What I Watched Today
(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)
General Hospital
Finn picks up Gregory’s cane and remembers the argument they had where Gregory told Finn, by all means lecture him on proper wedding etiquette. Violet comes in, and Finn asks what she’s doing home so early. She says, they had a half day, and Finn hugs her. A woman knocks at the door and says she was making sure Violet got in okay. Gretchen’s in the car so she’s got to run. She’ll see them tomorrow. She leaves, and Violet picks up the bouquet. She says, maybe they can take her bouquet out for a walk. Flowers love fresh air. And they can tell grandpa to come too, if they don’t go too far. (The knife dives deeper into my heart.) He says, they can go for a walk, but he needs to talk to her about something. She asks if she shouldn’t tell grandpa to get ready, but Finn says, grandpa isn’t here. She asks if he’s at the doctor, but Finn says, no. Grandpa isn’t with us anymore. Grandpa passed away last night.
Dex says he hasn’t turned Sonny in, and Michael says, because he doesn’t intend to, or because he hasn’t had time? Dex says he hasn’t decided yet. Why? Michael says, because he and Kristina don’t want Dex to report it.
Sonny asks, what the hell is going on with Dante? He doesn’t have a history here. Michael and Dex conspired to take him down. He didn’t take the proper steps to contain it. He let it go. Dante asks if he wants a medal for not killing someone, and Sonny says, that’s not what he’s saying. He left Dex alone and look what happened. Even more betrayal. He’s hiding behind a badge in the office with Anna, talking about Sonny’s business or whatever he’s talking about. Dex is still trying to take him down, and Dante refuses to see it. Dante says, the only thing he can see really clearly right now is Sonny, and Sonny asks what that means. Dante says, this isn’t some isolated incident. Sonny has a pattern, a history with violence. He’s not talking about Cyrus. This goes back – they both know – for a long time. Sonny asks what Dante is accusing him of.
Alexis says, Diane is right. Whether the robes buy this or not, she wants to stand in front of them and make her argument. Diane raises her hand and says, testify, and Alexis gives her a high-five. Welcome back. Alexis says, there’s a reason Diane wins all her cases. She’s not just pretty; she’s very persuasive. Diane tells her not to forget either of those things. Let’s go win this. Alexis says she has to grab something first, and picks up Gregory’s medal. Diane asks, what’s this hoodoo? and Alexis says, something from Gregory to bring her luck. Let’s hope it works.
Lois tells Ned, good news. She spoke to Monica, and she is all for it. Ned says he’s not surprised. They have plenty of room. Has Lois warned him about his mother? She says, about her irrational bias against those of us who were blessed to grow up in Bensonhurst? No, not yet. Ned says, Lois knows his mother loves her, right? and Lois says she does. She also knows Tracy loves to complain about her and Olivia, and she’s sure Tracy is going to complain about him too. But she and Olivia are adults and he’s just a kid. Ned says, she told him that he was 21, and she says, 21 is still just a kid to her. He says, maybe he’ll win Tracy over. She loves music, as long as it’s not Eddie Maine who’s playing it.
Brook asks if she can get Chase anything. Does he want some water? He says he’s not thirsty, and they hear, this is the final boarding call for flight #384 to Rome, on the loudspeaker. He says, dad was so happy yesterday. He was so full of life. He thought they would have so much more time. She says she did too, (me too), and Chase says, there were so many things he wanted to say to him, and now he’s just never going to know. Brook says she promises he knew, and the loudspeaker announces, boarding for flight 384 to Rome is now closed. Chase cries and Brook comforts him.
Dante says, this isn’t just about Sonny. It’s about him. He’s looked the other way so many times for so long. It’s embarrassing really. Not admitting who Sonny is and who he’s always been. He’s not going to do that anymore. Too many people are getting hurt. And if Sonny doesn’t do something to fix that, it’s just going to get worse.
Dex asks if Josslyn thinks he should turn Sonny in, but she says she thinks it’s up to him. He was attacked. It’s his decision. He says, and she has no opinion on it. That’s a first. She says she’s tired of telling people what they should or shouldn’t do and giving them ultimatums. It hasn’t exactly worked out for her in the past. Michael says he knows he has no right to ask anything else of Dex, and Dex says, but Michael is asking him. But it’s not like when he worked for Sonny. He’s a police cadet now. He has direct knowledge of a crime. What if somebody else gets hurt and him turning in Sonny could have stopped it? Michael says he knows. He’s not asking Dex to do this to protect Sonny, believe him. Sonny deserves to pay for what he did to Dex. He’s asking Dex for Kristina’s sake. If he accuses Sonny, she’ll have to be a witness. She’ll have to testify against her own father. She’s already an emotional wreck from all of this. And she’s pregnant. He’s just worried it’s too much for her. Dex says, when is it too much for him?
Blaze says she’s not denying that what Kristina’s dad did last night scares her, and Kristina says she knows. It scares her too. Blaze says, but she’s not as afraid of Sonny than she is about what all this is doing to Kristina. She’s the one Blaze cares about here. She hates seeing Kristina in so much pain. Besides, she’s the last one who should be throwing stones at anyone’s parents. Her mother gave Kristina every reason to run from their relationship, but she didn’t, so Blaze won’t either. She takes Kristina’s hands and says, Kristina’s not her father. No more than she’s her mother. Kristina says she doesn’t even know who he is anymore. She saw him attacking Dex, and after hearing him scream those threats, it’s like he’s a completely different person.
Finn tells Violet, grandpa wasn’t in any pain. He just went to sleep and didn’t wake up. She says, that can happen? and he says, not to him and her. Grandpa was real sick. She says, it was the ALS? and he says, yeah, that’s probably what it was. They said his heart just stopped beating. She says, but his heart was fine yesterday, and Finn says he knows. Sometimes when people are sick inside, they just don’t know. But he wants her to think about how amazing grandpa was yesterday, how much fun he had. Think about how lucky they are to have spent all this time with him. Violet starts to cry and says, no. She wants grandpa to still be here. She runs out of the room, calling, grandpa!
Finn goes into Gregory’s bedroom to find Violet looking at the bed. She asks, where is he? and Finn takes her hands. He says, the paramedics took grandpa away, and she says she didn’t get to say goodbye. Finn says he knows. If grandpa had known it was going to be the last time he’d see her, he would have hugged her so tight. He hugs her and she cries. She flashes back to being with Gregory at Bobbie’s, and Gregory telling her that she takes after her dad. When he was a boy, he always had his nose in some book. She says, he’s funny. Everyone knows you can’t draw with your nose. Gregory says, she’s so much smarter than he is. The wisdom of youth. She asks, what’s youth? and he says, it’s everything she is, and everything old guys like him long to be. She and Finn cry, and Finn says, life is so beautiful, but sometimes it’s cruel and it’s not fair. Life is so beautiful, it hurts sometimes. She says she loves him, and he says he loves her too. They hug and cry some more.
Chase and Brook walk into the Quartermaine mansion, and Brook asks if he’s okay. He says, not really. He just wishes he could have gone straight from the airport to Finn’s place. She says, her too, but Finn wanted some time to tell Violet about Gregory, just the two of them. He says he doesn’t blame Finn… She says she knows and hugs him. She says, they’re going to have to tell them everything at some point, so they might as well get it over with. Ready for this? He says he’s not sure he’ll ever be ready, but waiting isn’t going to make it easier.
Lois says, poor Ned. She bets Tracy would support his musical side had Brook not followed in their mutual footsteps. He says, if Brook had toed the line and lived her life the way his mother wanted, his mother would never respect her. She says, and Brook would be miserable, and he says, that too. His mother would never admit it, but she loves the way Brook stands up to her. Lois says she loves it too, and Brook and Chase walk in. Lois asks what they’re doing here. Aren’t they supposed to be on a plane, sipping champagne, watching another little plane on the screen in front of them getting closer and closer to Rome? Ned asks, what’s the matter? Was their flight canceled? Brook looks at Chase.
In the courtroom, Alexis flips the medal around, making a clanking sound. Diane puts her hand over it and says, now that Alexis has rubbed Gregory’s good luck charm to shreds, does she feel its good luck coursing through her veins? Alexis says, not unless luck and anxiety feel the same way, and Diane says, then put it away. Take a deep breath, because she doesn’t need luck. She has a brilliant attorney pleading her case. Perhaps she knows her name. Alexis Davis? A man walks in and sits at the other table, and Diane says, who does Alexis think is their esteemed colleague? Alexis says she has no idea. Something about him looks familiar. The bailiff says, all rise, and three judges take their places. Alexis quietly flips the good luck charm.
Finn carries Violet out to the living room and looks at the bottle of bourbon. He asks if she’s okay, and she says, is he? He says he’s very sad. He puts her on the sofa and says he knows it had to be hard for her to go to grandpa’s room just now. It was for him. She says, he was supposed to be in there, and Finn says he knows. She says, but if grandpa isn’t here with them, where is he? What happens to grandpa now?
Dante tells Sonny not to go anywhere near Dex, because if something happens to him, everyone is going to know it was Sonny. Sonny says, that’s how Dante is helping him? By telling him to hide from someone? Keep his mouth shut like some little coward? Dante says, it’s not about being a coward. It’s about being smart. Sonny better hope this kid doesn’t press charges, because if he does, Sonny can’t make amends to his family from behind bars. His freedom now rests on the shoulders, the decision, that a guy’s going to make that Sonny threatened to kill. Sonny says his own son is forsaking him, and Dante says, if he was forsaking Sonny, he’d be taking him down to jail in cuffs. He’s trying to save Sonny. Sonny says, yeah, and Dante says he is. He thinks the problem Sonny is having is that he’s reached his limit with him. He’s done protecting Sonny. He committed a crime and now he has to face the consequences of that crime. Okay? Sonny walks out without saying anything, closing the door behind him. In the hallway, Sonny holds his head for a moment, then keeps walking.
Kristina says she asked Michael to fix things with Dex. That was so unfair of her. Blaze says, it’s pretty clear Kristina’s brother loves her and will do whatever he can to help her, and Kristina says she knows. She loves Michael too, but you’d never be able to tell by the position she just put him in. Blaze says she’s being too hard on herself, and Kristina says she wishes. She hates it, but there’s really only one way for Michael to fix things and that’s by convincing Dex not to press charges against her dad.
Dex says he came to Port Charles because Michael asked him to take Sonny down. What happened last night is further proof that his first instinct was right. Sonny’s not just a danger to his enemies. He’s a danger to his loved ones too. And they’re never going to get a better chance to stop him than right now. Michael says, maybe, but like he told Dex… Josslyn says, there’s no maybe. Michael is right. Sonny absolutely deserves to be punished for what he’s done. The question is, does Kristina, and does her baby? Dex says he guesses she’s not afraid to share her opinion after all, and she says she’s thinking about him too. Because if he presses charges, and Kristina’s a witness, and they interview her, is the stress going to be too much for her and the baby? She knows Dex, and he’s going to feel terrible if it is. She’s not interested in telling him what to do. She can only ask, please don’t file charges against Sonny.
Sonny walks into the penthouse, and Ava says, there you are. She was worried. He barely said two words last night, and he was gone by the time Avery left for school. She missed her dad this morning. He starts to head for the back, and she says, please. Don’t shut her out. She’s here. He says, Kristina saw something, got the wrong idea. She’s one of the last people who believed in him, and now he lost her.
At the café, Michael asks Josslyn if she saw Sonny at the wedding, and she says, yes. She did her best to ignore him. He says, Sonny iced him out at the church. Not that he was expecting anything different. He was watching Sonny at the reception with Brook’s family, and they were all over him. They adored him. He was charming; he was flashing his dimples. He was smiling and flirting with the ladies and making jokes with the guys. He was watching Sonny and he was thinking, there he is. I know that guy. That’s my father. Josslyn says she remembers feeling that way about him. Thinking that he was so kind and empathetic. Thinking how lucky she was to have him as a stepfather. He says, it’s not like he’s lying. All that charm, the dimples, all that stuff, it’s real. So was the ugliness, the brutality, the rage. He used to be better at hiding it, controlling it… That’s why he and mom wanted Dex to stay around him, to keep an eye on him, to protect him from himself. She says, well, now Dex needs protection from Sonny, and he says, speaking of Dex. He saw them. They were dancing at the reception. He knows she waited for Dex afterwards, and actually, the whole night didn’t go as planned, but are they back together?
Finn takes Violet’s hand and says, in a few days, there will be something called a funeral. That’s where all of grandpa’s family and friends will get together to say goodbye to him. She says, but how do they say goodbye if he’s not here? and he tells her, they say it in their thoughts and they say it in their prayers. Or if she wants, she can say it out loud. It’s different for everyone. It’s whatever feels best for her. She says, but when they say goodbye, does grandpa go to heaven? Is he with the angels? Finn says, yeah. Grandpa’s with the angels. There’s a knock at the door, and Violet answers. Elizabeth is there and she hugs Violet. She tells Finn that Chase called her. She’s so sorry. Violet says, her dad’s sad too. She thinks he needs a hug. Elizabeth says she’s sure, and hugs Finn. Violet closes the door, and Elizabeth sees the glass with bourbon in it. She looks at Finn, looks at the bottle, then back at Finn again.
Diane says, on behalf of her client, Alexis Davis, and herself, she would like to thank the court for hearing their petition today. They come before the court to appeal Miss Davis’s disbarment and ask that she be allowed to return to the Bar and practice law in New York State again. And should they accept her appeal, the state and the people in it will only be the better for it. She thanks them and sits down. The man at the adjacent table stands up and says, with all due respect to his esteemed colleague, Miss Miller, the State of New York and its citizenry will be better off without Miss Davis, a proven liar, abusing their trust again. One of the judges asks, and what is the name of the party opposing Miss Davis’s appeal? and the man says, Fergus Byrne. He’s opposing her appeal. His brother Neil was a casualty of Miss Davis’s utter and complete disregard for the law. (Is this allowed? It’s not a parole hearing.)
Sonny tells Ava, the church, the music, everything was just beautiful. People were there from the old neighborhood who he grew up with, like the Cerullos and the Falconaris mostly. The church was packed. He looks over and he sees Dex. Ava says, what? and Sonny says, he had no right to be there. He knew it. Dex looks over at him with his little smirk like he knew he was getting away with it. Ava says, why would he do that? and Sonny says, because he’s a punk kid, with no respect for anyone or anything. She asks what Sonny did, and he says he punched Dex a few times, more than a few times, but he deserved it. Then Jason stopped him from doing something really bad that he was really going to regret. She says she’s sure Dex got the message, but he says, guys like Dex never get the message.
Blaze says, if Michael is willing to ask Dex to drop the charges, maybe it’s a good thing, and Kristina asks if Blaze is on her dad’s side. She’d have lost that bet. Blaze says she’s on Kristina’s side, first and always, but if she’s honest, she’s worried about what the effects of Sonny’s possible arrest and prosecution would have on Kristina. She’s very pregnant and already under a lot of pressure. Kristina says she knows. Seeing her dad attack Dex that way didn’t make it any better. Blaze says, it would be worse if Kristina had to go up in court and testify against him, and Kristina says she didn’t even think about that part of it. She was so focused on what would happen to her dad, she didn’t even… That’s why Michael agreed to talk to Dex. It wasn’t for her dad’s sake; it was for her. Blaze says, Michael already knows she has a lot to think about with the baby. On top of the already complicated history she has with her dad. She’s guessing Michael is putting himself out there because he wants to spare Kristina. That’s really a pretty amazing brother thing to do. Kristina says she knows. She just feels so bad. Michael’s going out on a limb, and she loves her dad. Blaze says, no one’s asking her to stop loving Sonny. It’s not like she’s turning off a faucet. Kristina says she knows, but he shouldn’t be allowed to get away with attacking people and threatening to kill them just because she loves her dad. Blaze says she doesn’t think he should either, and Kristina picks up her phone. Blaze asks what she’s doing, and Kristina says, what she has to do. She makes a call and says, hey, it’s Kristina. I’m at the MetroCourt. How soon can you be here?
Josslyn says, no, she and Dex aren’t back together, and Michael says, sorry he asked. She says, why wouldn’t he ask? She’s been asking herself the same question. She’s the one who broke up with Dex, even though she was still in love with him. He just did something she couldn’t accept, and she thought that was the end of it. He says, but it’s not? and she says she just hates couples that keep breaking up and getting back together. It’s like they’re terminally indecisive or they’re just addicted to the drama of it all. It just reminds her of mom and Sonny’s relationship. Every time she got rid of him, she’d go running back. She’s not saying Dex and Sonny are the same. They could not be more different. Her point is, it’s just not the kind of relationship that she wanted. When she broke up with Dex, she really meant it. Then he radically changed his life. He’s going to become a cop. At first, she thought it was to make amends with her. She knows she sounds like an egomaniac. He asks if she’s saying that Dex didn’t apply to the police academy to impress her. Because that seems like the obvious explanation.
Elizabeth wonders if she can ask Violet for a favor, and Violet says, sure. Elizabeth says, Aiden has been begging her for a friendship bracelet. Can she make him one? Violet says, definitely, and Elizabeth thanks her. Violet goes to her room, and Elizabeth makes sure that she can’t hear. She tells Finn that she can’t imagine how he’s feeling, but it’s obvious he’s been drinking. So she’s going to take Violet home with her, and he can get himself to a meeting, okay? He says, no, not okay. Violet’s staying with him. And he doesn’t need to get himself to a meeting. She says, this isn’t just about him, and he says his father is dead. She says, he must be in so much pain, and he says he stood right over there and watched two strangers wheel out his dead dad. She says, please, let her help him, but he laughs and says, nothing can help the way he’s feeling. Nothing.
Sonny tells Ava that Dex is taunting him. Dex isn’t even saying anything, but is still taunting him. Jason grabbed him and then Kristina showed up. He doesn’t know what she heard, and then she took off without… He wasn’t able to explain anything to her. Ava says she’s so sorry, and he says, Kristina was the only one who really, really believed in him. Every time she would look up at him, she would smile. By the time he finally caught up with her, his little girl was afraid of him. Ava looks like she might cry.
Blaze opens the door and tells Dex, come on in. It looks bad. He says he’s had worse. Never at a wedding though. Kristina says she doesn’t know what to say. She’s sorry doesn’t even begin to cut it. She thanks him for even agreeing to come here. Blaze asks if she can get him anything. Aspirin? Ice? He says, no thank you. Josslyn stayed with him at the ER while he got stitched up. Kristina says, Josslyn was right about her dad. She can say I told you so for… well, the rest of my life now. Dex says, it’s the last thing she wants to do. There’s no victory lap when it comes to being right about Sonny. Kristina says, he’s right. She’s sorry. She didn’t mean to be flippant about it. She had blinders on when it came to her dad. Everyone saw that but her. She wanted to think of him as the man she knew him to be, not who he was, not in his entirety. He says, for what it’s worth (🍷), when he worked for Sonny, he also saw what he wanted to see, and he was just as wrong. She says she knows her brother asked him not to press charges. Michael did that because of her, because she asked him to, but she shouldn’t have. He asks, why not? and she says, because Dex is entitled to justice, and if he chooses to pursue it, she wants him to know that she’ll testify on his behalf against her father.
Josslyn tells Michael, Dex really believes in what he’s doing. He wants to be a cop. He wants to wear that uniform, to protect and serve. And she thinks he’s going to make a really good cop, like Dante. He’s going to help people. And she thinks that he would really like it if they got back together, but if for some reason they don’t, Dex is going to be fine. He respects himself… and some other girl would get him, and she’d be kicking herself. Michael says, there’s an easy solution to this. She can just tell Dex that she wants to try again. She says she doesn’t know if she’s ready for that yet. What she does know is that she’s done changing her mind. Dex deserves better. Michael says he’s going to guess though, that Dex would tell her that there is nobody better than her. She says, he’s her big brother. He has to say nice things to her. He says, that doesn’t make them any less true, and hugs her.
Diane says, Mr. Byrne just admitted to being the brother of the late Dr. Neil Byrne, who was a factor in her client’s disbarment. Fergus gets up and says, his brother was much more than a factor in her case. Although he shouldn’t be surprised that she reduced him to such. His brother, Neil Byrne, would be alive today if it weren’t for Alexis Davis. Diane starts to protest that it’s a conflict of interest, when Alexis gets up. She says she has no problem with Mr. Byrne’s role here today. In fact, she welcomes it. She’s never pleaded her own case in court before, but she intends to do so today, so it seems fitting, maybe even necessary, that Mr. Byrne have a front row seat to it.
Lois says she’s so sorry and hugs Chase. His father was a wonderful man, and he was a wonderful father. Chase is proof of that. Every moment she spent in Gregory’s company was pure joy. Chase thanks her, and she asks if Brook is okay, and hugs her. Ned tells Chase that he’s so sorry, and Brook asks, where’s her grandmother? Ned says, she went down to the stables. She was going out for a ride. Chase says he’ll go down there and see if she’s left yet, and Ned says he’ll walk Chase down. They leave, and Lois says she can’t believe he’s gone. She knew it was going to happen someday, but… Brook says she knows. Someday wasn’t supposed to be now. Lois leads Brook to the sofa and says, sometimes God has a plan for us. She guesses it would just be nice sometimes to get a little heads up. Because of Brook and Chase and that beautiful wedding, Gregory died the happiest, right? Brook says, he was also the bravest, and holding back tears, Lois says, yeah, he was. And the way he officiated their wedding, it was with so much courage and determination. Brook says, he had so much strength, and he used so much of it to get through that ceremony. It’s like he just didn’t have any left. She starts to cry, and Lois sits next to her, putting her arm around Brook. Brook says, Chase just wanted a little more time with his dad, and Lois says, but Brook is here to hold Chase now and let him know he’s not alone. Brook puts her head on Lois’s shoulder, and they cry.
Finn says, does Elizabeth want to know what eased the pain for a few minutes? One drink. He thinks he has the right to do whatever it takes to get him through this day. She says, if that’s how he chooses to treat his pain, she can’t stop him, but she will not let him get drunk in front of that little girl in this apartment.
Tomorrow, Finn says, those are the two choices, you decide; Alexis demands to know the name of her accuser; Kristina tells Blaze that in her own way, she’s just as guilty; and Carly asks what Sonny is going to do when he runs out of traitors.
👨🏻💻 A Professor To Remember…
I’m so sorry to see him go. I saw Gregory Harrison years ago on Broadway in a revival of my favorite musical, Follies. He was actually substituting for the original actor, and I was skeptical at first, but he was absolutely amazing. It’s a shame they couldn’t have made it a misdiagnosis or at least let him play it out. Although kudos for such a beautiful ending.
https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/gh-stars-say-goodbye-to-gregory-harrison
⚖️ Enter Fergus…
Apparently, he and Alexis (or at least her portrayer) are no strangers.
💊 The Real Deal…
It’s unbelievable people were telling him that Sonny’s reaction to the low dosage of his meds is unrealistic or that it’s just for the next Emmy. He ought to know about being bipolar and he deserves another Emmy for this one.
🔪 The Latest On Top…
My takeaways from this week. Tom said to put your own spin on a classic, you have to understand the dish first. Even though the microwave is my best friend in the kitchen, I get this. The teacher I studied musical comedy with said, learn how the song is sung first, then make it your own. Same thing. The judges were also on Watch What Happens Live afterward, and Kristen said she finds foam to be useless 99% of the time. So my suspicions about foam were right.
🍲 In Other Chefs…
Serving up the next Food Stars.
https://thedirect.com/article/gordon-ramsays-food-stars-2024-cast-season-2-contestants-hosts-photos
🪞 Don’t Try This At Home…
I’m including this because it’s just so sad. And they’re not the only women in the industry who think they’re huge at a size 0. I have a theory that the people in media and advertising want women to disappear, since they just keep encouraging us to be smaller.
https://people.com/christina-applegate-anorexia-married-with-children-messy-podcast-8647913
🍿 No Awards For You…
They don’t quite say what the problem was. I actually thought it was the only awards show worth watching.
https://ew.com/mtv-movie-and-tv-awards-wont-happen-this-year-will-return-in-2025-8647917
🐕 The Warm and Fuzzy Side Of the Met…
I swear, next year I’m going to this.
https://people.com/dogs-dress-in-canine-copies-of-2024-met-gala-looks-for-pet-gala-8651847
🪣 There’s a Hole In My Bucket List…
Join me tomorrow for soap and throwing stones at Summer Houses. Until then, stay safe, stay sending postcards when you travel, and stay saying goodbye however feels best for you. It’s different for everyone.
What I Watched - TV With Theresa 