morgan didn’t send her. She was telling the truth. Howard says, she’ll be escorted out in the morning, but Ali says, she’s sick because of what Howard made her do. Howard says, she’s sick because it’s what the world has to offer. He’ll do everything to protect what they’ve built. They can’t let personal feelings cloud their judgement. Why did Ali bring her back after what they discussed? Can he trust Ali? Ali says, yes, and Howard says, nice work, all things considered. He has to wait for Victor to officially sign off on it, but tomorrow will be Ali’s first official day as a ranger. Congratulations.

Ali goes to Charlie’s room, and asks how she’s feeling, but she says she doesn’t really know. He sits on the bed and holds her, and she says she’s scared; really scared. He asks her to come with him, but she says she’s supposed to rest. He says he knows, but there’s something he wants her to see.

They go to Victor’s butterflyarium, and he tells her to keep her eyes closed, leading her in and closing the door. He says, open them. Happy birthday. The butterflies are all flying around, and she says, they’re beautiful, but when Victor finds out… He says he doesn’t care. She’s right. Something this beautiful deserves to live, no matter how short it’s life is. He wasn’t there for someone who needed him before; this time he will. Music plays, and they lie on the floor and watch the butterflies. They dance, and he says he’ll be right there next to her every second of the way, then kisses her. He asks, what’s wrong? and she says, Morgan. She was supposed to turn off the light. She needs to tell him what’s going on. He says he’ll do it. He’ll take care of everything. He kisses her again, and leaves.

Ali goes to the roof, and is about to flip the switch, when Howard comes out. He says, so this is why Morgan sent her, and a guy comes out with a gun. Ali runs, but there’s nowhere to go, and Howard says, disarm the light, then what? Ali says he doesn’t know. They want this place to change, and that can’t happen with Victor. Howard says, it’s the only way, and Ali rushes him, but the other guy aims his gun at Ali. Howard tells him, no, and he and Ali trade punches, Ali coming out the loser. Ali is backed toward the edge of the roof, and says, please don’t do it, but Howard says, sorry. It’s what Victor would do. Charlie is still enjoying the butterflies, when she hears a scream and sees Ali fall past the window. She screams, no! and runs to June. June asks, what’s wrong? and she says, Ali. He… June says, what is it? when the elevator door opens, and Howard comes out. Charlie says, Howard killed him, and Howard suggests she back off unless she wants to join him. June says, he’s a monster, but Howard says, Ali attacked him, and left him no choice. He’s trying to protect those who would undermine them, and suggests June do the same. John walks in, and says, he’s right, and June asks who’s side John is on. John says, he lost everything to that hospitable world out there, including his son, and she says, his son would be ashamed, and John says, John Jr. saw the need to protect them, and look what happened. Howard says, Ali paid the price; now it’s Charlie’s turn. June says, if Howard lays a hand on Charlie, she’ll kill him herself, and he says, if anything happens to him, she’ll have to face Victor, but she says, no. Victor knows what she knows, that he needs her more than he needs Howard. If anyone gets sick or injured, he’ll have no one to help them, and this place will fall. Charlie stays with her, under her care. That’s the deal. Howard says, fine, but he suggests she tread carefully, and leaves.

June asks John, what the hell was that about? and he tells her that he had to say it. She asks if he believes it, and he says, he needed Howard to believe it. There’s only one way he can change things, and that’s to get in Victor’s ear. Anyone will listen to reason if the right person gets in their ear. June says she thought she had Virginia’s ear, and John says, it’s the only way it works, and it has to work. He leaves, and June says, this is her fault. She never should have let Charlie go. Charlie asks why she did, and June says, ever since she got here, she’s been hiding. Charlie asks, why? and she says, she’s been scared. Until today, it hasn’t hurt anyone but her. She doesn’t expect Charlie to forgive her – she doesn’t deserve it – but she promises Charlie that no matter how much time she has left, she’ll live to see Victor go down. A butterfly lands on the windowsill, and June says she’ll make sure that happens. Charlie thanks her, looks at the butterfly, and smiles.

Next time, the Stalkers neb Luci, who ends up in a cage surrounded by zombies.

🦋 About That Butterfly…

Interesting list. I’ve had almost all of these things happen to me.

https://www.joincake.com/blog/signs-from-deceased-loved-ones/

😷 Sweating It Out…

This season, they’re giving Alicia fever.

https://ew.com/tv/alycia-debnam-carey-fear-the-walking-dead-sweaty/

And bagpipes.

https://ew.com/tv/fear-the-walking-dead-alycia-debnam-carey-follow-me-bagpipes/

👯‍♀️ Seeing Double…

Alicia’s version of Groundhog Day.

https://screenrant.com/fear-walking-dead-alicia-episode-repeat-damage/

🤫 A Secret Well Kept…

Good thing they didn’t tell any of the Housewives.

🤿 Spinning Underwater…

Now that I think of it, Dead in the Water isn’t a very promising title for a series.

https://www.cbr.com/walking-dead-zombie-origin-problem-dead-in-the-water/

⚰️ All Of Them…

Everything that’s spinning off Deadwise.

🌜 If I Can Dream…

Come join me tomorrow for the usual soap and what’s on Deck. Until then, stay safe, stay assertive without being aggressive, and stay making the most of every day.

April 17, 2022 – Alicia’s Dream Leads To Padre, Hearts Flutter Again, Sweating It Out, More On Madison, Saul’s Back, Dead Gallery & Amazing

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What I Watched Today

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

Fear the Walking Dead

A tumbleweed blows by. Alicia marches down a road leading a small group of people. She hears, Padre, and sees a zombie up ahead. She asks what they said, and tells them, I’m talking to you. There’s a high pitched sound that makes everyone cover their ears. Alicia runs after the figure, and hears, Padre, again. The figure turns around, and it’s the zombie who bit her. He attacks her, and gets her on the ground. She hears, follow me… She opens her eyes, and Beethoven’s Ode to Joy is blasting so loud, the chandelier is rocking. She realizes she has earplugs in, and takes them out. She grabs her steampunk arm, and heads downstairs. She asks if someone is there, and sees the door banging open and shut. She closes and locks it. She sees bloody footprints, and follows them. A man sitting at a piano, and she yells at him to turn the music off. She tries reaching for the volume control, but it’s on a shelf that’s too high for her. The zombie making the footprints comes up behind the man, and Alicia yells to him, then knocks the stereo off the shelf. He fights the zombie, and stabs it in the eyeball. He asks Alicia, what did you do? and she passes out. He picks up the broken stereo, and says, what did you do?

Alicia wakes up, and sees the man back at the piano. She asks how she got here, but he doesn’t turn around. She gets up, and says she’s talking to him. She taps his shoulder with her not-really-an-arm, and he whips around. He says, easy, and she asks if he can hear her. He says, no. He hasn’t heard a thing in months. She asks, what’s going on? How did she get here? He tells her, speak slower so he can read her lips, and she asks, how long has she been out? He says, two days, and she asks how she got here. He says he brought her here. He was coming back from a food run, and found her passed out in a barn two miles north. He checked her, and saw what was left of her arm. That’s quite a statement. She says she got bit, and wasn’t going to let him take it. He says he figured that was why, and that she would have turned by now. It didn’t look infected, but she was still burning up. Why is she idling so hot; is she sick? She says, that’s not it, and she wasn’t in a barn. She remembers she was on her way back to the people she was staying with. She must have passed out, but she wasn’t in a barn. A girl saved her. He says, maybe the girl got her to the barn, and asks what she’s running from. She says she appreciates his help, but she has to go. People are counting on her. He says, her dad? She said, padre. She says she must have been confused, and starts to go, but he says, hold on. She broke his stereo. She can at least help him fix it. She says she has to go, but bumps into the doorframe, and he says, she’s in no shape to go anywhere. He introduces himself as Paul, and says, she never answered his question about her fever. He hands her a bottle of medication, and she says, it’s a long story. He says, she can do better than that. She’s still breathing because of him. She says she returned the favor. He was drawing the zombies with the loud music. He says, there’s a lock on the door, and the entire house is soundproofed. She says she thought he couldn’t hear, and he says, when Beethoven was going deaf, he destroyed every piano by pounding on it. Just because you can’t hear the music, doesn’t mean you can’t feel it. She points at some bagpipes, and asks, what about those? but he says he doesn’t play them. She hears a horse outside, and asks him to hide her. He can’t know she’s here. Paul asks, who is he? There’s a knock at the door, and Paul opens it to Arno, who’s wearing his mask. Paul asks if there’s something he can help with, and Arno says, he’s looking for somebody. Paul says he can’t hear sh*t. Arno will have to show his face, but there’s been nothing dangerous in the wind for weeks. Arno takes off his mask, and says he’s looking for someone; a woman. Paul says he’s out of luck. There’s no one here but him. Zombies are reaching through a tarp over a cage in the back of a wagon, and Paul asks, what’s that? but Arno ignores him, walking past him and inside, along with his men. Paul tells Arno that he didn’t say he could come in, and Arno picks up the bottle of medication, asking if Paul is sick. Paul tells them to get out of his house, and Arno says, the girl he’s looking for gets fevers. She’s been bitten, and lost part of her arm, but she didn’t turn. She’s still walking around. Paul says he ain’t seen her, and Arno says, she’s not considerate. She has a habit of getting people hurt. Paul asks what Arno wants with her, and Arno says, that’s between them. He plays a scale on the piano, but hits a dead key. He asks Paul what the problem is, and we see the problem is Alicia hiding inside the piano, but Paul says they’re broken. Arno hits them a few times and says, all right then. If Paul sees her, give him a call. He gives Paul a walkie, and looks at a photo on his way out. He says, a deaf musician; ain’t that a bitch. He tells Paul that he appreciates his time, and leaves. Paul watches as the Stalkers drive their wagons off.

Paul makes something on the stove, and asks Alicia what Arno wants with her. Is it true what he said? Is she getting folks hurt? She says, they lived in the same place. Things went bad, and he blamed her. He asks if Arno is right to blame her, and she says, they had to abandon the place, since the blast had compromised the structure. He asks, where is that? and serves her a bowl of whatever he’s making. He says she seems nice enough to him. Then again, he may just be grateful for the company. She takes a bite, and he sees her face, and says, she’s never had haggis. The Scottish always kept cans in the pantry. He had the same reaction when he first tried it, but he grew to like it. When he was scavenging, he was surprised at how easy it was to find. Grocery stores were picked clean save for that stuff. Alicia says, Rowan. Is she…? He says, his wife, and she asks, what happened? He says, the bombs did. He lost her and what was left of his hearing the same day. Alicia says she’s sorry, and he says, so is he. He’s leaving at dawn to find a stereo. She says she really does have to go, but he says, she can’t leave. She says she’s not the person he thinks she is, but he says she has to be. Why is she in such a hurry? She tells him, what Arno said is true. People got hurt, and she doesn’t want that to happen to him. Paul asks, what happened? Why is that guy after her? She says, it doesn’t matter, and he asks, what does? She says, lives are at stake, and he says, so is his. If she leaves him without finding a stereo, he’s as good as dead. Help him get what he wants, and he’ll make sure she gets back in one piece. She says she doesn’t know where to find a stereo, but he says he does.

They go to a concert hall, and Paul asks how Alicia wound up bit. She says, the same way most people do; trying to get out of a bad situation. He asks if it has something to do with Padre. She was talking about it in her dreams. It must have meant something. She says, it’s a place she thought she could take everyone where they would be safe, and he says, and people died along the way. That’s why Arno is after her? What’s the new plan? She says, there’s a new place, or there will be. The person running it is trying hard to keep people out. She tried to get Arno and his people to fight with them. He says, it looks like she didn’t convince them, and she tells him, he said she shouldn’t lead anyone. He’s probably right. Paul says, so it didn’t work out. Big deal. She tried. She says, people died, but he says, she didn’t put a gun to their head and force them to follow her. They followed her for a reason. She says, she thought it was the way to go, and he says, and she did. Why beat herself up about it? Beethoven’s Ninth Concerto was the last concert they had here. When it premiered, Beethoven said he couldn’t conduct it himself because he was deaf. When it ended, the house went nuts and gave him a standing ovation. The story goes, because he was unaware of it, a young contralto spun Beethoven around, so he could see how they loved what they’d heard. Alicia asks what instrument Paul played, and he says, piano. Rowan played the violin. He got her the bagpipes for her 40th birthday, and learned to play them himself, part of his Scottish education. It was her dream to play Ode to Joy on the bagpipes, but she never played it. His hearing had started going, and she thought he would hear it because the bagpipes are so loud. Alicia asks, why didn’t she play it? and Paul says, he told her that’s not how it’s meant to be played, but really, he was so damn mad at the world going quiet, he took it out on her. Alicia says, he doesn’t have to go back and live alone, but he says, what else is he going to do? She says, come with her and her friends. The more people they have, the sooner they can take that place. She hears a horse, and he says, what’s wrong? She tells him, wait here, and goes outside. Why she reveals herself in this way is beyond me, but she sees Arno’s mini convoy, and a gun is cocked near her head. Arno says he knew he would find her here, and she says, she’s not alone. He says he figured that too, and yells, come out. That’s right, he can’t hear them. He looks at Alicia and shakes his head, saying, she never learns. Did she promise him somewhere safe to go? She says she thought Padre would work, and he says, tell them. One of his men removes the tarp from the cage, and reveals the zombie. She tells Arno that he’s insane, but he says, she’s the one who asked them to find Vazquez so he could lead them. How’d that go? She says, he should put them to rest, and he says he was going to, but he thought it would be more fun to let them punish her for what she did. His men drag her to the wagon.

Arno clanks Alicia’s arm part against the cage bars, and says, they’re dead because she said she knew the way. It seems only fair that she join them. She’s already halfway there. He unlocks the cage, when Paul shoots him in the hand. It’s too late though, and the zombies are released. Paul shoots, and Alicia grabs her arm part. Arno is like, waah, my hand! and Paul runs out of bullets. As he struggles to put more in the gun, he drops the stereo and it breaks. Alicia gets in a vehicle, and calls to him. He hesitates getting in, and says, he can fix it. She grabs him, and pulls him in, but he says he has to get it back. She says, it’s just a stereo, and he says, it’s the only thing that can drown it out; her voice. She was on her way back when it happened. She was so scared, and he tried to calm her. He told her it would be okay, and to stay on the radio with him. Then the warhead came crashing down with a horrible high-pitched sound while she screamed. Then everything went quiet. The last thing he ever heard was her scream; his Rowan. He couldn’t go on hearing it. Alicia couldn’t possibly understand. Alicia says she can, and he says, how? She says she has a voice she can’t get rid of either; the one from her dream. He says, what dream? and she says the one she’s had for months, that she keeps having. She thought Padre was a place she could take everyone. The first time she had the dream was after she got bit. She didn’t know if she’d cut off her arm in time. She was out for days, and when her fever was spiking, she had the dream; the most vivid dream she’d ever had. Paul says, about what? and she says, a walker; she was following it. We see her running, and she says, not just her, all of them too. She finally caught up, and the walker turned around. It was the same walker that bit her. He talked to her, and said, Padre, but it wasn’t his voice. He told her to follow him to Padre, so she did, or it’s what she’s been trying to do. She made all these people believe in her. She told them that she knew what she was doing and where she was going, and she didn’t. It was just a dream. He says, they must have had a reason, and she says, they died because of her. Now that voice is all she can hear every time she closes her eyes; every time she manages to fall asleep. He asks if she’s serious about what she said to him; him coming with her and helping with the place she’s trying take over. He’d like to take her up on it. She asks, why? and he says, something tells him there’s a reason he came across her. Maybe they can help each other drown out what they don’t want to hear. Alicia says she couldn’t get him a stereo, and he says, he’s got one right here, but she tells him, stay away. She can’t let him get hurt. Arno won’t stop until she’s dead. He’ll go to Paul’s house and hurt him. Paul says, that’s why he needs to be ready for Arno. Does she trust him? She nods, and he takes out the walkie. He says, if Arno is listening, if Arno can hear him, he’s sorry about the mishap earlier. Alicia turned on him too. The problem Arno has, Paul is ready to help solve. Come to his house after dark.

Paul sets up the stereo (which I guess he fixed?) and Alicia says, he doesn’t have to. He says, the sooner he helps her take out Arno, the sooner she can get back and stop punishing herself for what’s not her fault. She says, even with Arno gone, the voice won’t go. He says, maybe not, but maybe it’s not meant to be silenced. She tells him, but he said… and he says, he told her, it would drown out what they didn’t want to hear, but maybe she should listen. His old man was a helluva pianist; he was known as Texas Gershwin. His brother followed in their father’s footsteps, and Paul started taking lessons. He wanted to be like his father and brother, but when he did, the teacher would smack his hands with a yardstick. She asks, why? and he says, nobody makes great music imitating others. It has to come from you. Maybe that’s why it didn’t work before. Alicia thought somebody else was telling her what to do. Maybe the voice is her; so listen to it. If she doesn’t, she might regret it. He looks at the bagpipes, and says he owes it to himself and anyone who wants his help. Arno yells that he knows they’re in there, and Alicia tells Paul, they’re here. He gives her earplugs to put in, and says, it’s going to get loud. Arno and his man knock on the windows, and Arno whistles. He says he know Alicia is in there. Where is she? Come out. Paul hooks up the stereo. Arno tries the door, finds it locked, and sighs. He says, come out before she gets someone else hurt. Suddenly, Ode to Joy starts blasting, and Paul shoots at them. No surprise, zombies pop out of everywhere. Arno yells for his men to fall back, but it’s too late. Paul shoots the zombies wandering into the house until he runs out of bullets. Alicia starts smashing zombie heads with her pseudo arm, and Paul whacks them with whatever he can find. Alicia says, Arno is coming in through the back, and sure enough, they sneak in. Paul whacks one in the head with a guitar, but Alicia says, there are too many. I’m not quite sure if she’s referring to the zombies or Arno’s guys, or both. Arno kills off some zombies, and Paul grabs the bagpipes. The electricity goes out, and Arno points his gun at Paul. A zombie grabs Arno, but he gets off a shot anyway, hitting Paul. Alicia grabs Paul, and hustles him into another room. She looks at his wound, and tells him, it’s going to be okay. Where they’re going, they have medical supplies. He says, it’s too late, but she says, it’s not; they’ll get out. He says, she will, and she says she’s not leaving without him. He laughs, and says she doesn’t have a choice. Alicia says he’s in this position because of her. She said she’d take him somewhere safe… He says he would have followed her anyway, and so will they. Her friends… her people. What her dream is telling her is that they’re the ones she’d meant to lead. She tries to get him to come, but he says she just needs to believe in what she’s capable of. She says she doubted someone she cared about, and won’t make that mistake again. Zombies start to scrabble at the door, and they hear gunshots. He tells her to go, but she says she won’t make it past Arno. He says, she will if they can’t hear her. Arno knocks at the door, and says, she can’t stay in there forever. Paul starts to play Ode to Joy on the bagpipes, and Alicia cuts out the back. Paul sees her running past through the window, and Arno comes in. He points his gun at Paul, who doesn’t even turn around, although there are tears in his eyes. Alicia runs down the road through the woods as we hear the gunshot. She runs until she sees a hooded, masked little girl. She stops, and says, you again? Are you okay? The girl says she will be, and Alicia lies down in the road. The girl says, if you can help me, maybe I can help you. Alicia closes her eyes.

Alicia walks in a windy, ochre landscape. She sees a figure in the distance, and says, hey. A man’s voice says, Padre, but as she gets closer, she sees it’s a woman. A woman’s voice says, Padre. Follow me. She stops, and the figure turns. It’s her, and she tells herself, Padre. Follow me. Behind her are a group of people, including the little masked girl. Alicia says, Morgan… Morgan says, Alicia. Wake up. She opens her eyes.  

Morgan says, it’s okay. She’s all right. She asks how long she was out, and he says she showed up last night, but collapsed before they could get her inside. He puts a cool cloth on her forehead, and says, they’ve got to keep her fever down. She says, where is she? and he asks, who? She says, that girl; the one who brought her here. He says, she was alone… What is it? Is she all right? How did it go with Arno? Did she convince him to join them? She says she’s sorry. She knows they don’t have enough people to take on Victor. He says, they’ll find another way, and she says she thinks she has one.

Morgan asks why she thought a walker could lead them to Padre. She’s not too much on a straight answer to a straight question. She says she had a dream when she was in the bunker after she’d cut her arm off. The fever was at its worst, and she heard a voice. She thought it was saying a walker would lead them, and she thought it was coming from Padre. He asks who it was coming from, and she says, herself. Her mom, Nick, and Morgan all had a dream, but she never stopped to listen to her own voice. She is now. He asks where she’s going, and she says, the bunker has a transmitter. She doesn’t think Padre even exists, but a lot of people are looking for it, or a place like it. He says, she can’t lead them to a place that doesn’t exist, but she says she can lead people to them. They can become Padre, and give them what they want; a safe place to live. And that’s how they’ll take the tower. Morgan asks if she wants him to come, but she says she needs him to stay. When she comes back, they’ll make their move. He says, then he’ll be ready when she gets back, but she should rest. She says she can’t. Just be ready. She leaves.

Stalker Sage drives the wagon, the cage now empty except for a whining Arno. Sage stops the wagon, and Arno wails that he’s going to die if his hand isn’t treated. Sage says, they don’t have time, and tells Arno to look. Arno gets out, and they stand by the edge of a canyon filled with zombies. Sage says, the herd must have fell in. They’ve been stewing down there for months. Arno asks, how many? and Sage says, too many. If one of them gets out, they won’t be going anywhere. Arno says, we need to take the tower for ourselves.  

Next time, Morgan needs to protect the sub, Charlie gets herself trapped, June says Howard is a monster, and it looks like Charlie will be having a love interest (see below).

💗 Dead Love For Teens…

He was on the preview, and I knew I recognized him from somewhere.

GH Alum Ashton Arbab Joins the Cast of FEAR THE WALKING DEAD!

🔥 Is It Hot In Here Or…

They really did make her look like hell.

https://ew.com/tv/alycia-debnam-carey-fear-the-walking-dead-sweaty/

👢 Ripple Effect…

Madison’s return will trickle down. Or out. Or something.

https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/fear-the-walking-dead-kim-dickens-madison-return-teased

🚑 Not Just Chasing Ambulances Anymore…

Back for a new and final season, this was a better show than I’d expected it to be. Sadly, I can’t watch them all, and I lost track of it, but you might want to catch up.

https://www.avclub.com/better-call-saul-season-6-what-to-remember-season-5-su-1848785149

⚰️ Just For Fun…

A gallery of memorable TWD characters.

https://tvline.com/gallery/the-walking-dead-most-memorable-characters-photos/

🐣 May Your Basket Always Be Full Of Treats…

Stop by tomorrow for some soap and Sailing. Until then, stay safe, stay keeping your eyes open for opportunities, and stay not imitating others. Nobody makes great music that way. It has to come from you.

March 6, 2022 – Eugene Finds Out Some Hard Truths, Occam’s Razor, Autopsy, Holes, Gracing Pages, At War, Memories, Dead Game, SAG Snaps & Fire

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

The Walking Dead

Eugene wakes up, and Stephanie is next to him, reading his manuscript. He asks, what in the name of little Billy goats is she doing? She says she’s almost finished, and he says, on the other hand he’s nowhere near finished. Several early scenes without context will be made clear in subsequent chapters. She says she loves it; she’s proud of him. He says he went to get some knives sharpened and was thinking of her, and she asks if she should be alarmed. He says, his thoughts were not homicidal; the cutter was also a key maker. He wants to see more of her, and knows her job is taking up time, so he wants to make it easier. He gives her the key to his apartment, and says he loves her. She says she loves him too, and they kiss. Eugene walks out, manuscript in hand, and she waves from the fire escape.

Eugene tells Princess that he and Stephanie are meeting for ice cream, and he’s uncertain what his follow-up move should be. What transpired was a positive outcome, but he can’t conceive what comes next. Princess asks if he said he loved her, and he says, affirmative, and she told him that she loved him too. Princess tells him, then relax. When a woman tells you she loves you, believe her.

Eugene sits at a table outside, holding two ice cream cones, and smiles. He’s still sitting there, alone, when darkness falls, the ice cream has melted, and he’s no longer smiling.

Eugene goes to Stephanie’s apartment building, and sees a light on inside. He rings the bell, but there’s no answer, and when a man comes out, he uses the opportunity to get inside the building. He knocks on her door, and asks if she’s there. He keeps knocking and calling to her, but inside the apartment, she’s quickly tossing clothes into a suitcase.  

In the newspaper office, Connie looks at what’s being printed, and signs to Kelly while Kelly interprets to Jan. Connie signs, it doesn’t look good. Tyler Davis has a story to tell, and wouldn’t risk being locked up. Jan says, he didn’t. There’s a statement from his doctor backing up that he had a PTSD episode. Connie signs that she doesn’t trust the military. Something happened to Tyler; something he blames Pamela Milton for, and was worth confronting her in public over. They clearly have a reputation for suppressing the truth. Jan says, that’s one interpretation. The other is that Tyler had a mental crisis, and it’s the only interpretation backed by the facts. Connie signs, and Kelly says, she should be… Kelly stops, and Connie looks at her, continuing to sign. Kelly says, Connie thinks she should be finding out what really happened, instead of paraphrasing the government’s press release, but Jan says, no. She wants Connie to paraphrase it so next time, she doesn’t have to.

Eugene confronts the guy who’s filling in for Stephanie at her job. Eugene says, no one has seen or talked to Stephanie. How could she have called in sick? The guy says, all he knows is, he was told to be there because she didn’t show up.

Kelly asks if Connie is sure; Tyler took a hostage. Connie signs that he was afraid for his life, and Kelly says she’s been afraid for her life too, but never took an innocent hostage. Connie wants to know what Milton did to cause this, because they’re keeping it a secret. The guard tells them, it’s a private room, and translating Connie’s signing, Kelly asks if Tyler has a lawyer, and what the charges are against him. Mercer opens the door from inside, looks at them, and closes it again.

Rosita and Green make a wellness check at Stephanie’s apartment. They come out, and Rosita tells Eugene, she’s not there. He thinks he should make a statement immediately, so he can recount the details while they’re fresh in his mind. Rosita says she’ll come to the station and help him fill out the paperwork. He looks up at Stephanie’s window, and remembers her waving to him.

Carol rides on a road through the woods in a wagon driven by Lance, while troopers stab any zombies that get in their way. Lance says, it might sound crazy, but he feels better out here than in the city. She says, it doesn’t sound crazy; a lot of her people feel that way. He says, she still sees it as her people and his people. He wants her see how the place works, and wants her to be part of it. He’s done fairly well, but didn’t start out at the top. The governor runs the city, but he knows how it runs. She asks if he started at the bottom, and he says he proved himself to the Milton family a long time ago. If you know the right people, the sky’s the limit. Lean climbing up in any organization, there are two types of people. Mercenaries, who are doing it for the money, or whatever psychological itch they have to scratch, and patrons, true believers, the ones who want to do good. In their hearts, they believe in the organization. She asks if he wants to make a true believer out of her, and he says he read her file. She’s there because she’s smart, and he needs her help dealing with this a-hole, but what she gets out of it is up to her.

They come to a clearing where a lot of people are milling around a camp, and Carol asks if they’re smugglers or drug dealers, and Lance says, smugglers, but it’s not what she thinks. This place isn’t part of the Commonwealth, but they need each other. The Commonwealth uses the poppies to make opium for the hospital. Things would be bleak if they ran out, so he makes sure that doesn’t happen. Sometimes it means dealing with guys like Moto. Lance approaches a guy, who says he told Lance this would happen. Lance says, Moto is supposed to be managing it, and Moto says, he told them to process the last batch, but they’re holding this harvest hostage. They’ll let it rot without a raise. Lance says, he’ll see what he can do.

Kelly and Connie go up to a soldier among the team in the woods, and Kelly says, they’re with the Tribune. He tells them where to go, and Connie signs, this is bullsh*t. Jan knows how she feels about militarizing the police. Kelly suggests if Connie doesn’t want to be on Jan’s bad side, do it just one time. They see Mercer getting in his truck, and he and Connie lock eyes for a moment.

Princess knocks on Eugene’s door, and says she hasn’t seen him in a few days. How’s he holding up? He says he’s functioning within the relative parameters, and she says she can see that, calling him an a-hole. Let her in; she brought lasagna. She comes inside, and sees a chart like detectives make, with threads going to different pictures and articles. He says the dish is empty, and she says, sorry. She didn’t make lasagna, but people always let you in if you’re carrying food. She asks, what’s up? and he says, since they gave up the search, he decided to investigate Stephanie’s disappearance himself. Truth be told, as the hours ticked by with nary a breadcrumb found, he let despair get the best of him, until a chance encounter put him on her trail. Eugene remembers drinking in a bar, and seeing the guy who came out of Stephanie’s building go past. He goes outside, and approaches the guy, saying, he needs to talk to him. He saw the guy coming out of 1634 Racine, an apartment in Residential 1, three days ago, at 7 in the pm. The guy says he doesn’t remember being there, and Eugene says, someone dear to him has gone missing from there, and he might have seen something. The guy asks, where? and Eugene says, Residential 1, three days ago, at approximately 7 in the pm. The guy says he remembers now. He’s a plumber, and was called in to fix a clogged sink. Eugene points to a missing poster with a drawing of Stephanie, and asks if he remembers seeing her, or anything suspicious in or around the premises. The guy says, no. Are they done? Eugene says he sincerely apologizes for troubling him, and wishes they could talk another time, but the guy is already walking away. Eugene tells Princess, needless to say, he greeted the story with skepticism. When he came out of the building, the guy was wearing no uniform and had no tools, and there were no service trucks around. The one person who was there had a flimsy alibi. So Eugene started following him. Princess asks what he found out, and he says, the guy’s name is Roman Calhoun, and he is definitely not a plumber.

Eugene tells Princess, they mostly conduct business at night; the base of the operations in the warehouse district. It’s a plumbing business that on the surface seems legitimate, but the lights are on at odd hours when they’re closed. People go in and out all the time, but it’s the same four people. They arrive alone, and depart shortly afterward. On only one occasion did they all come together, and met with a fifth, who he thinks is the head honcho, the mastermind; maybe someone from a rogue element of the government that Stephanie ran afoul of. Princess asks if Eugene thinks Stephanie was kidnapped by the government, and he points to a drawing of a man who he calls, co-conspirator #2, aka Beany Hat Man. He belongs to the group of movers that took Stephanie’s belongings to an unknown location. The same day, he found a file at the station in Stephanie’s transcript saying she’d resigned, but the man who was filling in for her said she gave no notice. Such orders can’t falsified or fabricated without powerful influence. Stephanie knew they were coming for her, and eluded them. They took her belongings, anything that could be evidence, and silencing her is the last step. If he’s right, his only hope is to expose them before they find her.

Lance fishes with Moto, and says Moto’s hobby is also an apocalyptic skill. He can’t give them a raise, but he can meet them halfway with incentives. They more they produce, the more they make. Carol watches a woman watching them.

Two troopers are chased by zombies in the woods. They get to their car, but one is grabbed before he can get. He fends off the zombie, and stabs it in the neck, but another takes its place and gets him down. The zombie’s head suddenly splits open to reveal Mercer, who calmly walks away. Mercer asks if Connie saw what she needed to see, and she signs, more than enough. He says, then this is the part where she asks the questions they sent her, and she signs, it’s been a month since Tyler has been in the hospital under armed guard. What is he charged with? Mercer says, that’s not one of the questions, and she asks if it has anything to do with the woman Tyler took hostage being Mercer’s sister. He says he was wondering when she’d figure that out. For the record, the answer is, his sister doesn’t have a goddam thing to do with it. Connie signs, Tyler was loyal, and had been recommended for early promotion by Mercer. The military is being manipulated by the politicians. If she was him, she’d be interested in who she was risking her life for. He says, if he was her, he’d wonder why he was out there digging for answers that they both know will never see the light of day. He leaves, and Kelly signs, a-hole.

Eugene and Princess sit within watching distance of Roman’s apartment building. She tells him, it’s really cool how he’s doing so much for Stephanie, but he says, strike that; reverse that. He’s repaying what he owes. He made promise himself in the early days, when they thought this would blow over quickly. If he lived through this, he’d pursue his dream of being a science fiction author. He jokingly related that story to Stephanie over the radio, and she told him that he can’t wait until after he’s lived through it. Ready or not, right now is all they’ve got. It gave him the courage to do what he’s always wanted to do. When someone does that for you, words like love seem insufficient.

They see Roman leave to go jogging, and Eugene runs to the back of the building. Princess says, Eugene might want to break in, but she doesn’t want to get into trouble. She’s got a little job, and a little flat, and she might get a little cat. Eugene says, Roman will be gone for 90 minutes, and begs her, please. She relents, and he gives her a boost up.

Lance tells Moto that he’s sorry they can’t stay for the fish fry, and Moto says, next time. On the side, Lance asks what Carol thinks, and she says, Moto is robbing them. She talked to one of their lieutenants, and he’s pocketing the money from their raises, and beating them to keep quiet. He went too far, and that’s why they’re on strike. Lance says, they’ll get their money back and their raise; he promises. She says, what about Moto? and Lance says he’s not going fishing with Moto anymore, that’s for sure. He tells a couple of the troopers, take him into custody. They grab Moto, who says, what the hell? and calls Lance a mother pussbucket as they take him away. There are imperceptible nods between Carol and the watching woman.

Eugene looks around Roman’s apartment, and finds a set of keys. It starts to thunder, then rain, and Princess asks what this guy does when it rains on his 10 mile run? Eugene says, because of the lack of precipitation, he has not gathered that data, and she says, he has it now. He’s here. They have to get out. He tells her, count his range, but she says she’s not good at that, and he says, just tell him how much time he has. He fiddles with the keys, trying to open a large case, and she says she is telling him; he has no time. He opens the case, and they see a bunch of weapons. Roman goes into another apartment, and they sneak out. A woman says, she saw them on a ladder outside. That’s them.  

At the hospital, Mercer finds Tyler’s room empty, and asks a nurse where the patient in M-33 is, and soldiers with him. She says, no one is in M-33, and he says he realizes that. What happened to the man who was in there? He can’t be moved without Mercer’s authorization. The nurse says, apparently he can, and Mercer punches a hole in the wall.

Eugene tells Princes that he’s sorry he manipulated her into accompanying him on his lamebrained mission. He told them she was an unwitting participant. Lance comes in, and says, he just got back to town. What the hell, you two?  

Lance looks through some papers, and tells Eugene that Roman Calhoun is who he says he is, a plumber for Ruby’s. They’re lazy with the paperwork, but have a contract. According to the invoice, he was sent to fix a sink in the building where Eugene saw him. Princess asks, what about the kidnap kit? Those weapons are illegal. Lance says, for them. Roman is a citizen, and a lot of people have go bags. He told Eugene’s story about Stephanie to Calhoun, and explained the mental anguish Eugene was going through, and Calhoun agreed not to press charges, but Eugene has to leave him alone. He also has to sign a statement saying he was emotionally distraught and in a paranoid state following the disappearance of his girlfriend. He’s sorry it didn’t lead where Eugene thought it would. Eugene was wrong, and needs to accept it. If he doesn’t, Lance can’t help. Eugene signs.

Back at his apartment, Eugene tells Princess that he should have known the conspiracy goes deeper than he initially thought, but she says, none of this is happening, Stephanie broke up with him. He says, that’s absurd, and she says, she’d been thinking, what if he right was right, but the guy was a plumber. There was paperwork for Stephanie’s work transfer order, and the moving guys literally came and took her furniture. Maybe it’s not that complicated. He says, her first bit of advice to him was, when a woman says, I love you, believe her, and Princess says, when a woman quits job and moves away without telling maybe he should believe that too. He sits heavily, and she says, the day her dad had enough, he just split. She thought it was because she’d smoked his cigarettes. She never saw him again, so who knows? Maybe that was it. You can think you know someone, then find out you never even met them. It sucks, but it happens all the time. He says he appreciates how she reached that conclusion, but he’s privy to one piece of data she is not; he knows how it felt. She says, okay; it was just a theory. She pats his shoulder and leaves. He looks at the board, gets up, and takes a rendering of the plumbing building down.

In Connie’s room, Kelly says, Connie did her job, and that’s a good thing. They’re not going be here forever. Every day doesn’t have to be a fight. That’s what moving here temporarily is about. Connie signs, maybe, and her doorbell light blinks. She goes to the door, and no one is there, but she finds a note. She signs to Kelly that it’s a list of names. Look at the last one. Tyler Davis.

Eugene sneaks into the plumbing building and watches a woman go upstairs. He goes to the stairs, and hears a door open and close. He takes out a spray bottle. A man says, hey, and grabs Eugene, but Eugene throws him off and sprays his eyes. A woman flies out, and kicks Eugene in the stomach. She says she told the guy that she heard something. We see it’s Stephanie, and  Lance comes downstairs. He says, he’ll handle it, and the others leave. Eugene says, you played me. Lance corroborated Calhoun’s bogus alibi, and Eugene was certain he was involved in covering up Stephanie’s disappearance. Now he realizes the depth of his self-delusion. Occam’s Razor should have led him to this conclusion, before a kick to the belly did. There was never any Stephanie, was there? Who is she? An undercover agent? A con artist who owes Lance a favor? She was very convincing. Lance used her to pull at his heartstrings, and trick him into telling Lance everything he wanted to know about the communities. It worked. She led him to the trainyard where they were captured by Lance. Lance thought he was easy mark, and split Eugene and his friends up, thinking he’d break, but he didn’t break. Then Stephanie led him to the radio room, where they were captured again. Lance got money’s worth; Eugene fell for that one twice. She told him that he could trust Lance, and he did. She read his book, so she could get helpful autobiographical information to serve Lance’s needs. When Lance got everything he wanted, there was no need to continue the ruse, but Lance didn’t see this twist. He’s going make absolutely certain everybody knows who and what Lance is. Lance says, okay. Who or what is that exactly? The villain, the boogeyman, or the best goddam thing that ever happened to him? Eugene is right. He did lie. Just like Eugene and his friends lied to get inside these walls, but who’s keeping score? Lance did what he had to, to get Eugene here, and Eugene should thank him for it. It’s not his fault they’re too stupid not to know a good thing when it lands in their laps. Eugene says he fell in love and everything was fiction, and Lance says, they tried to rip the band aid off when they saw it was getting serious, and Lance did what he could to get Eugene to stop looking. At least he can stop now. It wasn’t going to get better for his people; they were about to starve. Now Eugene is here, his community is getting fixed, and they’ve got everything from concerts to cancer surgery. All they’ve been asked in return is to be productive members of society as long as they choose to stay. The statement Eugene signed says he was suffering from paranoia as a result of nervous strain. Look at him. This has obviously taken a toll. Lance is sorry Eugene’s heart got broken, and he’s sure Eugene’s friends will be sad to hear about it too, but in the balance of things, Lance still thinks it worked out in everyone’s favor. Eugene’s friends probably would to. He puts his hand on Eugene’s shoulder for a moment, and starts to go up the stairs. He stops and turns, and says, by the way, Stephanie’s real name is Shira. She hates Iron Maiden, but genuinely enjoyed his book. He should stick with it. Lance continues on up.

In an alleyway, Eugene burns all his evidence, and throws his manuscript in the fire. Outside the gate, a woman asks if he’s all right. She needs to talk to him. This is Blue Weevil to Tater Bug; please come back. He turns around, and asks, who are you? She walks through the gate, and he sees it’s Max. She says, it’s me. I’m the one you were talking to on the radio.

Next time, Pamela says, nothing good is going to come from stretching their resources; Lance tells someone, if Maggie says no, cut them off; Maggie doesn’t trust the Commonwealth; Mercer tells Daryl, remember, they’re always watching; and Maggie and Pamela meet.

🪒 What He Said…

This is actually the third time I’ve heard this expression this week. Occam’s Razor: the simplest explanation is likely the correct one.

I wonder how many hits this webpage got tonight?

https://conceptually.org/concepts/occams-razor

⚰️ Going Rogue…

The AV Club does some dissection.

https://www.avclub.com/the-walking-dead-season-11-episode-11-rogue-element-1848613733

🧀 Dead Swiss Cheese…

Nerds Fans pick apart TWD’s plot.

https://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/1576584/The-Walking-Dead-season-11-Rick-Grimes-plot-hole

👠 Side Hustle…

When Alycia’s not being Alicia.

🔥 Strand Off…

What’s to come on FWD.

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/fear-the-walking-dead-season-7b-return-photos-alicia-morgan-strand-tower/

🤔 Theorizing…

I prefer the hybrid zombies myself.

https://screenrant.com/fear-walking-dead-alicia-zombie-memory-theory-twd/

🎮 Can’t Get Enough…

Just what we need, a Facebook game.

https://www.radiotimes.com/technology/gaming/walking-dead-last-mile-release-date/

📸 Totally Off-Topic…

More photos from the SAG Awards.

https://people.com/movies/sag-awards-2022-best-photos-of-the-night/

🍹 Come Monday, It’ll Be All Right…

Join me tomorrow for soap and Sailing. Until then, stay safe, stay moving it or losing it, and stay remembering, you can think you know someone, then find out you never even met them. It sucks, but it happens all the time.