What I Watched Today
(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)
General Hospital
Lucy approaches Valentin in the ballroom, and says, what is this she sees? The unflappable Valentin looking slightly flappable. He says being Peter’s best man is more stressful than he thought it would be. It’s Peter’s big day, and he can’t have anything go wrong. Finn wonders where the hell Peter is, and Chase says he’s sure Peter will be there soon. Finn says he never should have agreed to this double wedding thing. He thought it’s what Anna wanted. Chase says, and Anna didn’t? and Finn says, the whole thing got twisted around, and he sort of stammeringly agreed. Chase says, Finn stammer? Nooo. Finn says Chase is a great comfort to him in a time like this, and Chase says he’s sure Peter will be there soon. Willow runs in and says she hit traffic on the way. She was afraid she’d be late. Finn laughs, and tells her not to worry. The whole damn wedding is late.
Sam sees Britt in the garden, and says she wouldn’t happen to know where Peter is, would she? as she keeps walking. Britt says, there’s a saying. Maybe Sam has heard of it. I am not my brother’s keeper. She looks to see Sam is already gone, and says, someone is no fun at all.
Robert brings Jackie a drink, and she says, wow. Another drink before the ceremony. He says, an open bar is an effective remedy for an anxious audience, and she asks him if he got that from a fortune cookie. He says, no, your mum, and she says he’s a good mood for attending a wedding he adamantly opposes. She asks if he isn’t going to object, and he says it didn’t work the first hundred times; why bother? She says, what’s with the grin then, and he says, it’s the company. She laughs, and says, right. And it has nothing to do with the wedding being short a groom. He looks around, and says he hadn’t noticed. They clink glasses.
Maxie comes in with Anna, and tells Jordan and Sam, sorry to keep everybody waiting. She just needed to get some fresh air and do a little soul searching. Found it. Her breath and her soul. Anyway, she’s here. Let’s roll. Sam says they both look beautiful, and Maxie says, let’s hope Peter thinks so. Jordan steers Anna a few yards away, and says, there may be a problem. Anna asks, how serious? and Jordan says, at the moment, they’re missing a groom. Maxie hears, and says, oh no. Did Finn get called to the hospital? That’s the problem with being a specialist. No one can cover for you, even when you’re getting married. Jordan says, no, Finn’s inside, and Sam says, it’s Peter. Nobody knows where he is. Maxie says, there has to be some sort of explanation for that. This is their wedding day. He has to be somewhere.
In a basement, a door slams shut. We see Peter, bound and gagged, on the floor of a small room. He’s out cold.
Lucy says hi to Dante, and he says he heard she’s officiating. She says she is, but she wishes she’d seen him sooner to tell him she’s sorry to hear about Lulu. He thanks her and says it’s been pretty rough on all of them, especially Rocco and Charlotte, but they’re holding onto hope. She says, of course (🍷) they are. She knows he has to be strong, especially for the kids, but what about him? How is he? He says he was just thinking about Lulu on their wedding day. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen in his life… but that was a long time ago. He’s there for Anna and Finn, and Peter and Maxie. She says, they are taking their sweet time, aren’t they? She’s going to leave him to his beautiful reverie. She thinks it’s good to think about those who aren’t there right now during happy times. It’s good for the soul.
Willow adjusts Chase’s tie, and says he’s an exceptionally handsome best man. He says he wishes he was better at his best man duties, and she asks if he has the rings. He says, yes, and she asks if he threw Finn a bachelor party. He says, God no, and she says, and if Finn asks him for help…? He says, Finn won’t, and she says, the moment he senses Finn needs help, and he knows what Finn needs? He says, Finn won’t want help, and she says, then how he could possibly be a better best man? He says, that’s the problem. He doesn’t know how to help Finn, and keep him from going crazier before the wedding starts.
Gregory tells Finn that he wishes he had some words of advice to offer, and Finn asks if he doesn’t have a quote or two. Gregory says, it could be worse? and Finn says, Shakespeare or Nietzsche? Gregory says, Anna could be the one who didn’t show. Finn says, it’s still early, don’t jinx it, and Gregory says, that would never happen. The woman Finn loves is here for him, not mingling with her ex from before she knew him. He looks over at Jackie and Robert, and Finn says, Robert only dated Jackie; Anna married him. Gregory says, now she’s marrying Finn, which is the salient point. Finn says, that’s true. They’ve gone through a lot to get there, and now they’ve got this. They look at the photo montage; Anna as a child, Finn with Violet, and the three of them together.
Mac says Robert is in a good mood, and Robert says he’s the second person to say that. It’s got to be true. Robert asks if Mac is worried the groom won’t show up, and Mac says, if he doesn’t, Maxie will be devastated. Robert says, it would be the best thing in the world. She’s better off without him. Mac asks how Robert can come to Maxie’s wedding and take pleasure in her misery, but Robert says, it’s not pleasure; it’s relief. Maxie is better off without Peter. Mac says, if Robert doesn’t watch it, people will start to feel that way about him. Mac leaves, and Britt walks over. She says, Robert is quite a stand-up guy, isn’t he? He asks if she wrangled an invitation, or if she’s crashing. She says Maxie told her that he promised to respect her choice to marry Peter. Is it just like he promised Britt’s mother that he’d help her, instead of letting her rot in Steinmaur for crimes she didn’t commit. He says he didn’t break his promise; it’s taking longer than expected to work things out. He says the one thing Britt’s mother and he have in common… She says, they both hate Peter? and he says, the two things they have in common. They both hate Peter, and they both love Maxie. It’s probably a good thing Obrecht isn’t there to see Peter break Maxie’s heart. He walks away, and Britt drains her drink.
Sam tells Maxie, she’s so sorry, but they can’t find Peter. Jordan says they left phone messages, and messages on his cell, but there’s no sign of him. Maxie says she knows how important the wedding is to him. He wouldn’t leave her waiting, unless… She asks if there’s a big news story, like an earthquake or an uprising, but Anna says she knows what the wedding means to Peter, and doesn’t think he’d take off without a call or a text. He just hasn’t had a chance to reach out to her, but he will. He loves Maxie, and would never leave her hanging. Maxie says, yet here she is, twisting in the wind, with Anna and Finn and all of their guests. Anna suggests they put a pin in the wedding for now, and focus on finding Peter, but Maxie says, no, no, no. She does not want to postpone her wedding, but Finn joins them, and asks, who said anything about postponing?
Finn tells Anna that she looks beautiful, and Maxie asks what he’s doing. He says she looks pretty too, but she says he’s not supposed to see Anna in her dress before the ceremony. Now everything will fall apart. Finn says, now everything is going to fall apart? and Anna says, it’s fine. He looks lovely too. He says, this old thing? and asks, why the postponing talk? She says they’re having trouble tracking down Peter, and he says, that’s the word on the street, or in the ballroom, as it were. Maxie asks if everyone knows, and he says, they’re starting to catch on to the plot. She wonders who’s gloating, besides Robert, and he says, just Robert. Anna says if Peter doesn’t arrive soon, they’ll have to postpone, and Maxie says she doesn’t know what’s keeping Peter, but she’s sure there’s a reasonable explanation. She tells Anna and Finn that nothing is stopping them from getting married; she means it. Anna says, then it won’t be a double wedding, but Maxie says, it will. They’ll just take turns. She’ll wait until Peter gets there, then they can have their ceremony. In the meantime, Anna and Finn can have their ceremony and get married now. Finn tells Anna, she heard the lady, but Anna says she can’t leave Maxie there in her wedding dress. Maxie says, Sam will be there, and goes over to Sam. Anna says, they can’t just go on with their day like nothing happened, and Finn says he thinks that boat has sailed, but she says, they agreed to a double wedding. He says he thinks bamboozled is the word she’s looking for, and she says, it’s not just about Maxie. Finn says he’s sorry for being selfish. Peter is her son, and he’s sure she’s worried about him. She says, yes. There has to be a reasonable explanation why he’s not there. He got stuck in the elevator, stuck in traffic, his phone died… She’ll feel better when she can see for herself, and he says, okay. She says he knows she wants to marry him more than anything, and he says, so let’s do that. They’ll do their wedding their way. Maxie can have all the bells and whistles. They can grab Violet, and get married in the elevator on the way to the car for all he cares. He never needed any of this. All he needs is her.
Jordan asks Valentin if there’s any word from Peter, but he says, no. How’s Maxie? She says, about to have a baby, and she’s missing her groom. It’s not a pretty picture. He says he’ll see what he can do.
Anna tells Finn, she’d nothing like more than to run off, get married, and go to a tropical island for a few months. He says, let’s do that, and Anna says he understands why she can’t, right? He says, Peter is her son, and Maxie is her goddaughter. She loves them very much, and can’t leave in case there’s trouble. She says, yeah. It’s inconvenient, she knows; sorry. He says, it’s okay. He knows they’re part of the package, but she can’t blame a guy for taking a shot. The idea of running away sounded romantic. She says, so romantic. Does he know how much she adores him? He says he thinks so, but he wouldn’t mind if he was underestimating. She says he doesn’t see himself as a hero, but he’s rescued her more times than she can count. In big, adventurous ways, and small gestures. She loves his smile, even though he tries to hide it, and she loves how they fight about who gets to protect whom. When they were in Berkeley, and chatting on the phone even though they were down the hall from each other, he reminded her that every moment in their lives leads us to this one. They’ve made mistakes, but it led to this; being with him. It helps her not to regret anything because it led her to this moment, and the next, and the next. She never wants it to change. He says, okay. They’ll tie the knot at a time and place to be determined in the near future, and they’ll never deal with this again. She says, let’s just get past this thing with Peter, then she can spend the rest of her life loving him. He says, okay, and they hug.
Valentin puts on gloves and goes to Peter’s room. He remembers Anna saying she doesn’t want Jason involved. She wants Peter to face justice, not be killed in cold blood. Valentin says, then don’t they have to wait? Gather evidence, so the WSB has to prosecute him themselves. She says, at Maxie’s expense? She can’t live with that. He says, so what do they do? In the present, Valentin rights the furniture in Peter’s room. He continues flashing back to Anna saying, Peter cannot marry Maxie. He tells Anna, so they’ll get him out of town, but she says, if he’s missing, Maxie will go looking for him. He says, with whom? Spinelli can’t stand him. She says, Sam is a good P.I., but he says, she’s another one who believes Maxie is better off without Peter. Who does that leave? Anna says, it leaves her. Maxie has to think Peter left of his own volition. Is Valentin going to do it tonight? He says, no; that’s too soon. Maxie has to think he left her at the altar. Anna says, she’ll be too heartbroken to follow him. He says, she’ll be with Maxie, and he’ll be with Peter, and they’ll just go on as planned. Once Peter is left alone, his people will grab him. She says, Valentin needs to go to the ballroom and take his place as Peter’s best man. He says, some best man. Maxie is going to be devastated; can Anna handle that? She says she doesn’t know, but she’s going to have to. While thinking about all this, Valentin packs Peter’s clothing. He remembers Anna saying that he’ll need to go to Peter’s room, and clear it out. Make it look like he left on his own. He says he’ll leave a letter, and make it sound like Peter wrote it. Anna says, tell her the truth. Say Peter loves her, but he knows too many secrets that will put her in danger. That’s why he’s leaving, and that’s why she can’t look for him. Valentin leaves the note, and flashes back to him telling Anna that he has a property. She asks if it’s under the radar, and he says, of course (🍷). He’ll keep Peter there until they can gather enough evidence to formally charge him. Once the wheels are in motion, they can’t stop. No deciding Peter needs another chance. Anna says, Peter needs to be brought to justice, and until that happens, they have to make sure no one else gets hurt. They’ve made too many mistakes, spent too many years trying to make amends, and they allowed him to exploit that. People died because of that. Peter is dangerous and they have to protect people from him. Valentin leaves Peter’s room with the suitcase.
Dante sees Sam and asks how Maxie is. She says, holding it together. She’s more afraid that something happened to Peter than of Peter not showing up at the altar. He says Peter doesn’t strike him as a runner; he has too much to prove. She says she was thinking the same thing. Letting people think he’s the bad guy they thought he was all along doesn’t make… Maxie comes by, and Dante says she looks beautiful. She thanks him and says, brides are supposed to; brides with grooms look even better. He says, sorry, and she says, is he? Or is he relieved? Sam says Dante is her friend, and Maxie says her friend told her the only reason she loves Peter is because he’s Nathan’s half-brother. Sam asks Dante if he said that, and Dante says he loves Maxie. She’s Lulu’s best friend, and what kind of a friend would he be if he wasn’t honest? Maxie says, a friend who trusts her to know her own heart, and he points out that he’s there in a monkey suit, witnessing her getting married to Peter. She says Lulu would want him to be there, and he’s not the type of person who would blow off the wedding, and tell Lulu that he showed up when he didn’t. He says he’s also not the type of person who would wish her every blessing and happiness in the world if he didn’t mean it, and he does. Sam says they’re there because they love Maxie, and Maxie tears up. She fans her eyes, and says, now look what they made her do. She walks off, and Dante asks if Sam thinks Maxie bought it, and Sam says, it was totally sincere, especially the part where he wished Maxie every happiness in the world, and didn’t even mention Peter. Does he really think Maxie only loves Peter because of Nathan? He says he thinks that’s part of it, and Sam says she wishes Peter was more like Nathan. If he tells Maxie that she said that, she swears she’ll kill him. He says she doesn’t trust Peter either? and she says, of course (🍷) not, but who is she to say anything? She followed her heart, and look what happened. He says, grooms don’t just vanish into thin air. He’s going to take a look around.
Mac tells Maxie that Laura called and sends her love. She’s sorry can’t be there. Maxie says she knows Laura needs to be with Lulu, and Mac says Laura told him to thank her for the beautiful bouquet. Maxie says, Lulu is her best friend. Of course (🍷) she should have the matron of honor bouquet.
Jackie asks how Finn is doing, and he says he’s pissed off. He asks Robert to please tell him that he had nothing to do with this. Robert swears he didn’t lift a finger to make this happen, and Jackie asks why he would think Robert had anything to do with this, and what is this exactly? Finn says, it’s no secret that Robert didn’t want Maxie to marry Peter. He’s not sure how Robert feels about Anna marrying him, ergo – Jackie says he sounds just like his father – ergo, two birds are killed with one stone. Peter can’t marry Maxie, and Anna will be so worried, she won’t be able to marry him. Robert says he wishes he’d thought of all that, and Jackie says, even though he didn’t? He admits he did, but he didn’t act on it. Do they know why? Jackie says because he didn’t want to do this to Anna? and he says, he didn’t want Maxie thinking Peter is a martyr.
On the phone in the MetroCourt basement, Dante says, just hold the phone up to her. He tells Lulu, it’s Dante. He wants to tell her that he misses her a lot. The kids miss her like crazy. He thinks who misses her the most today is Maxie. It’s her wedding day, and he knows Lulu would give anything to be there. He hears banging against the door from inside one of the rooms, and says he wants to tell Lulu that he loves her and misses her. He continues to hear the banging, and says he’ll call again soon. He tries the door, but it’s locked, and he asks if someone is in there. He hears Peter’s muffled voice calling for help, and he says, hold on. He’ll get them out of there. He gets a crowbar, and pries the door open with it. He sees Peter on the floor, and says, what the hell?
Dante releases Peter, and asks if he’s okay. Peter says he thinks so, and Dante asks, who did this to him? Peter says he doesn’t know; they blindsided him. He gets up, and says he has to get to Maxie, and they leave.
Mac tells Maxie, he thinks Anna is right; it’s time call off the wedding. They can’t keep these people there all day. They’ll make an announcement that the wedding is postponed, not canceled. Peter would never do that to her. She says, damn right, he wouldn’t, and Mac says they have to get her home. The worrying isn’t good for her or the baby. She asks how it’s going to be better if she’s at home. She’s just going to worry there like she’s worrying here. She has no idea where Peter is, but she knows he wouldn’t abandon her. He’d never do that. Marrying her, and having the baby and a family means everything to him. She’s worried something is wrong.
Jackie tells Robert, she’s just trying to keep score. Does he or does he not approve of Anna and Finn getting married? He says he wants nothing but the best for Anna and Finn. Now can they get on with it? Finn says, fair enough, but if he’s lying, Robert is splitting the bar tab with him. And don’t act like he’s broken up about Peter being a no show. Robert says he’ll be the first to hoist a few if Peter doesn’t show up, but he had nothing to do with it.
Valentin joins Anna, and she asks how it went, and he says, exactly as… Good Lord, she’s stunning. She should marry someone today. She says, Valentin… and he says, in a few minutes, he’ll talk Mac into having management let him into Peter’s room where he’ll find the letter, and the rest will play out as planned. In a couple of weeks, he’ll leave town on business, and check on Peter. She asks what he’ll tell Peter, and he says that he promised to take care of those Peter loves. And that’s what he’s doing.
Willow tells Chase that Violet is waiting for her cue, and ready to go. They practiced gathering rose petals until her wrist hurt. Chase hates to break it to her, but he doesn’t think Violet is going to get the chance today. He thinks Finn is about to announce a postponement. Finn says he’s sorry to interrupt, and wants to thank everyone for being there. Mac says, as Maxie would too, of course (🍷), and Finn says, given the circumstances, and out of respect for Maxie and Peter, he and Anna have decided to postpone the wedding. Mac adds, it’s not the day they’d hoped for, but… Peter and Dante run in, and Maxie runs up to Peter. She asks where he was; what happened? He says he was about to come down, when someone jumped him, and put a bag over his head. Dante says he found Peter locked in a utility closet. Mac asks if they said anything, and Jordan says she’s on it; take care of his daughter. Anna asks if Peter is hurt, and he says he doesn’t think so. Valentin asks if Peter has any idea who did this, or what they wanted, but Peter says, none. Maxie says she was so scared, and Peter says he hopes she didn’t think… She says, that he’d leave her on their wedding day? Not for a second. She knew something had to have happened to him, but she knew he’d make it. He says he did, and he’ll never let this happen again. He’ll never let anyone keep him from her.
Jordan asks Chase if there were any signs any signs of the kidnappers, but he says, none. He checked with security, and looked at the footage, but whoever took Peter knew their way around the cameras. They’re long gone. She says, in the meantime, she has police searching the hotel. They had Peter stored in a closet; they were coming back for him later. He says, unless their main objective was to keep Peter from the wedding, but what would anyone have to gain? Jordan says she doesn’t know, but they’re not ruling anything out yet.
Mac tells Peter that he wasn’t crazy about him being with Maxie at first, and Peter says, Mac, and a lot of other people. Mac says he’s come to respect that Peter is the man Maxie loves. Peter says he hopes it’s more than that. He hopes Mac considers him worthy of marrying his daughter. Mac says it’s clear Peter loves Maxie, but he needs assurances. He needs to know Peter can keep Maxie safe. Peter says he’d never hurt Maxie, and Mac says, what about the people who came after Peter? They’re not going to be happy that Peter got away. What if next time they get to him through Maxie? Peter swears no harm will come to Maxie, but Mac says Peter can’t guarantee that. Peter says he can guarantee he’ll always do everything in his power to keep Maxie safe.
Maxie thanks Dante for saving Peter, and Dante says, if he’d known it was Peter in the closet, he would have kept… She says, stop it. She tells Anna that Dante is being difficult. Dante was always a good guy. Stop pretending he’s not. He says if she wants him to be the good guy, he’ll be the good guy, and she says, so much better. He asks if Anna is going to thank him too, and she says she didn’t? He says they just kind of talked about it, and she says, thank you for saving Peter. She asks if he saw anything that would help them identify the kidnappers, and he says, whoever did it was long gone. Peter says, if Dante remembers something, they can talk about it later. Right now, he doesn’t care who they were or what they wanted. All that matters is that he’s marrying the woman he loves. Anna says, Maxie is exhausted, and Peter’s been through an ordeal. Valentin says he wants a doctor to have a look at Peter, but Peter says, that’s not necessary. He’s fine. If they don’t believe him, he’ll have his wife bring him to the hospital after the ceremony. He says Valentin and Anna of all people, know how long he’s waited for this day. The two of them helped him to be the man he is today. He’s asking them to please, help him do this thing today. Join him and Maxie today. They’ve waited long enough. He tells Maxie, if she’s up for it, he’d still like to be married today as planned. He understands it’s not what she thought it would be, but what matters most are the promises they’ll make when they exchange vows. He doesn’t want to waste another minute not committed to her – forever. She says she doesn’t want to wait either. When he was missing, even though it was just an hour, it seemed like forever. Any doubts she had weren’t about him, but in her. They vanished when she realized all over again how much she loves him, and how safe she feels with him, and respected. He gives her space to herself, even though sometimes she needs galaxies, but when she looks in his eyes, she knows how much he loves her, and she can’t imagine spending the rest of her life without him. So, yes. She’ll marry him today. Right now. He thanks her, and Maxie says, Anna and Finn are getting married too. Anna starts to protest, but Maxie says she needs Peter and Finn at the podium right now. She, Anna, and Lucy will get their makeup touched up; the bridesmaids too. They’ll go exactly as planned from this moment on. Just a little bit later. Finn tells Anna, this isn’t what they wanted, and she says he can say that again. He says, this isn’t what they wanted, but it’s what they’ve got. They’re not just going to make the best of it; they’re going to make it perfect. So what does she say? They say goodbye to this nightmare of a day, and get on with the dream? She asks if he’s sure, and he says he’s never been so sure of anything in his life. Lucy says, okay then. What are they waiting for? They’ve heard from the brides, and the grooms, so places everyone. This wedding is going to happen.
Britt sits next to Dante, and says, once a hero, always a hero. He asks if she’s stolen any babies lately. Or was that just a one-off?
Jackie says she wants to know more about the not very long rivalry between Robert and Finn. Robert says, that was a long time ago. She says, the Cassadines trying to freeze the world was a long time ago; this seems more recent. He tells her, let it suffice to say that it took a while for him to wrap his head around Anna and Finn’s relationship. But it’s all behind them now. She says, all right.
Chase asks if Finn is ready, and Finn says, 100%. Peter tells Valentin that he meant what he said. If not for Valentin, he never would have made it to this day, this new life with Maxie. Valentin says he’d do anything for Peter. Peter knows that. Sam walks down the aisle, and then Mac walks down with Maxie while the Bridal March plays. Mac kisses Maxie’s cheek, and Peter takes her hand. They wait, and Violet comes out. Finn smiles, and Violet looks serious about her task of throwing petals on either side of the pathway. At the end, she runs to Finn, hugging him, and he picks her up. She and Chase fist bump, Jordan walks down, followed by Anna, who waves to Violet. Violet waves back. Anna looks at Valentin, and she, Finn, and Violet have a three-way hug. Finn puts Violet down, and shows her where to go.
Lucy asks everyone, please be seated. On behalf of Maxie and Peter, and Finn and Anna, she thanks them for being there, and sharing this amazing moment with them. A wedding is just a one day event, but marriage is a journey of days that fills a lifetime. Boy, today has been quite a day; confusing, complicated, trying, and a tad bit anxiety producing. But through all the obstacles and interruptions, these two couples have risen above it all with their love and commitment. They’ve shown us tenderness and strength, and we’ve watched their determination to grow together as they faced adversity. They’ve proven to be a sanctuary for each other, and that they can be for each other, which is far greater than the vows they might speak. She says, without further ado, let her join Maxie and Peter, and Finn and Anna in the bond of holy… Obrecht walks in and asks if they haven’t forgotten something. They must ask does anyone present there object. Violet says, uh-oh.
Tomorrow, Carly tells Michael that everyone needs to take a step back, Ava’s glad someone knows the truth Obrecht says new evidence has come to light, Maxie says it’s a lie, and Finn says they should call everything off.
🧁 Short ‘N’ Sweet…
I had a 2½, almost 3, hour Zoom meeting tonight, and it’s so late now, it’s early. So until we meet again in Port Charles and New Jersey, stay safe, stay warm (or cool, depending on your weather), and stay being a hero, especially if you’ve always been one.
What I Watched - TV With Theresa 