Tag Archives: Fountains of Wayne

Aug15

August 14, 2023 – Olivia Accepts Ned As Eddie, Off Screen Time, Big Apple Wives, Parting Is No Sorrow, VanderFlip, Talking Off Deck, Bubble Bear & Too Cool

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Olivia sets out towels on the chaise lounges, when Dante comes in and asks if she doesn’t have people to do that for her. She says she does, but doing it herself keeps her busy and keeps her from constantly worrying. He says, about Ned? and she says she misses him. Even when they were at the PCPD last night, it felt all kinds of wrong. Dante says, Ned didn’t want to come with them. Sonny’s got him; he’ll be fine. She says she knows and knows she can trust Sonny. She’s just got to come to terms with the fact that she lost her husband. He asks if she’s going to give up on Ned.

Ned walks in while Sonny is on the phone with Selina. Sonny says, she can’t go over there conducting business without letting him know first. Does she understand what he’s saying? Are they clear? After holding his head a moment, Ned walks to the door, and Sonny asks where he’s going. Ned says he needs some coffee, but Sonny says, they have coffee here. He’ll have Garciella make him a fresh… Ned says he needs some space, and leaves.

Carly walks into Sonny’s old kitchen with Josslyn and says she can’t believe Josslyn had her phone off. The moss bowl🎍disapproves, and Josslyn says she’s sorry. Carly says, what if there had been an emergency? What if Michael and Willow needed her? What if Donna needed her? What if the moss bowl🎍needed her? Josslyn says she knows. She woke up this morning to all of Carly’s texts and voicemails and freaked out. She can’t stop thinking about how she left Carly at the PCPD overnight. Carly says she’s the one who got in a bar fight, and Josslyn asks if Carly wants to tell her about that. What was she doing at the Highsider?

Dex tells Sonny that Betty’s on her way up, and Sonny says he wants Dex to listen and stay out of sight. Outside, Betty tells the guard that she’s here to see Sonny, and he knocks on the door. Sonny opens it, and tells Betty to come in. He says he appreciates her coming by before she went to Windymere to pick up Avery. She says, it’s her pleasure, as Dex listens in. Whatever she can do to make Sonny and Ava’s life easier. Sonny says he appreciates that, and she says she hopes everything is all right with Avery and her. Sonny says, Avery is great. So far, so good. She seems to be getting along with Betty. Betty says she’s so happy to hear that. Avery’s adorable and they’ve been having fun. Sonny says, good, because there’s been a change in plans.

The firemen are combing Anna’s house, when Valentin walks in. He tells her that the fire department and the police are wrapping things up. He passed along her appreciation for doing what they could to save her townhouse. She sits on the stairs looking at a framed photo, and he says he thinks they should go. She says she knows; there’s nothing left here. She runs her hands over the photo, and we see it’s Robin and Emma. She says, there’s nothing left of her life.

Betty asks, what’s changed? and Sonny says, she’s taking Avery to camp today, right? She says, that was her plan. She’s picking up Avery from Windymere this morning, then take her to day camp. He asks when camp is finished, and she says, three. Then she’ll bring Avery back here, if that’s okay with him. He asks if she’s going to stay with Avery until it’s finished, and she says she was planning to, unless he or Ava need her to do something for them. He tells her to stay with Avery. He has a business meeting he can’t miss and won’t be back until after five. So stay with Avery until he gets back. Can she do that for him? She says, of course (🍷). She looks forward to the time she gets to spend with Avery. She’s such a sweetheart. Dex continues to listen, and Sonny says, she’s clear on what Ava needs her to do, right? It was funny. He was worried to change nannies because Avery’s so attached to Pilar, but Betty seems so sweet, and Avery seems to be taken with her. She says she knows how hard change can be for a child, so she’s glad to hear Avery is adjusting so well. Sonny says he’ll see her around five, and she leaves. Dex comes back out.

Austin goes into his office, and Mason is behind the door. He says, hey, cuz, and Austin says, why is he always here? Mason says, good morning to him too, closing the door, and Austin says he doesn’t want Mason here. What does he want this time? Mason says, one of the reasons the boss paid for Austin to go to medical school was so he’d be available to them, and right now, he’s in need. Austin says, no, he’s not. He patched Mason up last night. It wasn’t a serious injury. There was no need for him to come back. Mason says, tell that to his headache. He just needs something for the pain, and he’s still seeing double from when that blonde conked him last night.

Carly says, it all started when she went to the MetroCourt last night to see Olivia, and Josslyn says, how was that? She knows they’ve been having a hard time. Carly says, it was weird. Olivia is in her old office. Josslyn says, that’s tough. She’s sorry. At least Nina didn’t take advantage of that opportunity to steal that again. Carly tells her that Olivia said she’d never let that happen… She misses the MetroCourt. She misses her staff. She misses the day to day problems and all the excitement that comes with it. She misses the guests. It made her more determined than ever to get her hotel back, and she will. Josslyn says she has no doubt, and Carly says, she and Olivia were hanging out and reminiscing about the day they met. Olivia is going through so much with Ned, and she’s worried about Drew. They needed a distraction, so they went to the Highsider. Josslyn asks if she found her distraction before the cops showed up, and Carly says, things got really crazy really quickly, but it wasn’t their fault.

Olivia tells Dante, of course (🍷) she hasn’t given up on Ned. How could she? He’s Leo’s father. He says, she can’t just do this for Leo, and she says she’s doing it for their family. For Leo’s sake as much as hers, she has to figure out who Eddie is. She doesn’t know what’s going on in that head of his. He may never go back to being Ned. Dante says, wow. Does she think she can accept that? She says she doesn’t know. It kind of freaks her out. She looks at him and expects to see Ned, and all she sees is Eddie. He’s all Eddie now. Ned has completely disappeared and she has to figure out a way of living with that, so that he’s not fighting against her and she’s not trying to completely control him. Dante’s phone rings, and he tells her, it’s the station, sorry, but she tells him not to apologize. Take it. He steps away and asks, what’s up?… What happened?… He’s on his way. He tells Olivia, there was a fire in Anna’s townhome last night, and she asks if everyone is okay. He says he doesn’t know. He’ll let her know. He hugs her, and she thanks him for rescuing her last night. He tells her, good luck with Eddie, and leaves.

Valentin says he shouldn’t have gone to ELQ last night, and sits next to Anna. She says, he can’t blame himself for this, but he says he should have been here with her. She says, he didn’t know this was going to happen. He has a business to run. He can’t babysit her all the time. He says, this could have ended very badly. She could have been upstairs sleeping in bed. She says she wasn’t. She went for a run, thank God. He says, they got lucky, but she says she doesn’t know. He asks what that means, and she says she doesn’t know if the arsonist was outside, waiting for her to leave or they assumed she was asleep upstairs. He says, let’s hope for the former. He doesn’t much like the sound of the second one. This whole thing started when his father outed her past as a double agent, and he got what he wanted. Someone has made her a target of their revenge.

Sonny says that he wants all eyes on Betty, especially when she’s with Avery, and Dex says, absolutely. He hands Sonny a small envelope, and Sonny asks if it’s from Brick. Dex says, yes. It arrived this morning. Sonny takes out a flashdrive, and Dex asks what it is. Sonny says, a special present, for Betty. There’s a lot of information on this flashdrive, fabricated by Brick, none of it accurate, and Betty is going to find it. Dex asks how they make sure she gets her hands on it, and Sonny says, Betty is going to be here with Avery for a few hours, and she’s not going to resist searching the place. And she’s going to be pleasantly surprised at what she finds on Sonny’s computer – false Pikeman data. Dex says, then what? and Sonny says, she’s going to bring it to Mason and Austin, and they’re going to bring it to whoever they work for.

Carly tells Josslyn, when they got the Highsider, Ned was there, and she wanted to find out for herself if he’d lost his memory and really thought he was Eddie. Josslyn asks if he remembered turning her into the SEC, and Carly says, no, but Olivia gave her some alone time with him. That’s when some guy came up to Olivia and wouldn’t take no for an answer and kept grabbing her. Josslyn says, ew! And that’s when Carly stepped in? Carly says, no. Ned jumped in before she could, and that’s when the fight started. Josslyn says she doesn’t understand. Why were Carly, Ned, and Olivia arrested, when someone else started it? Carly says she doesn’t know. When the cops showed up, the guy must have snuck out the back. Olivia was really upset about that, and got a little aggressive with one of the cops, and that’s when they got arrested. Josslyn says, never a dull moment. She’s so sorry for leaving Carly there all night. She feels so bad. Carly tells her not to worry about it. Honestly, she could have left earlier if she’d let Sonny sign her out. Josslyn asks why she didn’t. She thought Carly was all let’s forgive and forget when it comes to Sonny. So much so, she has Dex watching him and reporting back to Michael. She doesn’t understand. If Carly cares about him, why wouldn’t she let him help her?

Anna tells Valentin that Victor put a target on her back. He’s probably smiling up at all the hell he sent her. Valentin says, even from beyond the grave, he won’t stop inflicting pain, and Anna says, in the beginning, she thought his motive was to get her kicked out of the WSB, but she thinks it was a lot bigger than that. She hurt a lot of people. He says, she paid for that, but she says she doesn’t know. People suffered because of what she did. He can’t deny that. People died, and who did they leave behind? Children, lovers… How did it affect them? One life touches a lot of people, and someone out there wants her to pay for what she did. Obviously, she doesn’t blame them for wanting that. He tells her, stop. Don’t say that. She doesn’t deserve any of this. Whoever is after her, whatever they think they’ve lost, it does not justify revenge. She says, since when?

While distributing menu cards, Olivia finds Ned in the pool area, and says she’s surprised to see him here this morning. Same outfit he had on at the bar last night, huh? He says he doesn’t have too many changes of clothes over at Sonny’s, but he’s glad she’s here. She asks, why? What’s going on? He says he wanted to see her, but didn’t want to run the risk of going to the house and bumping into Tracy. She says, Tracy can be a lot to take first thing in the morning, and he says he can only imagine. So how is she doing after last night? She says she’s doing okay, but she wouldn’t have been if he hadn’t stepped in and defended her from that creep, so she thanks him for that. He says, don’t mention it, and she asks how he is. He says he’s okay, and she says, the guy landed a few good punches on Ned; he hit Ned pretty hard. Ned says he’s definitely feeling it this morning, and she suggests getting him some ice, but he says he’s fine. He’s just glad she’s okay. She says she’s glad he’s okay too, and he says he should get going. She says, Eddie… wait.

Carly tells Josslyn, watching out for Sonny, and making sure his businesses are stable, is very different from accepting help from him. Josslyn asks, why is it different? She doesn’t understand. Carly says, they’ve talked about this. Sonny has got to stay strong. If he loses power, they’re no longer safe. Josslyn says, they’re not married anymore, so why would that affect her? and Carly says she agrees. In a normal situation, it shouldn’t affect her, but she already told Josslyn, because of who Sonny is, they’re all affected. If Sonny is weak, then his kids and everyone around him are targets. That includes Donna, Avery, Michael, Josslyn, Dante, her… especially her. (Um… and Kristina?) Josslyn says she just doesn’t like that Carly has to protect him, and Carly says she gets that, but Josslyn needs to understand, this is the way things are, and she and Sonny will always be connected. Josslyn says, so that’s why she wants Dex and Michael working together to protect him, and Carly says, yes, exactly. Josslyn asks if that’s the only reason.

Sonny tells Dex, Ava got herself in a complicated situation. She’s being blackmailed by Austin’s cousin Mason. He doesn’t want to bore Dex with the details. Dex says he understands, but does Sonny think Austin is in on the blackmailing? Sonny says, Ava doesn’t think so, but he’s not 100% sure Austin is innocent in all this. So he had Brick run intel on Austin, Mason, and Betty. They’re from Pautuck. Mason and Austin are cousins; Betty used to work for Mason’s family’s trucking company. They sold out a few years ago. It’s unknown who bought it out, but it was purchased through a shell company; no criminal record. Dex says, so Mason blackmailed Ava into hiring Betty as Avery’s new nanny, giving her access to Sonny and the penthouse, and Sonny says, yeah. Here’s the thing. Betty doesn’t know Ava came clean with him, and Ava thinks Mason and Austin are working for somebody else. Dex says, any idea who? and Sonny says, somebody who wants information on his Pikeman deal.

Mason asks if Austin is going to give him something for this headache, when Betty slips into the office. Austin says, this is not a clubhouse. He’s actually a doctor and actually has patients to see. So they’re going to have to have their little treehouse meeting some other place. Betty says she has business to discuss with both of them, and Mason says, Austin might be the fancy doctor with a medical degree and all, but he’s just an employee like the rest of them and does as the boss tells him. Speaking of which, does Betty have good news for them? She says, better than good. She’s taking Sonny’s daughter to day camp this morning, then back to his penthouse. Sonny will be away at a business meeting. That should give her two hours to get some information on Pikeman. Mason says, didn’t he tell Austin that it was worth it to get Betty in there?

Anna says, Valentin understands this though. He wanted revenge on her for years. He says, but then he realized it was her sister Alex all along, and she says, but revenge feels like the answer – that’s her point – but it’s not. It feels like it’s going to take away the pain, but sometimes it really just magnifies the whole thing. He says, it certainly did with him, and she says, someone out there is hurting, maybe because of the decisions she made. And putting a target on her back, burning her house down, makes it feel righteous because of the things she did in her past. Dante arrives and tells Anna that he’s so sorry. She thanks him, and he says he’s glad she’s not hurt. He says hello to Valentin, and tells Anna that he knows his timing can’t be worse, but if she’s feeling up to it, he could use a statement. She says, protocol, she gets it, and he says he’ll give her a lift to the station. She says, that’d be great, and Valentin says he’ll go with her, but she says she can handle this on her own. He asks, why? and she says she’ll see him later, leaving with Dante.

Sonny says, Brick filled the flashdrive with all kinds of false information, and Dex asks if it will be convincing enough. Sonny says, Brick is the best at what he does. Mason and Betty are going to think it’s the real deal and deliver it to their boss. Dex asks how feeding them false information helps Sonny, and Sonny says, Brick installed sophisticated tracking software. So whoever has access to this flashdrive is going to allow Brick entry into their records and their network. Once he finds out who these Pautuck yahoos are reporting to, he’s going to take care of them and their boss. Dex says, so they have to make sure Betty finds that flashdrive, and Sonny says he has to make sure she doesn’t know he’s leading her to it. Dex asks, what’s the plan? and Sonny says he’s going to take Donna over to Carly’s, and since there’s not going to be anybody here when Betty brings Avery from camp, Dex is going to handle what happens next.

Austin says, this is so great. Betty having access to Sonny’s penthouse, she’ll have hours there by herself, and can gather up all the information she can find and pass it on to the boss. Then his favorite part, the two of them gone and out of his and Ava’s life for good. He walks to the door, and Mason says, for a person who went to medical school and became a doctor, Austin is pretty dumb. Why on earth would he ever let Austin go when he still has use for him? Austin wonders how he knew Mason was going to say that, and Mason says, because Austin delivered the grand prize – Ava and her little kid. That gave the boss major leverage on Sonny. Austin says, the last thing he wanted was Ava involved in this, and definitely didn’t want her child involved, but Betty says, too late for that. Mason says he knows Austin. Play the hero for Ava all he wants, but in the end, he’s still about himself.

Carly tells Josslyn that she knows her stance on Sonny is confusing and hypocritical, but their lives are intertwined, and that’s a fact. Josslyn says she understands, and Carly says, and they share a child, one they love and adore. And all their other kids. There’s Josslyn and Michael and Dante and Kristina (oh, she remembered). And Morgan. The loss of a child, they’ll be bonded over that forever. There’s so much that she and Sonny share. Josslyn says she knows that. That still doesn’t mean it’s not impossible for Carly. Carly laughs, and says, yeah, it’s hard. It’s hard, but they’re moving forward in their relationship. Sonny’s going to marry Nina; she’s with Drew. She’s just focusing on the future. It’s all she can do. Josslyn says she just doesn’t know how Carly is doing that with him, and Carly says, because she has to. She doesn’t have a choice. This is where they are. And being in a never-ending war with Sonny is not productive and it’s not healthy. Josslyn says she doesn’t think this is healthy for Carly. She doesn’t think Sonny is healthy for any of them. Carly says she knows everything that has happened and everything they’ve been through, but at the end of the day, Sonny is still family and they can’t forget that.

Ned asks Olivia if this is another pitch to get him into therapy or to bond with the Quartermaines. Because if it is, she can save her breath. She says, on the contrary; it’s the opposite of that. She knows it took her a little while to get her head around this, but she realizes it now. He’s not Ned anymore; he’s Eddie. He says he’s surprised to hear her say that, and she tells him, as much as she’d like to wrestle him to the ground and force him back to being Ned, she can’t do that. He’s not Ned anymore. He says, no, he’s not, and she says, he’s changed, and he’s got to be true to how he feels and who he is now. And he’s not hurting anybody by living as Eddie, so… He says he’s hurting her and he’s sorry. And he’s sorry for hurting Leo, and Brook, and even Tracy. But if he’s being honest with himself, he has to live as him, Eddie, because that’s all he knows how to be. She says, and she’s got to respect that.

At the station, Dante tells Anna, according to the fire chief’s report, the physical evidence found at her house indicates it was arson. Some kind of flammable liquid was ignited. She was at the house when it happened? She shakes her head and says, she’d gone for this short run; she needed to clear her head. He says she didn’t see anything or anyone suspicious, right? and she says, no. He says he was at her house around 10:30 last night, and she told him that Valentin went to ELQ. She says, there was a water main break, and it was threatening the mainframe computer, and he asks what time Valentin came back. She says, Valentin didn’t come back to her house last night, and he asks if Valentin spent the night at ELQ, but she says she doesn’t know. She didn’t see him until this morning. Dante asks what time he went over to ELQ, but she says she’s not sure. Obviously, it was before Dante turned up. What is he getting at? He says he’s just covering all the bases. She knows how this works. She says she does, and he says he’s just got to make a quick call. He’ll be right back. In the hallway, he makes a call and asks if they can pull the security footage from the ELQ parking garage for last night. He’s trying to find out when Valentin Cassadine’s car entered the parking lot, and if it ever left… And report this back to him only please. He goes back in and tells Anna, let’s find out who had motive for that fire.

Carly thanks Sonny for bringing Donna to the house, so she didn’t have to go all the way to his place. He says he’ll take any time he can with Donna and the moss bowl🎍. Carly has raised a smart and independent young lady. She says, they both have, and Donna couldn’t stop telling her about how much fun Sonny’s sleepover was last night. He says, they had a great time. What about her? The moss bowl🎍 laughs, and he asks if she enjoyed her time in jail. She says, no, she didn’t. He says, then why didn’t she let him sign her out? Was it her pride?

Eddie/Ned thanks Olivia for respecting him. He gets that this is really hard on her. She says, it hasn’t been easy, that’s for sure, and he says he wants to apologize for disappearing on her yesterday. She was being really nice and supportive, and listening to him play his music. And when she went to get him something to drink, he snuck off. He’s sorry for not letting her know he was leaving. She thanks him for saying that, and says she knows it hasn’t been easy on him either. She was afraid she was smothering him or hovering… He says, no. It had nothing to do with her. He was actually freaking out, thinking about what Tracy had said about having him committed. She asks if he didn’t believe her when she said she’d never let that happen, and he says he was just afraid Tracy might have changed her mind. She’s a force of nature.

Dante says, when he was at Anna’s house, they were talking about who would want her dead, and if there’s any connection between Pikeman and the sudden power shift at the WSB. She says, something about this fire feels different to her. She doesn’t think the WSB or Pikeman had anything to do with it. Starting a fire is too sloppy for the Bureau. Like, if an agent wanted to kill her, they had ample opportunity to do it. When she went for her run, a sniper could have easily taken her out. He says, like they tried to at the MetroCourt pool, and she says, or she could have been hit by a car. He knows as well as she does that there are people at the Bureau who would take the fall for that; make it look like an accident. Those are their tactics. They both know that’s how they would have got it done. If she was a priority, she’d be dead by now. They’re not going to start a fire in an empty house. He asks if she’s ready to take the WSB off the table as a suspect, but she says she doesn’t know. But to her, in her gut, this feels like revenge, plain and simple.

Anna tells Dante, once The Sun got ahold of the story that she was a traitor at one point, they made it public knowledge. And it’s true. Some people suffered for decisions she made. She thinks there’s someone out there who she hurt, and they want payback. Dante says he thinks she’s been carrying this guilt around for a long time, and maybe it’s messing with her head a little bit, clouding her thoughts. She says, there’s a lot of processing going on, but her thoughts are clear, and he says, okay. Maybe she has to see someone within the WSB trying to get rid of her. She says she told him, starting a fire is too sloppy for the Bureau, but he says, it’s deliberately sloppy, right? If someone in the WSB wanted to make it look like they wanted to get rid of her, they wouldn’t follow procedure. They would cover their tracks. And what better way than setting her house on fire to get revenge, to send a message? She says, it could be anyone within that community, and he says, that’s what makes this so dangerous. But she knows better than anyone about intelligence and espionage. You build something up, make it look like something else. She says she used that strategy in a few black ops missions, and he says, him too. Create an illusion. Make something look spontaneous when it’s really taken tons of planning and logistics to pull it off. She looks far away, and he says, what? She says, logistics, and he says, it goes hand-in-hand with trying to keep your enemy off your trail, right? She gets up and says she’s told him everything about the fire. She’s kind of tired and right now she’s homeless. She’s got to get over to the MetroCourt and book a room. He says, let him call his mom; she can get Anna a room. She says, that’s okay. She appreciates it, but she’s got some things to take care of first. He thanks her for coming in, and says he’s really sorry for the things that have been happening to her. She says she knows, and thanks him. She leaves, and his phone rings. He asks what they’ve got… Valentin’s car never made to the ELQ parking garage? Are they sure about that?

Ned tells Olivia, admit it. She thinks Tracy’s right. He’s crazy and belongs in a looney bin. She says she never thinks Tracy’s right, so let’s get that straight, but he did clonk his head pretty hard when he fell at the pool. So maybe her kneejerk reaction was to think maybe he knocked something loose, but that’s not what she thinks anymore. He thanks her for the reassurance, because he’s not that CEO business guy she says he was, and he’s never going to be. She says she sees that now. She knows it’s taken her some time to get her head around that, but she accepts he’s someone else now. He says he’s Eddie Maine, and she says she knows. And even if she thought that one good jolt of electroshock therapy would bring her husband back to her, she could never do that to him. He thanks her, and she says, and another thing. She would never have him committed for being someone new. She gave him her word on that and her word is gold. He says, is that so? and she says, yeah. She’s a Bensonhurst girl. She always keeps her word. She walks off with the tray of menu cards, and he looks bemused.

Carly says, this isn’t about pride, and Sonny tells her, all he’s saying is that she didn’t have to stay at the PCPD. He was willing to sign her out. She says she can’t let him be her safety net anymore, but he says, they’re always going to be there for each other. She says she gets that. And throughout the years, no matter where they were with each other, he was always there to bail her out. That means more to her than he’ll ever know, but she can’t let him do it anymore. He says he didn’t go there to get her; he was there to sign Ned out. She says she got herself in the situation, and he says, because she was protecting Olivia. She says, it doesn’t matter. She’s the one who has to get herself out. He says, if she needs him, he’s there… He gets it. She’s independent. She says she’s always been independent. She just got to the point where she was depending on him for everything, and she has to take care of herself now. He says, all right. She doesn’t need his help. She says she’s glad they cleared that up, and he says, because at the moment, he’s got a lot going on. He leaves, and she sighs.

Austin says, Mason caught him. He’s all about himself. Who isn’t? He really wants a life for himself. He wants a life where he’s not constantly looking over his shoulder. He wants a life where Mason is never in his office, ever again. Mason says, sadly, it doesn’t work like that, and Betty says, as entertaining as this is, she’d better head to Windymere. She’s got to pick up little Avery and not be late. Ava can be fire when she wants to. Mason tells her, go. Please bring them something on Pikeman from Sonny for the boss. She says she doesn’t plan on leaving there empty handed, and Mason says, that’s his girl. She leaves, and Austin says, one down and one to go. Mason says, they’re not finished, and Austin asks why the boss wants info on Sonny and Pikeman anyway. Mason says, honestly, he has no idea. But Austin knows him; he’s not one to explain himself to anyone. But he wants it, and he’s going to get it. Well, we know the boss is a dude now. I could have sworn they alluded to it being a woman early on.

Dex follows Betty out of the hospital at a discreet distance.

Tomorrow, Curtis tells Portia, it’s too much, he can’t do it; Brook tells Nina that she has a right to be concerned; and Sonny tells Ava, it’s what you call cutting the snake off at the head.

⏰ Off the Soap Clock…

I love this. My dad raised me, and this sounds like something he would have done.

Dominic Zamprogna Goes ‘Taylor-Gating’ With His Daughters!

They seem like they’d be fun to hang out with.

Kirsten Storms Opens up About Her GH Gal Pals

🗽 A New York Minute…

What the new RHONY were up to this week. I’d be glad to take any castoffs from Jenna’s closet.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/rhony-recap-erin-and-jessels-tribeca-fight-is-an-instant-classic

💎 Buh-Bye Already…

I’ll bet it will be more than fine.

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Is Just Fine Without Lisa Rinna, Here’s Why

She should be dead to Bravo for whatever she’s wearing there.

Lisa Rinna ‘Dead to Bravo’ After Encouraging BravoCon Boycott, Claims Insider

🍸 Bizarro Rules…

Things are sometimes not what they seem to be, but on the surface, it’s Topsy Turvy World.

Ariana Madix and Tom Sandoval Pose Together While Filming Pump Rules
Lala Kent Hugs Tom Sandoval on Beach in Shocking Pump Rules U-Turn

🛟 Life After Deck

Captain Lee! Kate! Kate’s baby! Kate’s attention starved dog! Guest cameos! Talking smack about reality shows! The only thing better than watching TV is watching other people watch TV, and it’s all here with my two favorite Deckies. I’m already hooked.

https://people.com/kate-chastain-captain-lee-rosbach-tease-bravo-couch-talk-exclusive-7642653

https://decider.com/2023/08/14/couch-talk-with-captain-lee-and-kate-interview-kate-chastain-traitors/

🐻 Calgon, Take Him Away…

True story. One time when we were at the Westchester County Fair, there was a bear act. They had a baby bear with them, and apparently, no one was keeping an eye on him. I looked over, and baby bear was making a break for the fence, beyond which was oncoming highway traffic. I jumped out of my seat and got to the fence before baby bear was too high for me to stop. He wouldn’t let go, but I was able to hold him there until the professionals got him. They let me pet him. He was bristly, but very cute.

https://people.com/bear-takes-bubble-bath-zoo-knoxville-video-7574570

💻 Blog Post Energy…

Stop in tomorrow for soap and nighttime tea. Until then, stay safe, stay not dressing to draw attention away from the wedding party if you’re a wedding guest, and stay not seeking the answer in revenge. It might feel like it’s going to take away the pain, but sometimes it really just magnifies the whole thing.

Jan20

January 19, 2022 – Brook Foils a Romantic Intrusion, the OC Private Jets It To Cabo & Valley

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

At the gym, Chase tells Dante that he’s glad he came. It feels good sweating off the stress from the move. Dante says he noticed Chase was pumping iron pretty good. Does it have anything to do with Brook?

Brook flashes back to overhearing Chase tell Dante that she’s not his type, and even if she were, how could he trust her? She tells herself to get it together. Who cares about one guy’s opinion?

At the hospital, Curtis says, that was a struggle, and Portia asks if TJ didn’t want to go back to work. Curtis says, he told TJ that he’d let him know if there were any updates on Marshall. Did the doctor come by when he was gone? Epiphany says, no, but thanks to Finn the cardiac care team was here when they arrived. Elizabeth says, his father is in good hands, and Finn says, it’s scary, but his father is going to be okay. Curtis thanks them for getting Marshall there as quickly as they did. Portia asks how he’s holding up, but Curtis says, honestly, he doesn’t know. Mostly, he’s confused.

Carly tosses a magazine aside, and picks up her phone. She looks at an old voicemail from Jason. There’s a knock at the door, and she opens it to Sam, who holds up a six-pack, and says, thirsty?

Brook asks herself what she needs Chase for anyway. There are thousands of guys who will think she’s awesome. Obviously. That’s what dating apps are for. She picks up her phone, and sees the battery is low. She wonders what she did with her charger, and digs around in a box. She hears a door open, and says, Chase?

Chase asks why it would have anything to do with Brook, and Dante says, Chase was pretty harsh with her back at the house. Is it underlying resentment about the baby or… something else? Chase says, it’s a confusing situation, and Dante says he bets it is. Chase says, one minute they’re fine, and the next… They’ll figure it out. Does Dante want to grab a beer after this? Dante says, sure. Why not? Is Chase buying? Chase says, done. Consider it a thank you for helping him move. Sonny walks in, and says he and Chase need to have a talk.

Curtis says, right before Portia called, he was deciding whether or not to give Marshall a chance. Then he had a conversation with Drew, and Drew reminded him that he had time to make a decision, but that might not be the case now. He knows he has legit reasons to be cautious… She says, he has very legitimate reasons, and he says, he can’t help wondering if he wasted time interrogating Marshall, instead of getting to know him. Portia suggests they take one step at a time. First, they need to hear what the doctor has to say. Then we’ll take it from there. He thanks her for throwing we in there, and she says she’s right there for him. No matter what, she’s got him. They hug, and the doctor comes out. Portia introduces Dr. Rose to Curtis, and says, Curtis is Marshall’s son. Curtis asks if his father is going to be okay.

At the PC Grill, Shawn toasts to his an Alexis’s partnership. They clink glasses, when Alexis sees Harmony on her way out. She asks if Harmony wants to join them.

Carly says, Sam does know she has a minibar, right? and Sam says, where the beer costs an arm and a leg. No offense. Carly says, none taken, and asks how Sam knew she was here. Sam says, Spinelli. He had a feeling she wasn’t going home, and had Sam check on her. So she came here. Carly says, that’s sweet, but Sam can see she’s fine. Sam says she’s not. She knows Carly, and knows she would normally talk to Jason at a time like this, but she can’t. Sam knows she can’t replace him. She could put on a black T-shirt if it makes Carly happy. Carly laughs, and Sam says, the kids are at Monica’s for the night, so she’s all Carly’s. Does she want to start over? Carly says, okay, and Sam hands her a beer. She asks how Carly is feeling, and Carly says, not so great.

Sonny says he hears Chase is Bailey’s father, not Valentin. Chase says, that’s right, and Sonny says, good; Valentin doesn’t deserve that little girl. Did Chase hit him? Chase says, it wasn’t his finest moment, and Sonny says, he probably had it coming. He asks what’s going on with Chase and Brook, and Chase says they’re not together. Sonny asks if Brook isn’t good enough for Chase, and Dante says, whoa. Sonny tells Chase, he’s just saying that any man is lucky to have someone like Brook, and Dante says, but if Chase isn’t interested in her, Chase isn’t interested in her. Sonny tells him, if he says so, that’s fine, and Chase says he’s going to hit the showers before they grab a beer. He tells Sonny it was good to see him, and leaves. Dante asks Sonny, what was that? Sonny lit into Chase; what for? Sonny says, Brook is his goddaughter, and Dante says, she’s also an adult. No offense, but with everything that’s going on with Sonny right now, doesn’t he think he should be more focused on his own life?

Brook pokes around in a box until she comes up with a vase. She says she’s got this, and sneaks downstairs. She looks around, and sees pillows and a blanket by the fireplace. She checks some other rooms, and sees someone going into the living room. She smashes them over the head with the vase.

Dr. Rose says, it wasn’t a heart attack, and Portia says, that’s very good news. Curtis asks, so what happened? and the doctor says his father’s blood pressure was elevated. They’ve switched his medication to one that will hopefully take care of that. Curtis asks if he’s all right, and Dr. Rose says, he’s perfectly fine. He can be discharged as soon as he gets his new prescription. Feel free to go in and see him. Curtis thanks the doctor, and thanks everyone for their help, and for waiting with him until Curtis got there. Elizabeth says, of course (🍷), and Portia’s phone beeps. She says it’s a patient, and asks if she can check in with Curtis in a little bit. He says, that’s fine. He should call TJ and let him know what’s going on. Elizabeth asks if Epiphany is okay, and Epiphany says, something’s just not tracking. Excuse her. She leaves, and Finn says, he knows she doesn’t like to elaborate, and Elizabeth says, not so much. He says, now that they know Marshall is in the clear, they have a big decision to make. Elizabeth says, they do? and he says, correct him if he’s wrong, but they were having a pretty okay time before all the excitement. His babysitter is still on the clock for another couple of hours. Elizabeth says, same here, and he asks how she feels about continuing their date. She says she feels pretty okay about that, and he says, let’s go. They start to leave, and Elizabeth’s phone rings. She says, Cameron, hi; then says, wait. What?

Sonny tells Dante, he’s just looking out for his family like he always does. Why is everyone giving him so much grief? Dante asks, who’s everyone? Carly? Sonny says, yeah. It’s like they’re mad at him for something that happened in Nixon Falls. He didn’t know who he was; he didn’t have control over it. All he’s done since he came back is try to make things okay. Dante says, okay. How can he help Sonny? Sonny says he’s just trying to clear his head. He’s going to work out. He tells Dante to go with his friend, and starts punching the heavy bag. Chase comes back, and says, ready? but Dante thinks he should stay with his dad. Sonny tells him, no, go, and Dante says, don’t worry about it. Chase says, no problem, when his phone rings. He answers, and says, whoa, whoa, whoa. Hang tight. He’ll be right there. He runs out.

Harmony tells Shawn that it’s good to see him, and Alexis says they were just going over some of their plans for The Invader. Harmony says Alexis seems excited, and Alexis says she is. She asks Shawn if they’re done with business and asks Harmony to join them. Harmony says she’s just there for take-out. Enjoy their evening. She goes over to the bar, and Alexis says she’ll be right back.

Alexis asks if everything is all right, and Harmony says, yes; why? Alexis says, she seems uncomfortable, and Harmony says she gets the sense that Shawn’s not her biggest fan. Alexis says, he, too, will come around, and Harmony says, like Sam did the other day. Alexis asks what that means.

Carly says she’s furious, and Sam says, of course (🍷) she is. Carly says, about all of it. Nina gets top billing because she’s a hateful liar, but Sonny too, for not telling her all this time that he fell in love with Nina. And the worst part is, she can’t get angry about it, because if she does, they switch places in this story. Sam says, her and Nina? and Carly says, yeah. Nina becomes the victim and she becomes the villain, which is laughable, after Nina kept Sonny from his family out of spite, and stole months from his life in the process. Sam saw; she watched. They were barely hanging on over here, while Sonny and Nina attended barn dances and barbecues. And God forbid she wants Nina to deal with some kind of consequences; that makes Carly the bad guy. Sam says she hardly thinks that makes Carly… but Carly says, oh yes it does. She doesn’t have the words for how messed up this is. Sam says she actually thinks Carly is doing a great job.

Epiphany approaches Dr. Rose, and asks if she can have a word about Marshall. He says she knows he can’t discuss Marshall’s case with her, and she says she knows, but she couldn’t help noticing he quickly determined it was a simple medication issue. He says he’s confident in his diagnosis, and she says, with all due respect, in her experience, it’s best to perform ambulatory monitoring to rule out any underlying causes of hypertension. He says he understands she’s a very experienced nurse, but as Mr. Ashford’s doctor, he knows what he’s doing.

Curtis goes into the examining room, and asks how Marshall is feeling. Marshall says he’s embarrassed by all the attention, and Curtis asks if this has happened before. Marshall tells him, the doctor says there’s better medication that should help, and Curtis asks how long he’s had blood pressure issues. Marshall says, this isn’t an issue; he has it under control. Curtis says, really? Look where he is. Marshall says, it’s nothing for Curtis to concern himself about, and Curtis says, what if it’s hereditary? and Marshall says, leave it alone.

Alexis says, Sam told Harmony that she’s watching her? and Harmony says, it was more a warning than a statement. Alexis says she wishes Sam hadn’t told her that, and Harmony says she didn’t tell Alexis to cause friction between Alexis and Sam; in fact, the total opposite. She and Alexis talked about how difficult their friendship might be for Alexis’s daughters. Alexis says, they did, and she understands where Sam is coming from, but she’s also a grown woman, and is allowed to have the friends she chooses. Harmony says, under normal circumstances, sure. The bartender puts her to-go bag on the bar, and Harmony says, Alexis knows she cherishes their friendship, but now they’re seeing the reality of it. She didn’t want to keep Alexis in the dark about how Sam was feeling. If she needs to distance herself while her daughters come to terms – if her daughters come to terms with it – she completely understands. She takes the bag, and leaves, and Alexis goes back to the table. Shawn asks, what’s wrong? and Alexis says, she’s trying to do what’s right for her and what’s right for her daughters, and she’s starting to think that might not be possible.

Brook lets Elizabeth, Finn, and Chase in, and says she’s really sorry. Elizabeth asks, what happened? and Chase says he’d like to know the answer to that too. Brook says she was upstairs giving herself a manicure; moving is hard on the nails. She heard a noise, multiple noises actually. She grabbed a vase and came downstairs. We see Cameron and Josslyn on the couch, Elizabeth examining Cameron’s head, and Finn checking his eyes. Brook says she thought Cameron was an intruder, so she whacked him over the head with the vase. Cameron says, she’s very strong, and Brook thanks him. Josslyn says this is all her fault. She thought the house was empty. She had no idea her dad loaned it to Brook. Elizabeth says, the good news is, he doesn’t need stitches, and Finn says, he’s going to be okay. Brook says, thank God, and Elizabeth thanks Brook for calling her. Brook says, of course (🍷), and Cameron says, yeah, thanks a bunch. Brook is just glad his head is still intact, and Josslyn says, her too. She’s really sorry for the… Brook says, intrusion. It’s okay. Josslyn promises it won’t happen again, and Elizabeth suggests they get home. They leave with Finn, and Chase asks if Brook is okay. She says she feels awful that she hurt the poor kid, and he says, he gets why she called Elizabeth, but why did she call him?

Sonny and Dante sit down, and Sonny says, Dante should have gotten a beer while he had the chance. He asks if Dante wants to get in the ring, and Dante says, in a minute. He wants Sonny to tell him what’s going on first. Sonny says, he did, but Dante says, there’s clearly more than that going on. Sonny says, Carly came by to say goodnight to Donna and Avery. That’s what she’s doing now to make them think everything is normal. Dante says, but everything’s not normal? and Sonny says, it isn’t because they keep asking, when is mom coming? Is she staying? It’s not going to work out. Dante says, Sonny did tell Michael that he’d give Carly space, and Sonny says, he tried, but it’s obvious to him that Carly refuses to see what’s in front of her.

Sam asks if Carly has been holding this in the whole time, and Carly says she lost her mind on Nina at first, but yes, since the hearing. I guess she’s leaving out the part about going to Nina’s office and slapping her. Sam says she can’t imagine how hard this must be on Carly, and Carly says, anger is the easy emotion. She’d rather feel rage than everything else. Sam asks, what’s everything else? and Carly says she feels embarrassed. She feels stupid. She should have known something was going on. All the times Sonny insisted they shouldn’t go after Nina and all he wanted was to focus on their life together. Tell her one time Sonny hasn’t demanded retaliation, especially when someone hurts his family. God knows they were. Sam says she knows they were, and Carly says, she remembers how confused she was, and how devastated everyone was. Nina did that to them, and Sonny stood by her. He swore on the stand that he wasn’t Nina’s victim. What the hell was that? They’re all Nina’s victims; every single one of them. Do they not matter? How is she supposed to believe Sonny loves her when he still has a place in his heart for a woman who hurt her like that?

Brook tells Chase, she accidentally assaulted a hormonal teenager. She’s sorry if she didn’t know what to do. He says she really needs to break this pattern of hitting people in the head, accidental or not, and she says she was alone in a strange house that they moved into to protect a tiny baby from a giant psychopath. She’s sorry. She was terrified and he was working out. He says, she told him to go, but she says, not because she wanted him to.

Curtis says, for someone who says they want a relationship – Marshall says he does – why is everything off limits? Marshall says, not everything, just some things. If he thought it was important to Curtis in any way… Curtis says Marshall’s medical history is important. He just suffered a cardiac episode. Marshall says he’s fine, and asks if the doctor didn’t talk to Curtis. Curtis says he’s talking to Marshall. He needs information from Marshall. Does anything warrant a conversation, or is he only allowed to know that Marshall plays the clarinet? Marshall says he’s sorry the events in his life have made him guarded. He’s also sorry the events in Curtis’s life have made him more inquisitive. Curtis says, these are regular run-of-the-mill questions. The only thing that irregular is, Marshall refuses to answer them. Marshall puts his hand on Curtis’s shoulder, and says he hopes and prays they’ll somehow find a way to reconcile their differences. Curtis says, they’re some big differences, but Marshall says, they’re not insurmountable. He’s willing to try. Is Curtis?

Carly tells Sam, she gets it. If she ignores all the horrible things Nina has done, she can see why it would be hard for Sonny to turn off his feelings for her. She couldn’t do it with Jason. Sam shifts her position, and Carly says she’s sorry, but Sam says, don’t be. They passed that a long time ago. Carly says she knows it hurt Sonny when he came home and found out she and Jason had developed feelings for each other. That was really difficult for him. Never mind that it never would have happened if it weren’t for Nina and her lies. But the point is, the second Sonny came home, she and Jason shut that door permanently, and she’s done everything she can to do right by her husband. But Sonny is still acting on his feelings for Nina. Sam asks if Sonny is saying he loves Nina, and Carly tells her, he’s saying he still has feelings for her, but what they had is in the past. How does she believe that when he keeps defending her? Sam says, Nina’s in the wrong, clearly, but if Sonny keeps sticking up for her, Sonny is making Carly feel like it’s her attacking Nina. Carly says, yeah, and what does it say about him if he feels that way? More important, what does it say about their marriage?

Sonny tells Dante, he and Carly had this moment, that undeniable pull, then Carly’s walls go up. Dante says he’s sorry, and Sonny says he just thinks if they were living together, Carly would see what they have and who they are, and nothing’s changed. Whatever residual feelings he has for Nina doesn’t compare to his love for Carly. Dante says, maybe deep down she does, but she hasn’t processed it yet. Sonny knows he hurt her, right? Sonny says, but if anybody gets it, it’s Carly. She fell in love with Jason, then she insisted on being with him. What’s the difference between that and what happened with Nina? Dante says, but there is a difference. Say what he will about Carly and Jason. He’s not going to touch that one, but they thought Sonny was dead, so in their eyes, there was no betrayal. In Carly’s eyes, she feels Sonny betrayed her, because he protected Nina after he knew Nina lied about him being alive. Sonny admits he didn’t say anything when he first came back, because he thought he could get over these feelings. Then Jason died and a lot went down. Dante says, the bottom line is, Carly asked for space and time. Is she Sonny’s person? Sonny says, she is, and Dante says, then he’s got give them to her. Sonny says, that’s worst thing he could do.

Back home, Elizabeth tells Finn that she’s going to check on Jake and Aiden, and goes upstairs. Josslyn’s phone dings, and she says, oh no. Devon just texted. He’ll be here soon to pick her up. Cameron says, goodbye already? and she says she knows. Finn says, he’ll just be… not here, and goes in the kitchen. Josslyn says she had a lot of fun tonight. Up until… Cameron says he knows. They can try again at the cabin. She says, that should be no problem. They just have to avoid Esme, and Spencer, and Trina. He says, see? Easy. She says, honestly, alone or not, she likes spending time with him, and he says, as does he, and they kiss.

Brook tells Chase that she’s sorry. She’s just overwhelmed with the situation. They keep trying to set boundaries, and Bailey’s still in danger, and she doesn’t know what the right thing to do is. He says, it’s an adjustment for sure, but they’ll figure it out together.

Elizabeth meets Finn in the kitchen, and he says, some first date, huh? She says, not the most romantic in history, and they laugh. He says, it might sound crazy given all the interruptions, but he had a good time with her. If she lets him, he’d love to take her out again. She says she’d like that very much, although she’s hoping for less eventful. He says he’ll see what he can do, and they kiss.

Shawn tells Alexis, he’s all for second chances. God knows he’s been given a few, but Harmony’s not just a former criminal; the crimes she committed were against Alexis’s daughters. She says she’s very well aware of that, and doesn’t excuse any of that. However, it’s important to realize that Harmony was also one of Shiloh’s victims. He asks if she thinks Sam and Kristina will see it that way, and she says she doesn’t know about Sam, but truthfully, Kristina’s opinion matters more. He asks if Kristina knew how beneficial Alexis’s relationship with Harmony was, what does she think that opinion would be?   

Epiphany goes in to see Marshall, and he says, she’s still here. She says, hypertension can be a sign of something more serious. She knows Dr. Rose is convinced it’s just a matter of Marshall’s medication, but if he wants a second opinion… but he says, no; it won’t be necessary. It’s happened before, and everything’s been fine. She asks if he calls this fine, and he says he and the doctor have an understanding. He thanks her for looking out for him, and says, her patients are lucky to have her. She tells him, don’t think he has an out. She’s still paying her half of the bill. They laugh, and he says, deal.

Portia asks Curtis how Marshall is, and he says, the same; closed off and stubborn. He feels like he’s getting whiplashed. One minute he never wants to see Marshall again, and the next minute, he’s reminded of why they’re at an impasse in the first place. She says, relationships are tricky, and he says, that’s an understatement. She says, they’ll make progress; they’ll have setbacks. It’s to be expected. He says, how can they expect to make progress if Marshall is controlling how much he can and can’t know? She tells him, he said it himself. He wanted time, and now thankfully he has it. It’s up to him how he wants to spend that time. He says he does want a relationship with his father. He just doesn’t know if it’s possible.

Sonny says he took Dante’s advice. He talked to Carly, but it didn’t help much. Dante says, or Sonny could say he made his point, and she made hers. He thinks it would be a huge mistake if Sonny doesn’t listen to what she wants. Sonny says, she wants space. They had it for nine months. They should be making up for that. Being apart, they gain nothing. Dante says, obviously, Carly doesn’t see it that way.

Sam tells Carly, she knows how hard it is when you and your husband aren’t on the same page. She’s so sorry. Carly says, for the first time in a long time, she has no idea what to do. She doesn’t know what comes next. That’s not true. She knows that she goes to bed, and she’ll get up in the morning because she promised the girls she’d be there early to make them pancakes. Sam says she’s going to go. Does Carly want her to call Josslyn? She doesn’t want Carly to be alone. Carly says, Josslyn and Michael have already came down pretty hard on Sonny. She doesn’t want them more involved than they already are, or feel they have to pick sides. Sam starts to leave, then stops and asks Carly, what’s the hardest part? Carly asks what Sam means, and Sam says, Carly told her that she was angry, then she said she was embarrassed. What else? Carly says, underneath it all is this deep aching sadness. Nina devastated her family, and she’s not so sure they can recover.

Curtis says he guesses Marshall is free to go, and Marshall says, he guesses so. He’s sorry things got tense earlier. He didn’t know what to expect when he came back, but he knew he had to try. It seems he’s not doing too good of a job. It means a lot that Curtis showed up. He should call for a car. Do they have taxis out front? Curtis says, they do, but he’ll give Marshall a ride. Ready? Marshall says, lead the way.

Chase hands Brook a glass of wine, and she thanks him. He says, long day. huh? She asks if he was working out when she called, and he says, he and Dante were just finishing up. He was a little confused when he didn’t recognize the number. She says, her phone died; she called from Cameron’s phone. He says, Cameron has his cell info? and she says, no. He asks how she called him then, and she says she knows his number by heart. He says, for real? and she tells him, don’t sound so pleased. After the Maxie/fake Chloe horror show, she thought it was a good idea to memorize some important numbers in case of an emergency. He says, important? and she says, he is Bailey’s father. She flashes back to overhearing Chase say letting himself fall for someone like Brook would be a major disaster; she lied, schemed, and hurt people. Brook says she’s so tired. It turns out amorous teenagers breaking into your house takes a lot more out of you than she thought. Sorry she ruined his night. He says she didn’t, and she says, it’s not always going to be like this. Most of the time, he won’t even know she’s here. She tells him, goodnight, and goes upstairs.

Alexis says, Shawn is right, but he says he’s not looking to be right. She says, the friendship she formed with Harmony in prison will end up being hurtful to Kristina. Shawn says, even if Kristina knew how Alexis feels about Harmony now? and she says, even if, and she doesn’t want to make things difficult for Kristina. He says he thinks she has her answer, and she says, apparently, she’s not going to be able to continue her friendship with Harmony.

Dante says, if Sonny keeps pushing Carly, he’s going to sabotage the whole thing, but Sonny says, no. The only way he’s going to do that is by letting this go on. He needs to up the stakes; he needs to show Carly how much she means to him. One thing he does know is, he can’t fix this if they’re not together. If she wants time, then they’ll do it together. Dante says he doesn’t think that’s what Carly meant, and Sonny says he doesn’t care what she meant. It’s Carly who he wants, and he’s going to let her know that. End of story. Sonny leaves, and Dante looks worried.

Carly thanks Sam for letting her get all that off her chest, and Sam says she practically forced Carly into it. Carly says, either way, it felt good. Sam says, she’s glad. In case no one told Carly, she’s not the bad guy here. Nina hurt her, a lot, and if she’s being honest, Sonny did too. Carly is entitled to feel all of these emotions. Just know that. Carly thanks her, and Sam leaves.

Elizabeth asks how Cameron’s head is; does he need some ice? He says he’s fine. He’s so sorry her date got messed up because of him, but she says, she’s just glad he still needs her. Is everything good with him and Josslyn? He says, everything is great, and she says she likes seeing his smile. He says he likes seeing hers too. He bets Franco’s really glad to see them doing so well. She says she hopes so, and he says he knows so. She says, he and Josslyn are being safe, right? and he says, goodnight. She says she can’t wait to finish this conversation in the morning, and he says, great, as he goes upstairs.

The clock says quarter to three, when there’s a knock at the door. Elizabeth comes down in her robe, and opens the door to Dante. He says he’s sorry. He knows it’s early, but something terrible happened last night, and he thought she should know about it.

Tomorrow, Chase asks Finn what the hell he’s talking about, Maxie says there’s nothing else to remember, Cameron asks why Dante is here, and Peter can’t wait to tell the world what someone did to him.

The Real Housewives of Orange County

Emily shopped for bathing suits with Jen and Nicole. She said she didn’t remember having all those tequila shots at Max’s party. In Emily’s interview, she said Jen and Nicole were not normal sized people. Nicole said it was going to be awkward with Noella now, and we flashed back to Nicole telling Noella that she couldn’t be the friend Noella needed. Nicole said Noella had talked sh*t about her and Heather, and she was over it. In Emily’s interview, she said, she didn’t know what was going on, but clearly Nicole’s intent was to get her to think badly about Noella. Nicole said if Noella went to Cabo, she wasn’t going. Emily suggested they share a room – a padded room.

While Shannon packed for the trip, she called John. She said she hadn’t seen any of the women for two weeks, since she’d been in Nashville. Before that, she’d felt like they were going after each other. In Shannon’s interview, she said Gina and Emily had blindsided her with their untrust ambush. They’d never discussed it further, and it posed a potential problem. She was glad she and Heather were in a decent place. We flashed back to Heather saying Shannon would lose more than her friendship if Shannon ever came after her family again. In her interview, Shannon told John that she was having fun reconnecting with Heather, and he said, it was time for fun and healing.

Gina visited Heather in her giant house that apparently has more than one doorbell, since Gina got one of the staff by mistake. Heather joked (I think) that there was a vetting process. They hung out in the hallowed closet, and in Gina’s interview, she said her sex dreams were the closet. She told Heather that she was excited to be flying private, and Heather said she’d rented a house in Cabo. Gina asked if Heather would do her a favor. She knew Heather and Noella weren’t thick as thieves, but as excited as she was, she felt badly for Noella. They’d been texting, and Noella said she was going to be lonely when they were in Maxico. In Gina’s interview, she said she understood what Noella was going through. She’d rather Noella be with her, or she was going to worry about her. Noella was going through a hard time, and Gina wanted her to have fun. Heather said she didn’t dislike Noella, but every time she tries, something goes sideways. She extended an invitation to Max’s party, and when Max came home, she found out Noella had given her a questionable gift. It was a Pride themed card game, which was fine, but Max was 17 and the questions weren’t appropriate. She read some of them, but so much was bleeped, the only audible word was licking. In her interview, Gina said, it was so awkward. Being in this room was like when you make the mistake of watching a movie with your parents, and there’s an explicit sex scene. You’d do anything to get TF out of the room, but you’re trapped. Boy, do I know about that. When I was in school in NYC, I’d gone home for winter break, and my sister and I wanted to watch American Werewolf in London. My dad was with us, and we’d forgotten there was a nakey shower scene. It wasn’t all that explicit, but nothing we wanted to watch in front of him. When it got to that scene, it was so quiet, you could hear the proverbial pin drop. After what seemed like hours of silence, my sister suddenly said, I don’t know why they have to put this kind of scene in every movie. Yep. I wanted to get TF out, but I was trapped. Heather reads another card that says something about telling Heather Dubrow to f*** off. She told Gina that it was basically porn, and Gina said, it wasn’t appropriate. Heather said she didn’t want anyone to feel left out or bad, especially at her expense, but give her a reason why it was a good idea to invite Noella. Gina told Heather that she wasn’t saying this was her best decision, and couldn’t give Heather a reason why things wouldn’t go awry, but she was asking Heather to do her a solid. Heather said she’d extend an invite, but it was on Gina.

Heather conferred with her driver Pete about the trip, and he said, it should be fun. She asked if he was being serious or facetious, and he said, they had champagne, right? In Heather’s interview, she said they went to Cabo ten times a year, maybe more. She loved Cabo, and she was excited to hang out with the women there. She and Shannon historically, had a great time on trips. We flashed back to some of that, and Heather said, she and Gina have connected. She loved Jen, and she was excited to get to know Emily. Heather told the group that Nicole said she couldn’t come, and Noella would be coming late. In her interview, she said she wasn’t sorry Noella would be late. We saw them in the private airport area via Heather Cam, and on the private plane via Gina Cam. In Gina’s interview, she said, some people would think Heather was controlling, but she thought, this bitch is handling everything. All she has to do is show up. Yes I’ll fly on your private jet. In Heather’s interview, she said she had a legal pad where she wrote everything down. It was important to have a framework or there was no plan. The plane looked like a good time. I would love to fly on a PJ. I’d even settle for flying first class.

The women arrived at San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, and had more champagne in the limo going to the villa. Emily told Shannon that if she said fun Emily one more time, she’d snatch the tequila out of Shannon’s ass. Which made no sense whatsoever, but was still funny. The group was met by the staff, including a Spanish tutor, and some tequila. Heather toasted to a successful, fabulous trip. She said the villa was amazing, with a big main house, and little casitas. They had privacy and pools. They danced around by the pool to a mariachi band and Spanish dancer. The rooms were… Oh never mind, you know how fabulous they were. They took a tour of the place, deciding where they were going to bunk, and in Gina’s interview, she said she and Emily were vacation wives. If there was one bed, no problem. If Travis wasn’t there, she could slot Emily right in. The found the perfect casita, with two beds.

Jen called, and in her interview, she said she never took trips without her family. If she had time away from the office, she spent it with her kids and husband. She said, there was no balance in home life, work, and friendships. If you worked on one, the others suffered. Heather showed Emily and Gina some house plans for a place in Cabo, and in her interview, she said she and Terry had been talking about vacation homes for two years. She wanted it to be a beautiful, cool, sexy hideaway. She told the two of them that Terry thought it was a lot of money to park in a place they don’t live at, but she wanted to have a place they could give the kids; a place that could be theirs. She and Terry had them when they were older, and they wouldn’t be around forever. In Heather’s interview, she said she had a dream, seeing her kids in the future. They were looking at something, but she didn’t know what, and one of them said, mom would have loved this. She wanted to make sure they had places to go together. She told Emily and Gina that she was hoping to find something already built, and would be looking at land and houses tomorrow. They could do everything or nothing; their choice. Gina wanted to go horseback riding, and in her interview, she said she was a legit survivor of a shark attack, and we flashed back to when she was on a jet ski and there was a shark in the vicinity that was not Jaws. She said, riding a horse was still better than swimming with sharks.

In Noella’s interview, she said, obviously, she was the last person invited, but she could get over it for her feet in the sand and a Skinnygirl margarita. I have to give a shout out to Noella’s chihuahua Rihanna, who is just an adorable angel. Emily, Gina, and Shannon went horseback riding, and in Shannon’s interview, she said, she grew up around horses; they had 18 acres. In Emily’s interview, she said she grew up riding horses in Ohio, and in Gina’s interview, she said she didn’t know how to ride a horse. Shannon thought her horse was a little feisty, and they all trotted down the beach. In her interview, Gina said Emily looked good on a horse; hair flowing and sexy. She expected Emily would get off the horse, and there was going to be a porno. That’s how good she looked.

Heather told Jen that she never ate carbs so she could eat them on vacation, and Jen said she had a narrow diet because of how her schedule was. Heather asked if she did family dinners, and Jen said she strived for them, but usually didn’t get home until 8 or 9 pm. Heather said, earlier in his career, Terry had never around, and we flashed back to Terry saying, Max was sending him photos of the empty dad chair. Heather said he’d gotten to the point where changes had to be made, and he did. In Jen’s interview, she said Ryne didn’t recognize what she did for the family because he wasn’t living it. In turn, she didn’t recognize what he did, but she wanted the family dynamic; they were disconnected. She told Heather that she was going to work out, and in her interview, she said, in her 20s, she’d had a long, painful journey with a tumor in her femur. They’d replaced the marrow with cement, and she was always in pain, but managed it with physical therapy, and working out. Heather thought it should be a chill-by-the-pool day.

After riding, Emily, Gina, and Shannon sat on the beach. Gina popped some champagne, and Shannon almost got creamed by the cork. Shannon was worried about Noella coming, and the reception she’d get from Heather. Gina said she was the reason Noella was on the trip. She’d asked Heather for a personal favor. In Shannon’s interview, she said she was surprised. She thought Noella should come, but if there were feelings of animosity, she was worried about that. Gina thought if they got Noella and Heather under the same roof, they’d bond, to which Emily gave a quick and hard, no, she didn’t think so. In Gina’s interview, she said she was hoping they’d hit it off. She wanted Noella to come with an open mind, and hoped it worked out. Shannon suggested Gina act as peacemaker, and Gina said she just wanted to take one step in the right direction. Here’s where the camera panned out, and we saw the poor guide waiting with the horses.

They came back and got in the pool at Gina and Emily’s room. This place was absolutely amazing, but everyone kept saying, it’s so hot, and I’m not fond of the heat. In Shannon’s interview, she said, tequila Emily and Gina were more fun than the everyday Emily and Gina. In Emily’s interview, she said, fun Shannon was great. There was no bad behavior; just having a good time. Everyone got dressed for dinner, and Heather mentioned that Terry was having dinner with John and Travis. On the way to the restaurant, Shannon said Noella had texted to say they wouldn’t take her passport, but Heather rolled her eyes and said, Noella forgot her passport. In Heather’s interview, she said she had mixed emotions about Noella coming. She wanted to believe it was going to be great, but the truth was, historically, when Noella showed up, things went to sh*t.

By the time Noella got there, the others were already at the restaurant, and in Noella’s interview, she said, everything was lovely, and she wasn’t being shady, but – she fanned herself – she was the guest. She was grateful for the invite, but she would have made an effort to be there when the guest arrived. At the restaurant, the women were shown to the jungle room, which was magnificent. Shannon said Noella had texted, and was on her way there. In Gina’s interview, she said, it was a big job. Noella was a bit of a wild card, and she didn’t know if she could tame a wild child. She had the feeling that Noella was going to light this sh*t on fire.

Noella was brought to the table, and Heather said, the traveling sounded long. Noella said, it was pure hellishness, but it’s all good; it was so gorgeous there. Heather thanked Noella for joining them, told everyone, happy dinner, and they ordered starters. Noella explained that she usually traveled by private plane, and brought a passport card, but the airport would only accept an actual passport. In Noella’s interview, she said she knew she was spoiled AF, but this was her first trip since she’d lost the private plane. They got tequila shots, and Noella whined that there was no ice. She said, yay to warm tequila, and in Heather’s interview, she said, she understood getting picky about vintage champagne, or the clarity and color of a diamond, but it was a tequila shot. Throw it back and shut up.

Noella raved about how much she loved Shannon’s phone calls, and how Shannon was always checking in with her. Shannon said she’d been through it, and in Jen’s interview, she said Noella was in The Noella Show. Emily asked Noella why she’d been talking smack about her and Gina. She’d said all Emily did was take the kids out for yogurt, and go to Costco. Noella admitted she’d said that, although I don’t quite understand how anyone could come up with an insult like that. I’m not sure if it’s even an insult. Gina told Noella that she’d said Travis was a loser, but Noella insisted she never said anything about Travis. In her interview, Noella said she did say something about Gina’s house before she’d even met Gina, but she’d heard it from Braunwyn. Ugh. I wanted to like this woman, especially since she has a cute dog, but no. She said, obviously Nicole had gotten marching orders to discredit her, and when a producer asked, from who? she said, Heather, duh.

Emily pointed out that Noella wasn’t eating the meal she’d ordered, and Noella made a big production about taking a bite of potatoes. In Gina’s interview, she said, if Noella didn’t want to eat, be low key. Gina was just trying to manage the dynamic, and the dynamic was already becoming unmanageable. Gina, Emily, and Noella went to the bathroom, which was code for, they were going to talk on the side. Emily told Noella that she thought Heather was annoyed that she was picking up the tab for a meal Noella ordered, but didn’t eat after Heather had thrown out $3 million in sushi the previous week. In Noella’s interview, she said, she didn’t need anyone to tell her how to behave. Emily and Gina must have drunk the Kool-Aid. Something was going on. These weren’t the same girls she’d hung out with before. She told Emily that she didn’t care if Heather thought she should eat or not, and at the table, Heather said this was the exact situation she didn’t want. She was worried. She hadn’t wanted to do this, and still didn’t.  

To be continued…

This season, a trip to Aspen; Shane gets his diploma (or whatever you call it) for passing the bar; Ryne leaves Jen; Noella has a breakdown, and says she smells bullsh*t, but I’m not sure if the two are related; John tells Shannon, f*** Gina; Shannon says she owns her sh*t; Heather says, Noella is a liar and a thirsty girl; and Noella is shocked Heather knows what thirsty means. Is that an admission of thirst guilt?

🏂 Sliding Under the Covers Like…

It’s been real, so come back again tomorrow, for soap and a Supermodel on the Runway. Until then, stay safe, stay looking for hidden opportunities, and stay knowing that even if difficulties are big, that doesn’t mean they’re insurmountable.