What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Nina runs out into Sonny’s living room, giggling, and tying her silk kimono. Sonny follows her in, she gives him a quick kiss, and suggests she whip up dessert for them. He asks if that’s why she’s here, because he forgot, and she says, he made dinner, then they got distracted. He says, there’s bad distraction and good distraction, and she asks which distraction he is. He moves closer, and says, you tell me. She says, he’s a terrible, terrible, terrible distraction, and they kiss. She says, dessert, but he says, they’re doing something different; she’s not lifting a finger tonight, because he had panna cotta delivered from Bernadino’s. She says, how decadent, and he tells her to wait right there. He goes into the kitchen, and she looks at the Christmas tree, then flops onto the couch. She pulls some of Donna’s blocks out from under her, along with a drawing of a blond woman that says Mommy underneath.

Carly brings Denise to a staff room, and Denise asks if Carly is sure it’s private. Carly says, it’s the break room for the pool staff, and the pool is closed. Please tell her everything went off without a hitch. Denise says, don’t worry. Drew no longer has any reason to look for that poor girl’s mother.

Drew says he just met somebody who knew Harmony at the commune when she unofficially adopted Willow, and Willow asks if he found out more about her biological mother’s identity. He says he did… and she asks, why the hesitation? He says he should verify the information first, but she says she can’t wait that long. Tell her what his source said. He says he’s sorry, but it’s not great news, and she asks if he hit a roadblock. He says, it appears her biological mother died.

Maxie goes to the reception desk at the hospital, and stares at Britt. Britt says, yes? and Maxie says she’ll give Britt one guess. A birthday party? First, the injury. She’s planning this party herself? It’s not like she doesn’t have Port Charles’s premier party planner at her disposal. Next, the insult. She found out about this self-planned party from Austin.

Austin says, tick-tock, Spinelli, as he leads Spinelli into his office. Did he do what Austin asked him to do? Spinelli says he did. He ran Society Set-Ups algorithm on Austin and Maxie behind Maxie’s back. Now Austin will know if they’re truly meant to be.

At Charlie’s, Alexis says, Gregory doesn’t have to stick to mocktails on her account, and he says, according to her lifestyle section, they’re all the rage. She hopes they live up to the hype. Then they can concentrate on the front page news. He asks, what’s happening with that? Have the police given her any more information on the killer? She says, the police are very tight-lipped, although she does have a contact who may have access to some inside information. He tells her, just be careful. She wants to investigate criminals without becoming one. Threading that needle between journalistic responsibility and public good is a balancing act. She asks to table this, just for a second. There’s something they need to talk about.

Elizabeth gets in the hospital elevator, and flashes back to asking Finn not to tell anyone about her pregnancy for her boys’ sakes; and him saying he’d never do anything to hurt her boys. She gets out of the elevator, and there he is.

Nikolas asks what Ava is doing here, and she says, it’s time they address the fate of their marriage.

Drew says, it seems Willow’s biological mother was an only child, but there’s still hope. Her biological father could still be out there. It’ll be difficult to pinpoint exactly who that is, because they weren’t in a relationship. Willow says she sees, and he says, they have options. The genealogical services. Maybe her biological father registered for one. People find lost relatives all the time. (Stella did.) She says, yeah, maybe, and he says he’s sorry. He knows this wasn’t the news she wanted to hear. She gets up, and he starts to follow, but she says, no. She just needs some air, and walks out to the terrace.

Carly tells Denise that she can’t believe it’s come to this, but this friend of hers and Drew’s can’t find out who her birth mother is. It would cause her a world of pain. Carly flashes back to listening Willow tell Nina that she only sees what she wants to see, and Denise asks, are you trying to justify it to yourself or me? Because she doesn’t care about Carly’s reasons, as long as her check clears.

Maxie says she understands it’s Britt’s party, and she can exclude who she wants to. Maybe she’s only inviting doctors. But is Britt really not inviting her? Britt hands Maxie an envelope, and says she wanted to give Maxie this in person. Taking the envelope, Maxie says, well then, apology accepted, and Britt asks if she apologized. Maxie says, it’s implied, and opens the invitation. She says, printed invitations… She shakes the paper, and says, high quality cardstock. Britt is going all out. What’s this about? Britt says, a girl can’t throw herself a party? and Maxie says she’s the queen of celebrating birthday week. Britt on the other hand… Britt walks to the elevator, and tells Maxie, what can she say? She contains multitudes. Maxie says, so does Austin, which was probably why he was so protective over spilling the beans about this party of hers. He comes to town, this swashbuckling country doctor, and delivers her baby in the woods, and gets knocked out for his trouble. Generally, Austin’s been very good to her. Britt says, so what’s the problem? and Maxie says, aside from alienating her friends one by one, except for Britt, which Maxie is extremely grateful for… Britt says, he can’t have alienated everybody, and gets in the elevator. Maxie follows, and says, Brook, Drew, Britt’s mom; even Georgie and Spinelli hate him. She’s not sure what to do about that. The elevator doors close.

Austin thanks Spinelli for doing what he asked, and Spinelli says, if by asked you mean extorted. Austin says he thinks Spinelli has him all wrong. He never really wanted to go public with Spinelli’s criminally accurate algorithm. Spinelli says, but he would have, and Austin says, maybe. It doesn’t matter because now they have this. He reaches for the envelope, and Spinelli clutches it to his chest. He implores Austin one last time; please do not force his hand with this. Austin says he doesn’t think he has a choice, because Spinelli and everyone else are whispering in Maxie’s ear to cut bait. Spinelli says, this isn’t about insecurity? This is truly about proving everybody wrong? Is it worth it to be dishonest with someone you hope to have a future with?

Gregory says he’s sorry if he’s done something to offend Alexis, but she says, no. Offend is too strong of a word; it’s just a small thing. When they first met, they had this rapport back and forth; personal, slash, professional banter, and it was kind of fun. Now that they’re friends, it kind of feels like she’s being talked at instead of talked to. Lectured. He says he is a lecturer, so… occupational hazard? She says she gets that. She’s a minefield of occupational hazards. Probing questions, rules, regulations, procedures… He says, not to mention objections? Sorry. Bad joke. She says she just thinks it best if all of their conversations didn’t turn into TED talks. For the sake of their friendship, if he could just recognize that if she wanted advice from him, it should be invited advice. That’s all.

Ava says, don’t tell her the topic of their marriage has left Nikolas speechless. He usually has so much to say on the subject. He says, he doesn’t want to get his hopes up too high, and she says, coincidentally, hope is what she’s here to discuss. He says, okay, and she says, logic dictates she cast him aside. They’ve each caused the other a tremendous amount of pain; mostly him hurting her of course (🍷), but there’s no denying when they’re there for each other, they’re a formidable team. They’d follow each other into hell… and leave each other there, which she supposes is part of the problem. They haven’t been a united front in quite a long while. He agrees, and she says, and yet somehow, against all reason, she keeps coming back to the same question. Can they come back to that? She thinks they owe themselves a final definitive answer. He says, she’s not suggesting she move back in, is she?

Finn sits at the bar in Charlie’s, and studies the liquor bottles. The bartender says he was just about to clock out, but can he get Finn something before he does?

Sonny comes out of the kitchen, and says, here it is. Nina says, it looks delicious. She can’t wait to dig into it. She puts the blocks on the table, and Sonny says, Donna’s blocks are all over; he finds them everywhere. He’s glad she and Donna spend time together. He knows it’s awkward, but it will get easier once he and Carly redraw the boundaries. Carly knows she’s not going anywhere, and he doesn’t want any distance between her and his daughter. She says she appreciates that, but what if it’s for the best?

Carly says, Denise really cuts to the chase, and Denise says she saw too many friends in the commune sucked into all kinds of shadiness. She learned the hard way it’s best not get too invested in anyone. Carly says, then tell her what she said to Drew, and Denise says she corroborated Harmony’s story. A sweet, troubled girl named Joan got caught up in the family way, joined the commune, had her baby, and skipped out. Then years later, she happened to witness Joan’s passing, a drug overdose in a flophouse. Carly says, what about the father? Denise was supposed to tell Drew that both of the baby’s parents are dead. Denise holds up the check, and says, this payment only covers one imaginary dead parent. Carly wants two in the grave? That’s going to cost her.

Willow is on the terrace crying when Drew comes out. She says she just needs a second, and he says, it’s freezing out here. Does she want her jacket. She doesn’t want to get sick. Willow laughs, and says, sorry. It’s just… He has no idea how important this was to her. How much she was counting on it. She guesses this Hail Mary is not going to happen, is it? Drew flashes back to him saying that Willow was going through a lot, and her asking, who told you? He remembers Willow getting dizzy, and telling her that she looks pale. He says, oh my God. She is sick, isn’t she?

Ava says, no, she wasn’t suggesting moving back, but assumes Nikolas is open to the idea. Is she wrong? He says, of course (🍷) he wants her to move back in. He just doesn’t want to rush things. He was just telling Spencer that he wants Spencer to move in because he wants to, not because he has to. She says, Spencer’s back, and he says, yes. That’s why he thinks it best if she keeps her distance until they sort things out. She says, that could take some time, and he says he takes it from her impatience that she wants to work on their marriage, and she says she’s not able to forgive him yet, but she doesn’t want to give up on them yet. But then there’s the whole problem with Victor, which puts them in limbo. Maybe Nikolas is done waiting, but she was hoping he’d be willing to press pause for now. Elizabeth lets herself in.

Alexis and Gregory come to the bar, and try to get Finn’s attention. Finn says, sorry. He zoned out for a minute. He was just thinking about… Gregory says, he looks frozen. Where is his coat, in the car? Finn says he was walking, and… Alexis tells Gregory, it turns out she is hungry. Would he mind flagging down a waitress, and getting them something to eat while she catches up with her friend? Gregory says, one mixed appetizer platter coming up, and leaves. Finn says, neither of them fell for that, and she says she’s not a very good liar. She’s a truth teller, and he has the truth written all over his face. What’s going on? He says he took her advice and followed up with Elizabeth. Things are over for them.

Austin asks, who the hell is Spinelli to lecture him on integrity? Spinelli talks about being honest with Maxie, when he’s the one who ran that data set to protect himself. Spinelli says, Austin is absolutely right, and heads for the door. Austin asks where he’s going, and Spinelli says, to reset his moral compass. He’s allowed himself to falter, but thankfully Austin reminded him of the man he truly is; one who would never betray Maxie, even if it costs him his company, his freedom, or anything else. He leaves and Austin follows him.

Britt and Maxie come out of the elevator, and Britt says she gets that Spinelli is Maxie’s friend… Maxie says, her best friend, the father of her eldest, her person. And the last time Spinelli got bad vibes about a person, it was Peter. Britt says, okay, but comparing Austin to Peter… Marci says she knows Austin is not Peter, but after everything she’s been through, it’s hard for her to trust, and most important, it’s hard for her to trust her own judgement.

In the hallway, Austin tells Spinelli give it back, but Spinelli says, it was never in Austin’s possession in the first place. Spinelli pretends to hand the envelope over, then snatches it away as Austin reaches for it, and they repeat this until Austin finally grabs it. They struggle over it, and Maxie and Britt come along. The envelope goes flying across the hall to Maxie, who picks it up and asks, what’s this? Look at them, chasing each other around the halls of a hospital. Over what? Some letter? She looks at the envelope, and says, Society Set-Ups? What is this? Austin says he had Spinelli run his algorithm on them, and Britt says, his algorithm? Spinelli is Society Set-Ups? Maxie says, Austin had Spinelli run an algorithm on them behind her back? And Spinelli went along with it? That’s not possible; Spinelli would never do that. Austin says, Spinelli would if he blackmailed him.

Ava says hi to Elizabeth, and asks what Elizabeth is doing here, with her own keys. Elizabeth tosses the keys to Nikolas, and says, sorry to interrupt. Aiden is doing a family tree project, and Nikolas was kind enough to let her go through some of Laura’s stuff. Ava says, so he gave Elizabeth the keys to the castle, and Nikolas asks if Elizabeth would mind coming tomorrow. He knows she came all this way… Ava says, it’s okay; she’ll go. She’s said all she needs to say. Goodnight then. She leaves, and they go into the sitting room. Nikolas says, Spencer is upstairs. He might be moving back in, so they have to be careful. Elizabeth says, Spencer’s not their only problem. She gives him the bottle of vitamins, and says, Finn found those. Apparently, he saw the same bottle here at Windymere, and started asking questions. He wanted send the cops over, but she stopped him. Nikolas asks, how? and she says, congratulations. He’s going to be a father again – to her child.

Alexis tells Finn, she’s sorry things didn’t work out with him and Elizabeth. Is he sure it’s over? Does this have to do with what happened with Jeff? He says, a lot more went down, but it’s not his place. She says, for an addict such as himself, it’s not surprising if he thought about having a drink tonight.

Nina asks Sonny to pass the spoon, and he says, she knows she can tell him anything, right? She says she had a nice time playing with Donna. Josslyn stopped by, and made it very clear she thinks she and Sonny are temporary, and her head started spinning. She started wondering if all this pain and agony they’re going through to be in this relationship would be worth it if they didn’t survive. He says, all they can do is move forward. Carly has. She says she gets that, but then she sees the blocks and sees this mommy picture, and starts to think what this will mean if she gets closer to Donna. He says, how so? and she says, it’s awkward for her to talk about because it stops her from moving forward. He knows the reality is that she’s a woman whose baby was stolen from her; a daughter who was kept from her for her entire life. She has this big hole that will never go away in her heart that she keeps trying to fill. And the more time she spends with Donna, the more afraid she is that the lines will be blurred.

Carly says, she and Denise agreed on a fee for her to tell Drew that both parents were dead, so there would be no one else for him to go looking for. Denise says, the terms changed, and Carly says she’s not made of money. Denise says, that’s a shame. Maybe she should call Drew and let him know what’s going on. Or find that nice young woman that he’s lying to on Carly’s behalf. Or Carly can pay her what she’s worth, and she’ll think about calling Drew back and saying she remembers who this girl’s papa is, and how the whole family moved on to the Great Beyond.

Drew asks if Willow is sick, and she says, what makes him think… He says, his son, Oscar. He was sick too. Is it…? She says, it’s leukemia, and he says he’s so sorry. What do the doctors say? She tells him that she’s in Stage IV. It’s pretty aggressive, so unless she can find a family member or somebody who’s a close match for a bone marrow transplant, she doesn’t know. He hugs her.

Nikolas asks why Elizabeth told Finn she was pregnant with his child, and she says she had to think on her feet. He asks why she didn’t say it was Finn’s child, and she says, she had to keep him away, and it explains why she’s here and keeps coming back. Besides, they haven’t slept together. He says, it’s not like she can fake a pregnancy for months, and she says she’d never do that to her boys. She bought them time. In a few weeks, she’ll tell Finn that she miscarried… and he’s going to feel sorry for her. This is awful. She caused Finn pain, and keeps making it worse. Maybe she should tell Finn the truth about everything.

Finn says, even if he considered it, Alexis knows he’s not an alcoholic, and she says she knows that. But didn’t he tell her that people in NA don’t drink because it loosens their inhibitions, and they lose self-control and make choices that are self-destructive? A new bartender comes over, and sets down a drink, saying, sorry for the delay. He thinks the other bartender was supposed to make this for Finn. Finn says, there must have been a mistake. He slides the drink back, along with some money, and says, please enjoy this on him. He tells Alexis that he should get going, and she says she’s here if he wants to talk. He says he knows. He thinks Alexis already got through to him. Gregory hands him a coat, and says, for the walk home. Finn leaves, and Alexis says, shall we dig in? Gregory says, his family is in her debt tonight, aren’t they?

Sonny says he understands what Nina is saying, but he doesn’t think she has anything to worry about. She says she knows he doesn’t, but the holidays are around the corner. People are thinking of their families, and she thinks of the family she’s lost. He says, that’s why she has to move forward. She’s great with Donna. She thanks him, and says she appreciates that, but she knows herself. The closer she gets to Donna, the more she’ll inadvertently start using her to fill up this little hole she has, and she doesn’t want to use Donna the way she tried to use Wiley. He says, she didn’t use Wiley. Wiley is her grandson, and she has every right to be close to him. She says, maybe one day she will, but in the meantime, she has to stop herself from getting closer to Donna. She knows how messy things can get with Avery because of Carly and Ava. So she’ll keeps her distance, and keep the boundaries very, very clear. So when it comes to Donna, she’s just his friend.

Carly says, Denise is really awful, and Denise says she could be worse. She could be paying someone to lie about parents being dead. Carly says she’s doing it to protect someone, and Denise is doing it to get rich, and Denise says, yet Carly needs her. At least she owns who she is and what she’s doing. Trust her. Carly’s life would be a lot easier if she looked in the mirror and did the same thing.

Drew asks why Willow didn’t say something when she found out, and Willow says, chemotherapy could hurt the baby during the first trimester. So she made up her mind to wait. She figured it couldn’t get that much worse. Well, Stage IV. He asks, what’s the prognosis? and she says she’s getting chemo, but it’s not enough. She needs a bone marrow transplant, and the best chance for a match is with a family member, but she doesn’t have any. He asks if Michael knows, and she says, he does now. He immediately forgave her for keeping it a secret; he’s been wonderful and supportive. Drew says, no surprise, and she says, the only other people who know are TJ and her doctors. He says, if they had known, they could have helped, and she says she wants to shield Wiley from this for as long as possible, and the Quartermaines and Carly. She loves them, but they wear their hearts on their sleeves. Can he imagine if Brook or Olivia found out? One look at them, and Wiley would  know something was wrong. Drew has to promise he won’t tell anyone she’s sick, not even Carly.

Austin and Maxie go to his office, and he says he feels like she’s angry. She says she’s going to give him one minute to explain his justification for blackmailing Spinelli, and he says he guesses there isn’t one. She says, all right then, and starts to leave, but he says, it was a stupid thing to do. He owns that. He shouldn’t have pressured Spinelli. She says she thinks the word he initially used was blackmail, and he says he shouldn’t have done that either. The upside is, Spinelli’s secret is safe, and he hopes they can get past this. She says, there’s something he needs to understand. For three years someone she thought she loved was lying to her and doing really shady things behind her back. He says, things; he did a thing-g. She asks how she knows that. With Peter she kept overlooking all these tiny red flags. She owns that. But him threatening to hurt Spinelli – her best friend in the whole world, Georgie’s father – is a huge read flag.

Willow says, Drew can’t say anything to anyone about her diagnosis. She wants to give Wiley a few more weeks of happiness, and frankly, she needs a few weeks of happiness, before everyone starts treating her like a sick person. He says he gets it. She wants to be in the driver’s seat. She has his word; he won’t tell soul. She thanks him, and they hug. He says, but he’s not giving up on the search to find her biological father. She might have a sibling out there, or a cousin, aunt, or uncle. She thanks him, and he asks if they can go inside. She may be able to tough this out, but he’s freezing. She says, sounds good, and they go back in. Carly sees them, and asks how it’s going.

Nicolas says, Elizabeth can’t do that. Finn will send the cops right here. Cameron is an adult, but where does that leave Aiden and Jake? Even if they’re lenient on her, she’ll serve time. She says she doesn’t know who she is anymore. How did she become this person who did something like this? He says, she did it because she knows this protects everyone. Sometimes tough decisions have to be made; sacrifices for the greater good. Elizabeth tells him, Finn wouldn’t say anything to anybody to give her time to tell the boys. He asks if she trusts Finn not to say anything to anybody else.  

Ava sees Finn outside Charlie’s, and says, fancy meeting him here. He says, yeah, and she says she’ll see him around. He says, wait, and she asks if there’s something on his mind.

Sonny says he’ll follow Nina’s lead, and she thanks him, but he says, just so their clear, there’s nothing he’d like more than for her to have a real relationship with his daughter. She says, her too, so much, but she has to hold herself back. Because she thinks it would hurt if… He says, if what? and she says, if they don’t last. She loves him. He makes her so happy. She loves spending time with him, but even he has to admit they have the cards stacked against them. He says, the only thing he’s going to admit is, he’s falling more in love with her every single day. He doesn’t care what anybody thinks; he sees a future with her and his family, because she is part of that family. And if he hasn’t made it clear, he’s in this for the long haul. She says, her too, and they kiss.

Austin asks if they can’t talk about this, and Maxie says she can’t believe he had Spinelli run the algorithm in the first place. She shoves the envelope at him, and says, and he did it behind her back, and he extorted Spinelli into doing it. Which one of those things sounds like something a decent person would do? He stammers, and she says, just for some reassurance they were meant to be together? Anyone who’s meant to be with her would never do that to someone she cares about. She storms out, and he follows.

Britt says, so Zelda is Spinelli’s partner or… Oh my God. She’s just a front, right? There is no personalized matchmaking. No wonder he got it so wrong with her and Cody. Spinelli says, if ever there was an understatement, when Maxie and Austin come around the corner. Austin says, can she wait? and Spinelli asks if Maxie is okay. She says, she’s okay. She’s leaving. Spinelli says he’s going with her, and she says, he’s damn right he is. They leave, and Austin says, any advice? Britt says she wishes she had more to offer than too bad, so sad, but… He says, that pretty much covers it all, and she says, yeah. She leaves, and Austin looks at the report.  

Elizbeth tells Nikolas that she has to believe Finn wouldn’t betray her in the same way she supposedly betrayed him. But after this whole baby matter is settled, Finn will have no reason to stay silent. Ava is going to find out about their supposed affair. He says, they’re so close to reconciling, that can’t happen. She tells him, he said it himself; sacrifices have to be made. Can he really keep this up with Esme, and reconcile with Ava at the same time?  

Finn tells Ava, have a good night, and keeps walking.

Carly says, Willow’s birth mother is dead? She’s sorry to hear that. But Willow has all the family she needs with Michael, Wiley, her, Drew, even the Quartermaines. Willow thanks her, and says she should go. She’ll see them both soon. She thanks Drew, gets her coat, and leaves. Carly says, she’s taking it really hard. She didn’t realize how important it was for Willow to find her birth parents. He says, neither did he.

Tomorrow, Josslyn asks if that’s the only reason why Trina hesitated; Nina asks why Obrecht keeps talking about Britt leaving; Britt talks to Brad about her will; and Dante thinks he knows who The Hook is.

🐶 Sonny’s New Honey…

Mr. Vito. I love it.

GH’s Maurice Benard Rescues an Adorable Puppy!

🐕 Oddly enough, I’m super behind today because I also adopted a rescue pup. Meet Wesley.

🏃🏽‍♀️ Dashing Through the Mall…

I don’t know about you, but I worked Black Friday (online) like a champ, and won’t be joining the throng of deer-in-the-headlights people starting now. Stop by tomorrow for more soap and a cup of tea or two. Until then stay safe, stay far from the madding crowd, and stay owning who you are and what you’re doing. Your life will be a lot easier.