Tag Archives: General Hospital

September 26, 2023 – Dead But Not Forgotten In Port Charles, Not Michael, Girl Power, Strike Deal, Salty Talk, New York Hour, Daryl This Week, Bowl Announcement & Crazy

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Elizabeth calls for an update on Drew and tells Carly, the doctor is here. He’s the best, and they’re going to start operating right away. Finn asks Jake if he’s okay and suggests Jake come with him.

Charlotte says she loves their new place, and Valentin says he’s glad. She says she could tell Nina knew about it already, and he says he told Nina this morning, so she could keep Charlotte distracted while he made it perfect. Charlotte says, she didn’t know until this morning? She thought Nina helped him decorate, but he says, no, it was somebody else. She says she knows it wasn’t Anna and laughs.

Dante looks on a tablet at the message left for Anna on the mirror, and Chase asks if he thinks it’s the same person who burned down Anna’s house. Dante says he doesn’t know. They broke into the suite, left a message on the mirror, and put ink on Anna’s clothes. It doesn’t seem like the same thing. Chase says, but the missing footage at the MetroCourt implies a sophisticated perp, when Cody walks into the station, saying, here he is. He surrenders.

Sam finds Sasha outside the cabin and asks if she’s getting some fresh air. Sasha says, the leaves are starting to turn; it’s beautiful. Sam agrees, and Sasha says she’s always loved being outdoors. Cody does too. Sam says, it’s pretty hard to ride horses inside, and Sasha asks, what if this doesn’t work? Cody might never be free again.

Sonny walks into the chapel and sees Anna. She says, they run into each other in the strangest places, and he says, that’s true. She says, maybe they both need to be here right now, and he asks if she remembers asking him if he thought it was worth it, the life he chose. She says, yeah, and he says he’s beginning to wonder. She says, he’s having doubts, huh? When she asked him before, he said he didn’t have any regrets. He says, before he came in here, he was leaving the hospital and he saw Curtis. Curtis is in a wheelchair because of him. Anna tears up and says she’s struggling with that too, but she doesn’t think Sonny can blame himself. He says, she even told him that she thought the bullet was meant for him, and now an innocent man is in a wheelchair and Drew is upstairs fighting for his life because of him.

Carly tells Elizabeth that the doctor explained to her what the surgery was about, but she still didn’t get it. Can Elizabeth go over it with her more? Elizabeth says, the piece of Drew’s rib that broke is lodged near a main artery and needs to come out as soon as possible. Carly says, or it will kill him, right? She wonders where the hell Austin is, when Ava comes out of the elevator. Ava asks Nina if she knows why Carly wanted her here, and Nina says, Drew was beaten up in Pentenville and he’s having emergency surgery to save his life. Did Ava tell Carly that she’s the one who put him there?

Sam tells Sasha to keep the faith. Dante’s not going to let anything happen to Cody. Sasha says, but it’s not entirely up to Dante, is it? and Sam says, not entirely, but… Sasha says, Cody is an escaped mental patient. He’s wanted for kidnapping her and assaulting Dr. Montague; even though Montague was drugging her and trying to kill her. Sam says, they’re going to prove that, and Sasha asks, how? Sam says, they have the evidence of the drugs from Montague’s own pocket, and they’ll prove he was conspiring with someone else. Sasha says, her own mother-in-law, and Sam says she’s so sorry, but Gladys will pay. The first step is establishing a legal record. Sasha says, and that’s why Cody had to turn himself in, and Sam says, exactly.

Chase asks, where the hell is Sasha? and Cody says he’s here to turn himself in. Chase says he asked where she is, dammit. He swears, if Cody hurt her… Cody asks if Chase really thinks he would, and Chase says, then tell him where she is. Cody says, all he’s telling Chase right now is that he’s here to give himself up, and Dante says, Chase heard what Mr. Bell said. Chase asks if somebody wants to tell him what’s going on, and Dante says he thinks Chase should book the suspect. Chase says he will. They’re going to do this completely legal, then Cody is going to go back to answering questions. Cody says, and he’ll get the same answer. He’s here to turn himself in. Chase cuffs Cody, and says, he has the right to remain silent. Cody says he loves that part, and Chase finishes giving him his rights. He asks if Cody understands them, and Cody says, sure do. He exchanges a look with Dante.

Valentin wonders why Charlotte would say she knows Anna didn’t help decorate, and Charlotte says, it’s not her style. It’s beautiful. Did he do it himself? He says, no. His decorator Jen helped him. Charlotte says, she did an amazing job. It’s more comfortable than Windymere ever was. He says he’s glad she likes it so much, and she says, when her friends came to Windymere, she could tell they thought it was creepy. He says, they can come here now. She can bring her friend Jake. She says, Jake? and he says, she told him that she was with Jake last night before she came to the MetroCourt. She says she was. She showed him all the pictures of them together. He says, it looked like she was having a good time. Is he a nice kid? She wonders if she can see her new room, and he asks if she wants him to go with her, but she says, no. She wants to see it for the first time by herself if that’s okay. He says, it’s down the hall, second door to the left, and she runs off. He flashes back to telling Nina that he doesn’t want Charlotte near Anna. He doesn’t want her out of his sight.

Anna says, Drew was beaten that badly? and Sonny says, Carly told him that Drew hasn’t regained consciousness since the fight. She says, that’s not good (like he doesn’t know that). It’s Pentenville. Prisoners are going to start fights for a myriad of reasons. He says he asked Drew to get him information, and she says, he agreed? Sonny says, he never should have asked him. He thought Drew was going to be discreet and he’d be safe. She says, he can’t be sure of that, but he says, yes, he can, because he ordered it. He let it be known Drew was under his protection in Pentenville. She says, someone defied his order.

Finn brings Jake to his office and asks if he’s okay. Jakes says he needs to know what’s happening with Drew, and Finn says, okay. Does he want to take a seat? Jake shakes his head, and Finn says, these things take time, so he’ll make some calls and find out what’s going on with Jake’s uncle. Jake leans against the credenza, and Finn picks up the phone.

Carly walks over to Ava, and Ava says she’s so sorry to hear about Drew. Carly says, is she? and Ava says, of course (🍷). She doesn’t know exactly what happened… Carly says she can tell Ava exactly what happened. Drew was set up, beaten, almost to death, and now he’s in surgery and he might not make it. Ava says, oh no, and Carly says, Ava’s not really surprised, is she? Ava says, what? and Carly says, cut the act. She knows exactly what Ava did.

Chase brings Cody into the squad room and tells Dante that he has Cody booked. What does Dante want him to do? Dante says, Chase could question him. Does Cody want a lawyer? Cody says, no. It wouldn’t do any good. Dante says, that’s not a positive outlook to have, and gets up. He suggests they all go into the interrogation room. Chase asks if Dante wants him to sit in, but Dante says he’s got this. Chase says he has no doubt, and closes the door as Dante uncuffs Cody.

Gladys runs into the station and tells the desk sergeant that she’s Gladys Corbin. She’s Sasha Gilmore’s guardian. She got a call saying they have her kidnapper in custody. Where’s her daughter-in-law? Chase watches her from across the room.

Sasha says she doesn’t understand why Cody is risking so much just to protect her, and Sam says, maybe he thinks she’s worth it. Sasha says, based on what? They’ve had a few nice conversations. She thinks he’s a nice guy. They were becoming friends, then she started so strange. Then she stabbed him at the MetroCourt pool. Sam says she saw Cody that night at the hospital, and they both agreed Sasha had no idea what was going on. Sasha says, those pills Dr. Montague gave her… Sam says, they made her delusional, and Sasha says she was so sure she saw Cyrus Renault when she stabbed Cody. Sam says, our minds can play terrible tricks on us when someone screws around with them. Cody knows that’s what happened with her. Sasha says, still, he’s putting everything on the line for her. What kind of person does that?

Finn says he appreciates the update, and tells Jake that Drew is still in surgery. But he knows the surgeon doing the operation and he’s excellent. Jake’s uncle couldn’t be in better hands. Jake says, what happened out there when Finn first came in… Finn says, what? He’s worried about his uncle, right? Jake says, yeah, but he shouldn’t have cried, and Finn says he doesn’t know about that. Not so long ago, he got some news about someone he really cares about, someone he loves, and does Jake know what happened? Jake says, what? and Finn says he cried. Man, he cried. He doesn’t think there’s any shame in that. Jake really loves his uncle, right? Jake says, yeah. He just needs him to be okay.

Sonny says, this would not have happened five years ago, and Anna asks what he means. He says, no one would have defied his orders back then. She says, something like that is happening to her too. She thinks things are impacting her more than they used to. He says, things like someone burning down her house? and she says she still can’t believe that happened. He says he feels like things are just out of control, and he used to feel like he could keep things under control. If she knows what he means. She says she does, and asks what he’s going to do. What do they do? Throw in the towel? He says, never, and she says she didn’t think so.

Ava says she doesn’t know what Carly’s talking about, and Carly says she’s a liar. Nina says, this isn’t the time or the place, and Carly tells her, you back off. This does not concern her. She can’t believe she was stupid enough to trust Ava. Ava says, trust her with what? What did she do? Carly says she told Ava that Drew was going to ask around Pentenville to find out who Ava’s boyfriend Austin was visiting when he was there. Did she call him right away? Ava says, no, and Carly says, did she meet up with him? Did they plan the hit on Drew together? Ava says, no. She had nothing to do with this. Carly says she doesn’t believe her, because she’s the only other person who knew about this. And how convenient that Austin isn’t working today. Drew could have been killed. Dammit. He shouldn’t even be in Pentenville. Ava says she’s not the one who put him there, and Carly asks what the hell that’s supposed to mean.

Finding Valentin on the patio, Charlotte says she loves her room, and Valentin says he knew she’d like it. She asks how the decorator knew everything she’d like, and he says, they looked at a lot of photographs and she asked a lot of questions. She says, it’s like she picked everything out herself. There are even new riding clothes in her closet. He says he wanted her first ride on Butterscotch to be perfect. If she looks down there, the bridle path comes along up here. She can ride right up to the door. She says, he’s thought of everything, and he says, she told him before that she doesn’t think this is Anna’s style, and she says, it’s not like her house. He says, she doesn’t think Anna is going to like it? and she asks, why? Is Anna going to move in here too? He says he doesn’t know. Maybe. She needs a place to live since her house burned down.

Sonny says he’ll find out who did this to Drew, and Anna says she’s sure he will. He says, it’s funny how life works. He didn’t know she was in here. She says, nor I, you, and he says, if she hadn’t been… She says she had the feeling he’d have come to the same conclusion. He’s not ready to turn the page. He helped her realize she’s not either. He says he guesses they keep fighting, and she says, they keep fighting. He needs to go see Carly. She’s so scared for the man she loves. She needs his support. He says he’ll go check on Drew and hopefully, she’s there. If she’s not… Anna says she’ll light a candle for Drew, he thanks her, and leaves.

Finn asks how Jake found out what happened to his uncle, and Jake says he was already here at the hospital talking to his mom. He saw Carly and wanted to ask her about visiting his Uncle Drew. Finn says, in Pentenville, and Jakes says, his mom told him that he could go, but then Drew got put in solitary before he could. Elizabeth is about to walk in, but waits, and Jake says, and now… Finn says, for what it’s worth (🍷), Jake can always talk to him, and Jake says, it feels like everyone he likes leaves. His dad died, Franco died, Cam went away to college, Finn left, and now… He sighs, and Finn says he knows it hurts. He’s still here and he’s not going anywhere.

Sam tells Sasha that she’s been trying to figure out who Cody is ever since he came to Port Charles last year. Sasha says, Cody and Dante are good friends, and Sam says, yes, but they haven’t really seen or spoken to each other since they were teenagers. And it turns out Cody has a questionable past, so she wasn’t really sure if she could trust him or not. Sasha says, but now she does? and Sam says she does. But who is she to judge anyway? She has a pretty colorful past herself. Sasha says, so does she.

Chase says, Gladys’s daughter-in-law isn’t here, and Gladys says she knows that. Where did they take her? GH or back to Ferncliff? He says, they apprehended Cody Bell, and she says, and he kidnapped her. If he doesn’t have her, where is she? Dante cracks open the door and gestures to Cody. Chase says, they’re trying to figure that out, and Gladys says, let her see him. She wants to see Cody right now.

Nina says she doesn’t know why Carly is blaming Ava for this, and Carly says, because she’s the only one who could have made this happen. Drew’s too smart to be sloppy and someone targeted him. And now Ava is trying to tell her that this is all her fault? Ava says, what? No. Carly says, Ava just said she’s not the one who put Drew in Pentenville. And Ava’s right; she is. Fine. She gets it, but how could Ava do this? Sonny comes out of the elevator and calls to Carly. Carly asks what Austin has on Ava, and Sonny asks what Carly is doing.

Sasha says she knows Cody isn’t the only one taking a risk for her, and Sam says, Dante’s not someone to sit on the sidelines when he knows someone’s in trouble. Sasha says, Sam’s taking a risk too, but Sam says she doesn’t see it that way. She thinks they’re all just trying to do the right thing. Sasha asks if that’s why Sam fell in love with Dante; he does the right thing. Sam says, it’s one of the reasons, and Sasha says she thinks they’re a good match. Sam agrees and thanks her. Sam’s phone dings, and she looks at Sasha.

Chase says, Cody’s being interrogated at the moment, and Gladys says, by his friend Detective Falconari? He says, that’s none of her concern, but she says, don’t think she doesn’t know what’s going on here. They’re protecting a dangerous man like Cody Bell, when who knows what trouble her poor daughter-in-law is in. He says, they’re doing everything they can to find her, and she says, apparently, it’s not enough. Sasha is in a very fragile state. He says, they know that, and she says she wants to talk to the Commissioner right now, but Chase says, the Commissioner isn’t in. She says, then she’ll wait. Cody kidnapped Sasha. he put her life in grave danger. He has to pay.

Dante closes the door, and Cody asks if he heard that lunatic. He put Sasha’s life in danger? Dante says, stay calm, but Cody says, it’s a little hard to stay calm with that performance Gladys is putting on out there. Dante says, that was a pretty good performance. He almost believes that she’s worried about Sasha. Cody says, the only thing Gladys is worried about right now is the truth coming out.

Chase asks if he can get Gladys coffee, but she says, no. Her phone rings, and it says, unknown. She answers, and a woman asks if this is Gladys Corbin. Gladys says, yes, and we see it’s Sam putting on a fake voice. She says, this is Mrs. Margis from Port Charles Savings & Loan. She’s calling about the accounts of Sasha Gilmore.

Elizabeth goes into Finn’s office and asks if Jake is all right. Jake says he is, and asks if Drew is out of surgery, but she says, not yet. She’ll be notified the minute it’s finished. Jake says, so they just sit around and do nothing? but Elizabeth says, not necessarily.

Carly tells Sonny, Ava did it. She was stupid enough to tell Ava what Drew was doing. She told Austin or his cousin Mason, and that’s why Drew was attacked. And that’s why he might not make it. Sonny tells Carly that she’s wrong, and Ava says she swears she didn’t say anything to anybody. Sonny says, she didn’t, and he knows for a fact she didn’t. Carly says she doesn’t know what to think anymore and heads for the waiting area. Following her, Sonny says, she has to focus on Drew. That’s all that matters. He’s strong; he’s going to get through this. She says she doesn’t know.

Anna lights a candle in the chapel, and she flashes back to telling Dante about the papers Valentin had from Pikeman, and Dante asking if she thinks Valentin could be working for Pikeman again. She wonders what else she doesn’t know about Valentin.

Valentin asks if Charlotte knows why he asked her to stay with Sam, Dante, and her brother Rocco, and she says, because he’s afraid she won’t be safe at Anna’s. He says, she’s right. He would have never forgiven himself if she’d been there the night of the fire. She says she was at camp, and he says he knows. Just so she knows, he’s made special precautions to make sure they’re safe here. His phone rings, and he says, it’s her Uncle Marty. He goes to the other room to take the call, and she flashes back to reading the letter that came with the tarot cards. She reads: Anna Devane is not who she says. Do not trust her. Valentin comes back in and says, Charlotte?

Cody says he can’t wait to get on the witness stand and testify against Gladys. She is going to prison for what she did to Sasha. Dante tells him, hold the phone. Right now, Cody is the one in custody and being charged with kidnapping and assault. Gladys isn’t in custody, and she isn’t facing charges right now. Cody says, but she will be as soon as Dante explains to the judge… Dante says he’s not explaining anything unless and until they have proof that Gladys and Montague were working together to hurt Sasha. If they don’t get that… Cody says he could be the one in prison.

Gladys says she’s sorry. She doesn’t understand why they’re calling her. Sam (as Mrs. Margis) says, she is Miss Gilmore’s guardian, is she not? and Gladys says, yes, but Sasha’s been kidnapped and she’s a nervous wreck about it. Sam says she’s sorry to hear that, but this is official business, and Gladys is listed as the responsible party for all of the accounts of Miss Gilmore. Gladys says, as her guardian, she only paid Sasha’s bills and provided money when Sasha needed or asked for it. And the medical bills. Sam says, none of that is of their concern. She’s just calling to advise Gladys, they’ve received a subpoena from the DA’s office. Gladys asks, for what? and Sam says, the banking records for all Miss Gilmore’s accounts. Gladys asks if those accounts aren’t private and confidential, and Sam says, under normal circumstances, yes, but if the DA has cause and a subpoena is issued, they have no choice but to turn over those records, and those records will be turned over today. Thank you. And goodbye, Miss Corbin. Sam crosses her fingers on both hands.

Charlotte says she hopes Uncle Martin comes to visit them, and Valentin says, it’s certainly possible. He’s been here before. Martin helped him find the place. She says, maybe someday mom will wake up and visit them too, and he says, she misses her mom a lot doesn’t she? Charlotte says, everyone acts like she’s gone, but she’s not. Charlotte likes talking to her. She feels like her mom can hear her. He says, maybe she can. What kind of things do they talk about? She says, everything. She’d love their house. He asks how she’d feel if Anna moved in with them, and she says, whatever would make him happy. But she needs to know. He says, she needs to know? and she says, if Anna moving in would make him happy. She needs to know for the reading. He says, what reading? and she takes the tarot cards out of her backpack. She says, the cards, and shows him the box. He flashes back to being with Charlotte in the Bistro, and her saying, the only thing that stays the same is things changing. He remembers showing Anna that MURDERER is painted on her door, and the fire. He flashes back to him and Anna discovering the trashed suite; then watching the security footage with Nina and finding out Charlotte was the one who broke in.

Anna leaves the chapel as Finn, Elizabeth, and Jake come by. Finn asks Jake and Elizabeth to go ahead; he’ll catch up with them. Jake and Elizabeth go into the chapel, and Finn asks if Anna is okay. She says, yeah. She heard about Drew. How is he? He says he hasn’t heard anything yet. Elizabeth thought Jake might find some comfort in being here. She says, poor kid. He’s been through so much and he’s so young. Finn asks, what about her? What brings her by? She says she had a phlebotomy treatment and there’s a lot of stuff going on in her head. He asks if it’s a good place for her to clear her head, and she says, always is. He says, she’s been through a lot. He called her a few times and left a message after the fire. She thanks him and says, that was very thoughtful. He says he thought maybe she’d give him a call and let him know she was okay, and she says she should have. There’s been a lot going on. She’s sorry. He says, it’s okay. He knows. She has a lot of people who are there for her, but don’t ever forget he’s her friend too.

In the chapel, Jake says he doesn’t know what he’s supposed to do, but Elizabeth says, he doesn’t have to do anything. If he wants, he can light a candle for Drew. He lights one, and she sits down. He joins her and asks if they pray now. She says, they can, and they should think their most positive thoughts to bring Drew through this to recovery.

Sonny asks if he can get Carly anything, and she says, Ava’s right. Drew’s in that prison because of her. He tells her, stop it, but she says, it’s true. He never committed insider trading; she did. He pled guilty so she wouldn’t be tried. He tells her, listen to him, but she asks if she can’t just be alone, please, and he goes over to Nina and Ava. Nina says she’s glad he showed up when he did, and Ava says, her too. Carly was on quite a rampage. He says, that’s the way Carly gets when she lashes out. Something happens. Nina says, Carly needs to know that sometimes there are no answers.

 A doctor comes out and tells Carly that the surgeon wanted him to speak to her. Ava, Nina, and Sonny watch as he talks to her. He leaves, and Carly sits down again, her head in her hands. Sonny walks over, and Nina says, oh my God.

Nina and Ava join Sonny and Carly, and Sonny says, Drew made it through surgery. He’s going to be okay. Nina says, thank God, and Carly says, the surgery was a success. They expect him to make a full recovery. Ava says, that’s such a relief. She’s so happy for Carly and she’s sorry Carly had to go through this. Carly says she’s sorry she attacked Ava. She shouldn’t have done that. Ava says, it’s okay. If she were in Carly’s shoes, she would have felt the same thing. But the truth is, she thinks Drew’s a good man. He helped save Trina’s life in Greenland, and what he did for Willow… They all owe him. Carly says, they do, and asks to talk to Sonny alone.

Elizabeth’s phone dings, and she tells Jake, Drew’s okay. He’s going to make a full recovery. They hug.

Looking at his phone, Finn says, Drew’s surgery was a success, and Anna says, thank goodness. He should get in there. He tells her, remember what he said, and she thanks him. She leaves, and he goes into the chapel. Jake says, this is the best news, and Elizabeth smiles at Finn.

Carly says she wanted to thank Sonny for being here, and he says, she’s welcome.

Nina says, Carly really went after Ava, and Ava says, that was nothing compared to what she’ll do to Nina if she ever finds out who put Drew in prison.

Valentin asks where Charlotte got the tarot cards, and she says, a girl at camp gave them to her and showed her how to use them. She flashes back to reading the letter, and we hear Victor’s voice say, to guide you, I’m giving you these very special tarot cards. They are very powerful tools. You’ll find them helpful. She takes them out and looks through them. Back in the present, she lays out the cards on the coffee table as Valentin watches, looking worried.

Chase asks if Dante’s had any progress, and Dante says, it shouldn’t be too much longer. Chase says, right, and leaves. Dante looks at Cody.

Gladys frantically throws clothes into suitcase. She can’t get it zipped, so she grabs a few things, tossing them on the floor, and tries again. There’s a knock at the door, and she says, almost ready. She thought they were going to text. The knocking continues so she goes to the door and opens it. It’s Sasha, who looks mighty pissed off.

Tomorrow, Curtis says he’s glad to be back in the mix; Esme says, Spencer can’t go; and Cody says, what happens next is up to Sasha.

🏥 Bait and Switch Up…

Since Kristina ended up being his sister and a lesbian, it really wouldn’t have worked out.

🎉 Celebrating Their Girls…

Score one for the daughters.

🪜 Getting There…

They kinda sorta reached a temporary agreement.

🧂 Salting the Lake…

Usually, I just have this on in the background, but some of them were acting so stupid, I actually stopped doing what I was doing and watched. Who could waste time being awful while staying at the Trixie Motel? Once again, the wrong people have the money and amazing vacations. However, Trixie gave us one of the best quotes ever: There is no crying in makeup. PS – Monica needs to run.

🗽 Shining the Apple…

Not sure what to think about an adult who keeps a log of slights, so she can bring them up at a later date. Bring back the Countess telling us not to be all uncool. And then drunkenly falling into the shrubbery. Good times…

⚰️ The Best Of Daryl…

This show just gets better and better.

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/the-walking-dead-daryl-dixon-episode-3-recap-paris-sera-toujours-paris/

🏉 Half the Story…

And I thought we were rushing the 2023 holiday season.

https://people.com/usher-announces-2024-super-bowl-halftime-show-gig-kim-kardashian-7973971

🛴 Not Bringing It On Home…

Join me tomorrow for soap and an RHOC episode aptly titled, Welcome to the Freak Show. Until then, stay safe, stay not giving advice unless someone asks or pays for it, and stay not throwing in the towel if you’re not ready to turn the page. Keep fighting.

September 25, 2023 – Brook Asks Blaze To Be Her First Client, Different Deck In the Med & Bizarre

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Elizabeth says, the beating Drew took was severe, and the doctor says he’s concerned about Drew not regaining consciousness. He hopes the X-rays and CT scan will give them more answers. He asks Elizabeth to let him know when Drew is back in ICU and when the test results come in. Jake comes in, and Elizabeth says, it’s not a good time, but he says he has to talk to her about Charlotte.

Charlotte sleeps on the couch, and Anna wakes her, saying, she fell asleep. Charlotte asks, where’s papa? and Anna says, he’s not here. Charlotte asks if he’s coming back, but Anna says she doubts it. He has other things to do. He’s very busy. Charlotte says she needs to see him, but Anna says, he doesn’t have time. Charlotte says, Valentin always has time for her, and Anna says, that was before. Charlotte says, before what? and Anna says, before he fell in love with her. He’s all hers now. Charlotte says, no, but Anna says, he’s mine, all mine. Charlotte keeps saying she wants papa, but Anna just smiles. Charlotte sits up, and Nina says, she had a bad dream. It’s just a bad dream.

Anna nearly walks into Portia, mumbles an apology, and keeps on walking. Portia asks her to wait.

At Charlie’s, Blaze looks at a headline from The Invader on her phone: BLQ OUT @ DECEPTION; Quartermaine heiress and former songbird given the boot. Brook runs in and says she’s so, so sorry she’s late. She was on her way, and life happens. She promises she didn’t ask Blaze to come here to waste her time or beat around the bush. After a lot of soul searching, and a fair amount of family drama, she’s decided to go back to music management. She’d like to sign Blaze as her first client. So what does Blaze say?

Alexis walks into Charlie’s, and Kristina says, fancy seeing her here. Alexis says she’s here to see her daughter, and Kristina asks if her daughter is meeting her here. Alexis says, Kristina’s her daughter; she’s here to see her. Kristina asks, what’s up? and Alexis says she has a message from Kristina’s sister. Kristina tells her, please say Sam, but Alexis says, Molly.

Molly approaches the nurses station and asks if the reception nurse knows where she can find Dr. Ashford.

TJ sees Curtis and asks what he’s doing at the hospital. Curtis says he had a check-up appointment and thought he’d stick around and see TJ. TJ says, that’s great; he has a little break right now. How was the check-up? Curtis says, same, when Molly joins them. She says, Curtis is here too. Perfect. TJ asks, what’s going on? and she says she has news to share.

On the phone at Pozzulo’s, Sonny says he doesn’t want any more excuses. Understand?… Yeah. He’s done. Just let him know. Dex runs in, and says, Drew Cain was attacked and beaten up. Sonny says, what? and Dex says, they told him it’s bad. Sonny asks, how bad? and Dex says, they took him to the hospital.

Jake says, Elizabeth came in late last night and left early this morning. He didn’t get a chance to talk to her. She asks if they can talk about this later, but he says he just needs a few minutes. It’s about Charlotte. It’s important. She says, okay, and seeing Carly run in, she asks him to wait for her. Carly asks where Drew is, and Elizabeth says, he’s in the ICU, but he’s been taken for some tests. Carly asks if Elizabeth saw him, and she says, yes. Carly asks how he looks. Did he say anything? Elizabeth says, he hasn’t regained consciousness since the beating, and Carly says, please tell her it’s going to be okay. Elizabeth says, Drew’s getting the best care possible. They just have to wait for the tests to come back. Carly says she knows Elizabeth is just trying to be professional, but please tell her what’s going on. She’s just going to call Monica, and Monica will tell her. Elizabeth says, Monica is in Berlin for a conference, and there’s no need to notify her until they know more. Drew put Carly down as his emergency contact. The doctor will talk to her as soon as he has any information. Carly says, he never should have been in that prison, and asks if Elizabeth thinks this is her fault. It is. It’s 100% her fault. Elizabeth says, Drew made his own choices, and this isn’t about blame. She has to go talk to her son. Carly says, Jake’s here? but Elizabeth says, he’s here about something else. She hasn’t told him anything yet. He already lost his dad and Franco, and at one point, Drew was a father figure in his life, and if he loses him too…

Nina tells Charlotte, it’s okay. Sometimes it helps if you talk about your bad dream. Charlotte says she’s already forgetting what it was about, and Nina says, that happens to her. Sometimes if she has a bad dream, she concentrates and she realizes it’s something that happened in the past. Sometimes it’s something she did the day before. Valentin comes in, and Charlotte runs to him, hugging him. Nina says, Charlotte had a bad dream.

Brook says she’s so sorry to spring this on Blaze. She would have worked up to it, but she walked in so late. Blaze says, it’s okay. She had a great conversation with the manager while she was waiting. Brook says, Kristina, she’s the best, and Blaze says, she seems like a cool person. Brook says, she’s super cool, and she sings too. She sang at the Nurses Ball. She was terrific. Blaze says she saw the video online; Kristina was great. She thinks she embarrassed Kristina by watching it. Brook says, people not in the business tend to be embarrassed by their talents, but Blaze is in the business and she’s here with a proposal to get Blaze front and center, and get her career to the next level. She brings out her tablet and says, since Blaze dropped that sleaze Linc, the public hasn’t heard from her. They’re going to change that.

Kristina says she swears, she’s given Molly all the space she’s asked for, but Alexis says, this isn’t anything bad. In fact, it’s good news. Molly just found out from her surrogate that she’s pregnant. So Molly and TJ are having a baby.

Molly says she was going to wait until TJ got off work to tell him, but she’s too excited. Curtis says, they probably want to be alone, but Molly says she’s really glad Curtis is here. She wants them to know; she wants the whole family to know. She takes TJ’s hand and says, it worked. Andrea is pregnant. TJ says, we’re having a baby? and she says, we’re having a baby. He picks her up and spins her around, while Curtis smiles wide.

Sonny asks, what the hell happened? He told Dex to make certain Drew is off limits. Dex says, that’s exactly what he told Book when he visited the prison. He made sure everyone knew Drew was being protected by Sonny Corinthos. Sonny says, who’s after him? and Dex says, that’s what he’s trying to find out. Sonny says, someone went against his orders? and Dex says, yes. Sonny says, that someone needs to be punished, and Dex asks what Sonny wants him to do. Sonny says, they’re going to find out who that someone is, and they’re going to make them pay. Where is Drew right now? Dex says, they took him to GH, and Sonny says, let’s go.

Anna asks bodyguard Tre to make himself scarce, and Portia says she thinks they need to clear the air. Anna says, they don’t. She should have never come to their house. She should have called first. She really needed to see Curtis and needed to apologize. She’s sorry. Portia says, Curtis doesn’t blame Anna, and Anna says she knows. Curtis was extremely gracious. Portia says, and she wasn’t, but Anna says, that’s not what she meant. There was nothing Portia said that was unjustified. Portia says she knows that, but it was out of proportion. Anna was there and it was convenient for her to focus all of her anger on Anna, but she didn’t deserve all of it. Anna says, all of it.

Elizabeth promises to let Carly know as soon as she hears anything, but it could be a long wait. Carly says she’s not going anywhere. Not until she sees Drew. Is Elizabeth going to tell Jake? Elizabeth says she doesn’t know, and Carly says she’s sorry. Go.

Elizabeth goes over to Jake, and says she’s sorry she took so long, but she is working and doesn’t have a lot of time. What did he want to tell her? He says he was with Charlotte last night.

Charlotte says she doesn’t even remember her dream. She’s just glad Valentin came. He asks what they’ve been up to, and Nina says, they went to Kelly’s for some breakfast, then they did some window shopping and saw some really great ideas for winter clothes. Charlotte agrees, and Nina says, then they came back here and Charlotte read Crimson magazine and fell asleep. Valentin suggests he and Charlotte do something together, and Charlotte says, what? He says, it’s a surprise. It’s going to make that bad dream fly right out of her head. Charlotte says she’ll go get her jacket, and goes in the bedroom. Nina asks, what if she was dreaming about what she’s done to Anna? and he says, who knows? He just hopes what he has planned is going to make them all move past it.

Portia tells Anna that she apologizes for her actions the other night. She’s still angry. She’s angry that Curtis was collateral damage because someone was targeting Anna or Sonny. She knows Anna didn’t pull the trigger, but Curtis is in a wheelchair. He’s in a wheelchair through no fault of his own. It’s one thing to take responsibility for your own actions, but it’s a whole other thing to have to pay the price for someone else’s.

Brook shows Blaze the tablet, and says, these are some platforms she thinks might help get Blaze back in the public eye. Concerts, social media, potential producers, collaborators… Blaze says, interesting, and Brook says she knows how important it is for Blaze to be herself and not some image like Linc conjured up. So she’s open to suggestion. Blaze says she can see Brook put a lot of work into it. She’s really into this, isn’t she? Brook says, yeah. She enjoyed trying to push Chase’s career. He’s an amazing performer, but if your heart’s not in it, what’s the point? But Blaze is so committed. Brook can see it in her performances. She hopes Blaze knows how much she respects her, and that she’d never do anything to make Blaze feel uncomfortable or dishonest, which is why she’s so excited to sign Blaze as her first client. Blaze says, okay, but Brook keeps going. She says, and Blaze is such a unique talent. That’s something she doesn’t think Linc ever really saw. She has great style, and Brook really wants to help her reach the next level in her career. Not just in business, but through songwriting. Blaze tells Brook that she said okay, and Brook says, excuse me? Blaze says, O…K, and Brook asks if she’s saying yes. Blaze says she is; she’s in. Brook says, just like that? and Blaze says, just like that. Brook stood up for her when everyone else looked away. She’s not sure she would have been able to get away from Linc if it hadn’t been for Brook.

Kristina says, Molly just found out? and Alexis says, today. Kristina asks if it isn’t a little early in the pregnancy to be telling people, and Alexis says, it is, and she promised Molly that when she talked to Kristina, she’d say they cautiously had good news. It was Molly’s decision, and Alexis thought it would be great if they could all be supportive together. Kristina says, of course (🍷). They must be really excited. She knows Molly and TJ both really want this baby. Alexis says, fingers crossed it’s all worked out for them, and Kristina says, it has. Alexis says, what? and Kristina says, it would have been nice if she’d had that moment with her sister where Molly tells Kristina herself, and she got to see the look on Molly’s face. But she’s hearing it secondhand, and if she’s honest, it hurts a little.

Molly hugs Curtis, and he says, that’s great news. She says she knows it’s a little early and some people think she should have waited, but Andrea’s already glowing and she’s so positive about everything. TJ asks if she called this morning, but Molly says, Andrea actually came to the courthouse to tell her in person. Her mom was there, so she already knows, and Curtis can tell Portia and the rest of the family. TJ asks if anyone else knows, and Molly says her mom is going to tell Kristina. She hopes that’s okay.

Elizabeth says, Jake was with Charlotte? She thought he was with his friend Angus. He says he’s sorry. He guesses he was a little embarrassed that he was seeing Charlotte again. She asks, why? and he says, she’s a girl. She says, and he felt the need to tell her this now? and he says he shouldn’t have told her he was seeing Angus. And Charlotte was taking all of these selfies of them. She says she sees. He was afraid if Charlotte posted them, she’d find out. He says he’s sorry.

Sonny and Dex come out of the hospital elevator, and Dex says he’ll see what he can find out. And he’ll make that call for Sonny. Sonny walks over to Carly, and she says, Sonny promised to protect him. He says he doesn’t know what went wrong and he’s sorry. She says, Drew is fighting for his life. They put him in danger for asking him to find out information. He tells her, Drew said he wanted to find out who Austin was visiting in Pentenville, and she says, for Sonny. He says, Drew’s a smart guy. He’s sure when Drew asked questions, he was careful. She says, really? Then why is he in the hospital right now?

Elizabeth says, maybe Jake has a thing for Charlotte, and he says, stop it. She tells him, she’s just saying. He’s been spending a lot of time with her lately. What is it he likes about her? He says, everything. Plus, she likes him.

Charlotte, Nina, and Valentin approach a house, and Charlotte asks what they’re doing here. Whose house is this? Valentin says, see for herself, and opens the front door. They go inside a gorgeous, beautifully furnished living room with floor to ceiling windows.

Anna says she thinks Portia summed it up pretty well, and Portia says she knows Curtis and Anna got closer from the time they spent together in Greenland. She hopes Anna knows how much she appreciates what Anna did to save her daughter. Anna says, it was a group effort, and Portia says she’s just trying to clear the air, but Anna says she doesn’t have to apologize, because Portia was right. Curtis doesn’t deserve to suffer the consequences meant for someone else. No one does. Portia says she heard about Anna’s home; how her house burned down and she lost everything. She’s so sorry. Anna says, it’s just things. She thinks they’ve both been through enough to know things aren’t important. Portia says, the fire could have cost her a lot more, and she’s glad Anna’s okay. Curtis also told her the story about how she saved Valentin’s life. Wow. The two of them are closer now. She’s glad Anna has someone in her life. Anna thanks her, and Portia leaves. Anna flashes back to telling Valentin, each new layer that gets peeled back, she gets to see who he really is. Like maybe she never knew him. He tells her that he loves her, but she says, he’s not answering her question, and he admits he wasn’t at ELQ the night of the fire. She remembers him telling her that the footage outside of her suite the night of the break-in is missing. Tre comes back, and she asks him if they can meet at the car. She’s perfectly safe here. He leaves.

Brook says she let what happened with Blaze and Linc go on for too long, and Blaze says, so did she. If Brook hadn’t finally stepped in, who knows what could have happened? Brook says she should have stepped in sooner, but Blaze says, stop. Not to pat themselves on the back, but doesn’t she think anyone who met them would think they were two strong women? Brook says, if they didn’t, they wouldn’t hesitate to correct them, and Blaze says, yet somehow, they both managed to let a man like Linc take advantage of them. Brook says she thinks back, and she still can’t believe it, and Blaze says she went to a support group for survivors of both physical and emotional abuse. There were women in there like them; strong, intelligent women who went through the same thing. Guys who are predators have had a lot of practice. They know what buttons to push, what vulnerabilities to take advantage of, and they do it all with a slimy smile on their face. Seeing Brook put Linc in his place was absolutely priceless. Brook exposed him to everyone for exactly who he was. And now he’s canceled. Brook says, amen to that, and they clink glasses.

Sonny tells Carly, Drew is tough; he’s going to get through this. She asks how he knows. He hasn’t even regained consciousness. He was beaten so badly, who knows if he even will. Sonny says he’s going to figure out who did this, and she says, and then what? He says, as soon as Drew gets better, Diane is going to do everything she can to get him released from Pentenville. She asks if he’ll even be alive to get released.

Blaze asks if Brook brought papers or is there a contract she can sign on that fancy tablet of Brook’s? Brook asks if Blaze doesn’t want to take some time and think it over, but Blaze says she knows she can count on Brook, not just to promote her, but to care about her. Brook says she does, and Blaze asks, what about Deception? Brook says she’ll miss the people, but that world never really spoke to her. Blaze shows Brook her phone and says, it’s speaking in all caps now. Does this have anything to do with Brook going into music management? Brook says, bad news travels fast.

Alexis asks if Kristina thinks it’s possible she’s being a little overly sensitive about this, and Kristina asks, how? Her own sister can’t even pick up the phone and tell her the news herself? Alexis says, because she was excited and wanted to have lunch with the surrogate; they wanted to celebrate. Kristina wonders if Molly asked Alexis to tell her, or was this perhaps Alexis’s idea? Alexis says, well… and Kristina says, this is unbelievable. It just keeps getting better and better. Alexis says, please don’t… Kristina says, don’t what? Her sister has explicitly singled her out to be completely hands-off to her surrogacy journey, and now her mother has to beg Molly to let her in on the news that the baby’s on its way? Alexis says she didn’t beg Molly, and the baby is far from being on its way. They both know how much pressure Molly’s been under, and frankly, she doesn’t think Molly’s been able to even process the fact she can’t get pregnant. But now that the surrogate is pregnant, maybe Molly can relax, and they can just support her and give her some space. Kristina says she’s giving Molly all the space she’s asked for. Is she honestly that overbearing? Molly’s her sister. Why does Molly not want a relationship with her?

TJ says he thinks it’s great that Molly’s mom is telling Kristina, but for now, let’s just keep it family. Molly says, of course (🍷), and her phone rings. She says, it’s the office, and steps away to take the call. Curtis says, so TJ is going to be a dad, and TJ says, in nine months, if all goes well. Curtis says, so far, so good, right? and TJ says, right. Curtis asks if he’d be right in assessing that TJ is overjoyed. He’s honestly never seen TJ so happy. TJ asks, how could he be happier? He’s going to be a dad. They shake hands bro style.

Charlotte tells Valentin, it’s beautiful, when Nina’s phone rings and she excuses herself, going outside. She asks Dex, what’s up? and he says, sorry to bother her. He knows she was supposed to meet Sonny at the MetroCourt in a little while. She asks if something is wrong, and Dex says, no. He had to come to GH. Drew Cain is here. Nina asks if he’s okay, and Dex says he’s not sure. He was beaten up pretty badly in Pentenville. She thanks him for letting her know.

Valentin tells Charlotte, the lot is a little more than two acres and they’re less than half a mile from Winding Road Stables. She says, that’s where Butterscotch is boarded, and he says, and they’re just a short drive from her school. Nina comes back in, and Charlotte says, it’s perfect. Is he thinking of buying it? He says he’s not thinking of buying it… because he already bought it. She hugs him and says, this is their house? For real? He says, for real. He knows it’s been a long time coming, but from now on, this is their home. She says she loves it.

Sonny tells Carly not to go to the worst-case scenario, but she says she loves Drew, and he might die because someone told the SEC what they did. Then some power-hungry judge gave him an insane sentence for it, just to further his career. It’s wrong. It’s all wrong. She walks away.

In the elevator, Dex asks Sonny if he thinks the guy from Pikeman had something to do with Drew getting attacked, but Sonny wonders why Pikeman would care about Drew Cain. Dex says, what if they found out Sonny was protecting him? It might have been their way of sending Sonny a message. The guy’s threat wasn’t exactly subtle. Sonny says, good thinking, but there’s a lot of people in Pentenville who would have it in for Drew if they knew Drew was helping him. Dex says, there are a lot of guys in there from the other Families who are locked up, right? He takes out his phone and asks if any of the names jump out. Sonny says, they’d love to take him down, and Dex says he’ll keep pushing. He made that call to Nina. They come out of the elevator and hear Portia saying she’s so happy for Molly and TJ. Curtis says he thinks they should celebrate at The Savoy because his dad just managed to book Eddie Maine, and TJ asks if Curtis will be there. Curtis says he will, and Molly says, they’ll see them later. She leaves with TJ, and Portia sees Sonny starting to head toward them. She stops smiling, and tells Curtis that they should get out of here too, and get ready for tonight. She wheels Curtis away, and Dex asks if Sonny wants him to hang around, but Sonny tells him to go. He’ll call Dex if he needs him.

Alexis says, Kristina is not overbearing. Maybe a little impatient. Kristina says she feels like the way things are going right now, she’s never getting her sister back. Alexis says, since Kristina has this instinct that she’s inherited from her, sometimes it’s best not to tackle a problem head on. Kristina asks what she’s supposed to do; sit around and wait? Alexis says, yes. This baby’s a blessing for Molly and TJ, so let them have their moment and when they’re ready, they’ll reach out. Kristina says, okay. She really is happy for Molly. Alexis says she knows, and she knows Molly knows that too. Anyway, Kristina has big things to do right now. Diane said she has her first board meeting for the youth center. Kristina says she does, and she’s excited about that, but she’s not excited about talking about her least favorite topic. Alexis says, fundraising. It’s a drag, but she has to come up with an idea to get people pumped up. Kristina says she’s been wracking her brain to think about something – she looks over at Brook and Blaze – and she thinks she may have a really good idea.

Brook reads, Brook Lynn Quartermaine, the infamous trust fund wannabe was fired from her job at Deception Cosmetics amidst lawsuit turmoil. Sources tell us the Quartermaine princess is out because of allegations regarding the hot Deceptor wand. What’s next for the former warbler? She seems to be zero for zero. While no one can fault BLQ for her singing career being unceremoniously slashed short due to a freak attack, we can wonder about her suspicious exit from Deception. Perhaps it’s all in the name. This had to be Lucy. She swears this had nothing to do with wanting meet Blaze. Blaze says, it’s a hit piece. She’s had some herself. Hers are usually accompanied by an incredibly unflattering picture. It’s no big deal. Don’t worry about it. Brook thanks her, and Blaze says, it was a really low blow to make fun of her being attacked. Brook says, it’s not easy losing the one thing you loved more than anything in life.

Elizabeth says she’s glad Jake told her about Charlotte, but she has to get back to work. She tells him to head home, and he wonders if he should ask Carly about Uncle Drew. She said he could go visit Drew, but it’s been so long… Elizabeth says, wait. There’s something she has to tell him about his Uncle Drew.

Carly flashes back to talking to Sonny a minute ago, and then to telling Ava that Drew was going to find out who Austin was talking to at Pentenville. She says, Ava, and gets up.

Sonny goes into the chapel and finds Anna there.

Jake cries, and says, Uncle Drew has to be okay. Elizabeth says, the moment she knows anything, she’ll call him, but he says he wants to be here to find out. Please.

On the phone, Carly tells Ava that she’s at GH on the 10th floor. Get here as soon as she can. Nina comes out of the elevator, and Carly asks what she’s doing here. Nina says she heard what happened to Drew, and Elizabeth tells Carly that they’re taking Drew to emergency surgery. Carly asks, why? What happened? Elizabeth says she doesn’t have any details, but the doctor will be here soon to give Carly an update. Carly says, please let him be okay, and Nina looks uncomfortable.

Outside Charlie’s, Kristina thanks Alexis for the brilliant idea, and Alexis says she has no idea what that idea was, but she’s welcome. Kristina says she knows she was a little hard on Alexis, but she does appreciate Alexis coming to tell her the news. Alexis says, Kristina and Molly are going to get through this. Her girls love each other. Just be the strong one for Molly this time, okay? Kristina promises, and they hug. Alexis leaves, and Kristina watches Brook and Blaze through the window and smiles.

Brook says, if anyone could understand what it would be like, it would be Blaze. Singing was everything to her. For it just to be taken away suddenly, forever… Blaze asks how she deals with it, and Brook says she had a lot of help. Chase made her realize that there are different ways she can use whatever talent she has. Blaze says, but Brook never really lost her love for music, and Brook says, not even close. It’s in her blood. Her dad’s a musician. Her mom was a music manager – Lois Cirello. She is quite a character. Blaze would really like her. She always says the old cliché, when life gives you lemons… and they both finish, make lemonade. Brook says, she’s got quite the style; it’s definitely her own. Blaze says, maybe she’ll want to meet Brook’s first client, and Brook says, Blaze still wants to sign with her? Blaze says, hell yeah, and they shake hands.

The doctor comes over to Carly, and she asks if Drew is conscious. He says, no, but that might have saved his life. He broke one of his ribs, and the X-rays show there was a threatening of the aorta. Any unnecessary move could have been fatal. Carly says, so the surgery’s going to fix this? and the doctor says, that depends on many factors, but they have a specialist coming in. The surgery will take a few hours, and they won’t have any answers until it’s finished. Nina watches Carly stress out.

Anna says she and Sonny seem to end up in the strangest places together, and he says, that’s true. She says she feels like maybe they should be here right now, and he asks if she remembers asking him if it was worth it; the life he chose. She says, yeah, and he says he’s beginning to wonder.

Outside, Valentin tells Charlotte that he thinks they should put a tennis court right there. His phone rings and he says, that’s the landscaper. He’ll be right back. He goes inside, and Charlotte remembers opening a package from Switzerland she received while at boarding school. She opens it and takes out a of tarot cards, along with an envelope that has Charlotte written on it. She opens the envelope and read the letter inside. Valentin comes back and asks if everything is all right. She says, everything is going to be perfect.

Tomorrow, Gladys wants to know where her daughter-in-law is; Jake asks if they sit around and do nothing, but Elizabeth says, not necessarily; Valentin asks how Charlotte would feel if Anna moved in with them; and Carly says she knows exactly what Ava did.

Below Deck Mediterranean

Bear with me if I get any names wrong. My cross to bear in life is being bad with names and this new season brings nearly all new people.

Genoa Italy. Captain Sandy tells us that the Italian Riviera is an epic experience. The season hasn’t even started yet, and it’s a sh*tshow. Natalya is the temporary chief stew, since chief stew Tumi and second stew Kyle are stuck with an immigration problem. In her interview, the captain says, to save the season, they’re starting with two temps. There isn’t a ton of time, and she had to make a last-minute decision. Natalya is a hard worker with a great attitude (the latter is debatable), and she’s grateful Natalya can make it. She tells Natalya that she’ll have to teach the temp stew, since she’s primarily a deckhand. In Natalya’s interview, she says, she thinks she’ll do a better job than last season’s chief stew. Tash gave her PTSD, but she loves Captain Sandy. Chef Jack arrives, and in his interview, he says he trained in Liverpool and worked on the French Riviera and Asia. His forte is sauces. The initial reason he became a chef was for the travel. Growing up, he ate frozen food and McDonald’s, and didn’t have a vegetable until he was 16. Bosun Ruan arrives, and Captain Sandy says she’s happy with his experience on big vessels and driving the tender in big swells. In Ruan’s interview, he says he’s been a bosun for three years. There wasn’t much opportunity in his hometown, and he dropped out at 16. He’s 100% a water baby and a smooth sea never made a good sailor. He knows where he comes from and knows where he wants to go. Stew Jessika and deckhand Lara arrive, and Ruan dances in his cabin. There’s a bunch of introductions and checking out the boat. Deckhand Luka comes on board and says he worked for Captain Jason. We get a Down Under flashback, and Captain Sandy says, Captain Jason highly recommended him. In Luka’s interview, he says, he’s really an ETO, an electrical engineer, but he enjoys being on deck. In Natalya’s interview, she says she’s impressed with Luka. She thinks he’s hot. Agreed. Deckhand Haleigh joins the crew, and in her interview, she says her dad wanted a son. I understand this, since I’m the son my father never had. She tells us that she played a lot of sports growing up, and worked on tugs. You get all your money and are done in one month. Then you can go home and drink beer. She burps. An MCA inspector arrives, and in Captain Sandy’s interview, she says, this season is a different. The Mustique (the boat) is a huge adjustment. It’s a commercial built vessel and it’s heavy. There’s full displacement, and it’s a whole different ballgame for her. They’re also in a major port that’s highly regulated. An MCA officer can board at any time. It’s all about safe operation of the vessel, and their job is to make sure the boat is safe. The inspector says, Ruan gave the captain photocopies of his certifications, and you should always have originals. It’s a problem.

Ruan is called to the bridge, and he says, it will be hard to get originals. The inspector tells him, on a private boat, it’s fine, but not on a commercial vessel. In Captain Sandy’s interview, she says, this is not okay, and now they’re in a bind. There’s a reason why they want originals; you can’t forge an original. If Ruan doesn’t get the documents in five days, it’s going to be a sh*tshow. In Jessika’s interview, she says she finds comfort in people, and wonders, who’s going be her friend? She grew up with a best friend who was a leader, and she’s comfortable in that situation. That’s why she’s a strong second stew; she’s a good follower. Natalya explains to Jessika that she’s only a temp and will be leaving. Ruan tells the deckhands about needing the original documents, and everyone gets to cleaning the boat. In Lara’s interview, she says she grew up on a farm in a conservative family. She used to dive and play in cow manure. At that age, you don’t care, but she wouldn’t do it now. Maybe if she was drunk enough… The captain asks Natalya what happened to Storm (her boatmance last season), but she says, he has a girlfriend. Ruan calls the friend holding his original certificates and explains that he needs to send them. Provisions come in, and for once, there’s enough space for everything. In Jack’s interview, he says he was always shy. He didn’t talk much until he was 8, and he hasn’t stopped yapping since. Temp stew Brooke arrives, and in her interview, she says, she’s not usually a stew. She’s been a deckhand on smaller vessels, but never been on one this big. It’s her first live aboard, and she’s excited, but she’s sh*tting her pants. Ruan calls a deckhand meeting, and his advice basically boils down to, they don’t want to hit anything or the season will be done.

Captain Sandy calls a crew meeting, and welcomes everyone. She says, there are a lot of women, and it’s the highlight for her. She tells them, no drugs, they can’t drink on charter, no racist comments, and don’t take her smile away. She introduces chief engineer Tony and chief officer Nikola (or vice versa). The captain then calls Natalya, Ruan, and Jack to the crew mess for the first preference sheet meeting. She says, primary Kian is her friend and doctor. He turned 40 during the pandemic and wants to celebrate in style. He’s bringing along friends Cameron, Jesus, Geraldo, Nathan, and Carl, and they want to do water sports, so the captain wants to water toys out when they drop anchor. Natalya reads that they want a coastal Italian meal and would like the captain to join them. Captain Sandy says, be prepared, and in her interview, she says, Kian is incredible. She saw him after she was in a car crash and one of her eyes wouldn’t close. He took skin from one eye, added it to the other, and fixed it. The crew is finally finished with getting the boat ready at around 9 pm. Ruan gets a phone call and starts crying. One of his best friends died. The only friend he’s known since he was little. He had a head on collision with a bus.

The crew is up before dawn, and in Ruan’s interview, he says, it wasn’t just a friend who died. He had been by Ruan’s side since he was 8, and every memory is with him. Ruan’s dad died when he was young, and it wasn’t about family; it was about friends. He lost someone who means so much to him. The first person he’d speak to in the morning, and the last to speak to before bed. It’s all gone. He tells himself, pull yourself together. Jessika claws at the linens on the beds to get the wrinkles out, and I file this away for future reference. The guests arrive, and Natalya tells interior, the boat looks amazing. Well done. Captain Sandy hugs Kian, and says, they’re going to show them the best time ever. One of the stews greets them with shots, and Kian says he likes what he sees. Natalya gives the tour, and in the galley, Jack says, welcome to my dungeon. Kian says, they’re collected 20 Michelin stars, and in Jack’s interview, he says, and they’re friends with Captain Sandy. It’s serious squeaky bum time. I have no idea what that means, but it sounds like some babytalk for getting in the bathtub. The MCA inspector calls and says he has additional questions about Ruan’s certificates. In Captain Sandy’s interview, she says, there’s someone else’s picture on Ruan’s certificate. This is not okay. They could be arrested because of one crew member.

The inspector says, Ruan can’t remain on board, and the captain thanks him for bringing it to her attention. She calls Ruan to the bridge. She tells Kian that they’re going to depart in one hour, and he says she’s holding her to that. Captain Sandy asks Ruan if he’s that guy, and shows him the picture. He says he is, but he doesn’t look like he believes it either. She says, whoever issued this, it’s not his, and asks where he went to school. He says, on a boat. He needed one quickly. She says, you have to go to a class to get it. Did he go to school? He says he did, in Moraco, but she says, you can’t get your yacht masters on a boat, and there’s no school in Monaco. In Ruan’s interview, he says, he’s worked on boats for three years using the same ticket. The captain says, he has to leave. If it turns out to be verified, a tender will bring him back to the boat, but if not, they can’t bring him back. They have to get moving, so he needs to get off the boat. In her interview, Captain Sandy says she’s a factual person. She’s seeing what she’s seeing, and this is a problem. Sometimes mistakes happen, but she doesn’t think that’s the case. Regardless, it’s a problem. She’s starting with no chief stew, and now no bosun. She texts provisioner Norma. In Jack’s interview, he says, they’re in Italy and have the best Italian ingredients. He’s making fresh, Italian food. He doesn’t believe in making swans and stuff. Lunch is served. Food porn! Food porn! Captain Sandy calls Luka to the bridge, and says she’s had an incident and Ruan has to leave. Until they can verify his documentation, they need an interim bosun. He says he doesn’t mind helping, and in the captain’s interview, she says she has to get off the dock, and doesn’t have a lot of choices. Luka’s CV is impeccable, and Captain Jason said he was excellent. The guests compliment Jack on lunch, and in Jack’s interview, he says his anxiety is gone. He’s Harry Potter and the galley is his Hogwarts. In Jessika’s interview, she says she knew Brooke was green on a boat, but she’s also green in real life. A bright green stew? Ruan packs and the crew wonders what’s going on. In Luka’s interview, he says, if you get pulled over by the cops, you don’t show them a photocopy of your license.

In his interview, Luka says, it looks a different trip for all three of them on deck, and he’s a little nervous. His main focus is to not crash the boat while they’re leaving the dock. Captain Sandy calls to shore for a pilot, and in her interview, she explains that if a boat is over 500 gross tons, they need a pilot on board when coming in or leaving the dock. A pilot is like a live google maps and knows the traffic in the marina. The unnamed marina pilot boards, and they leave the dock. In Luka’s interview, he says, they’re getting help now, but they need someone for the rest of season. There are so many people here, if they f*** up, it will be on the news. He’ll be the guy on stern saying, you just hit the dock. In Captain Sandy’s interview, she says she saw red flags with Ruan, but department heads are hard to come by. She thinks there’s a 0.5% chance he’ll come through. If she can’t find someone, they’re totally screwed. Luka teaches Haleigh anchor stuff, and in his interview, he suggests they fake it until they make it. The guests dress for dinner, and in Jack’s interview, he says he has a big act to follow. We flash back to Chef David, and Captain Sandy says she’s hoping dinner goes well for her friend.

Captain Sandy joins the guests for dinner – more food porn! – and Kian asks about her story. She says, her career saved her life. A neighbor gave her a quaalude and it changed life. She got on the drug train, but one day, she realized it was just another Groundhog Day and got sober. She started washing boats to pay her fines and feels that now it’s her job to mentor others. Kian asks how many chances she gives people, and she says, three, but I’m not so sure about that. Haliegh says, she hates washing dishes, but it’s what she knows how to do. Interior isn’t complicated; it’s just something she’s never done. She wants to be a captain. Her dad was a captain, and he was her biggest motivation. He came up with Sprouts grocery store, and before he passed away, he told her to do what makes her happy. The cake is, well, the cherry on the cake; it’s amazing, and so velvety chocolate looking. Kian says he wishes he was on a yacht in Portofino and blows out the candles. Natalya tells Jack that they’re loving it, and in his interview, he says he likes a chief stew who’s supportive. When they’re thrown in the deep end, they need to work together, and he thinks Natalya is rising to the challenge. In Natalya’s interview, she says she’s happy. The boat looks good, and the interior is running smoothly. If she gets a gold star from Captain Sandy, she’ll be loving life. The captain tells Jack that he’s really good, and in his interview, he says he’s cooked around the world and got the Michelin Knife Award in his 20s. Growing up, he was the wrong child. Ruan calls the captain, and says he’s sorry, but he thinks he’s going home. She asks about the original documents, and he says he stopped his friend from mailing them. He’s deciding to call it quits and go back to South Africa. In Captain Sandy’s interview, there are nothing but bleeps.

The guests get in the hot tub, and in her interview, Captain Sandy says, you don’t want to disturb the client. It’s an embarrassment for the boat, and better to just keep them happy. Smoke and mirrors. Nothing to see here. She hopes Norma pulls it off. Jessika thinks Natalya is going too easy on Brooke. They all need to break a sweat. Natalya says, she’s from the deck and it’s literally her first day. In Natalya’s interview, she says, Jessika needs to chill out. It’s Brooke’s first night and she’s brand new. They’re already one person down. Realize you’re not the chief stew. She never thought she’d say that. Jessika says, the problem is having to guide Brooke while she’s doing her own duties, and thanks Natalya for not stressing out. She thinks Natalya is a good chief stew. I’m sure this will somehow come back to haunt Kyle after he gets there. Luka says he doesn’t know what’s happening, and in his interview, he says he’s been chucked in deep, but never this deep. He never managed a team. He tells Haleigh what to do on the bridge, and in his interview, he says, his biggest problem is, he doesn’t know what he doesn’t know. The last thing he wants to do is let Captain Sandy down.

2nd day of charter. Norma calls, and Captain Sandy says, she can’t get anyone for two weeks? Now what does she do? Unbelievable.

To be continued…

Linked Out…

Join me tomorrow for soap and tea offerings. Until then, stay safe, stay not finishing other people’s sentences, and stay realizing that there are many different ways you can use whatever talent you have.

September 22, 2023 – Drew Gets a Nasty Surprise, Blazing Again, In His Memory, Influenced, She’s In, Surviving, Lego Rick, Best In Dead, Almost Fear, Senior Swimmer, Pets (!) For the Win, 10 Quotes Plus Mine & Last

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Curtis wheels himself into the hospital, and Portia says she didn’t expect to see him here. She was just about to head home. He says he had a follow-up appointment and was hoping to catch her. She asks what she can do for him… Is it that bad? He says, no, but it is important. It’s about their daughter.

Trina works on a paper in her dorm room, when there’s a knock at the door. She says she’s busy; go away. The knocking continues, and she says, go away. Spencer asks if she’s too busy for her boyfriend, and begins drumming on the door. She says, okay, okay, and opens the door. She says, yes, she’s even too busy for him, and he makes a pouty face.

Jordan comes out of the hospital elevator, and TJ runs over and hugs her. He asks what she’s doing here, and she says her neighbor had surgery. She thought she’d stop by and visit her. He says, that’s nice of her, although he’d expect nothing less from his amazing mother, and she says, someone’s in a good mood. He says he’s pumped. Dr. Chang asked him to assist in surgery this morning. She says she’s guessing that’s a big deal, and he says, she has no idea. Dr. Chang is the best in his field, and there he was, right by his side. The doctor even asked TJ to join him in his next surgery. Jordan says, that’s great. She’s so proud of him. He thanks her and says, now he has to do even more research because he has to be at the top of his game for the next surgery. She says, luckily, he has time to study now. When a baby comes into the picture, things are going to change.

On the phone outside the courtroom, Molly tells a women that they’ll have to set up a meeting with DA Scorpio. Alexis comes along, and Molly tells the woman that they’ll talk later. Alexis says she knew Molly was in court today and wanted to see how she did. Did she win? Molly says, no. The judge sided with the defendant, and DA Scorpio is going to want to hear a play-by-play of what went wrong. Alexis says, nothing went wrong. Molly’s perfect. She’s sure it was the judge… bias. Look what happened to Drew. Molly’s phone rings, and she sees it’s Andrea. She tells Andrea that she’s kind of in the middle of something… Why does Andrea need to see her right away?

Blaze walks into Charlie’s, when her phone rings. She says she just got to Charlie’s… Don’t worry. Not a problem. She’ll just answer some emails on her phone… Blaze will see her when she gets here. Kristina says, oh my God. Blaze.

Carly thanks Diane for coming back to Sonny’s old kitchen the house with her, and Diane says she goes where Carly needs her. She stares longingly at the moss bowl🎍, and Carly says she didn’t want to have this conversation in public. The last thing they need is for anybody to hear what they’re saying. Diane said she had some information on the judge, but most important, is it enough to get Drew out of Pentenville?

Drew goes into the shower and gets nakey, camera angles and set pieces strategically blocking his lower half. He runs the shower, and two inmates walk in. Drew doesn’t see them because he’s facing the wall instead of the doorway, like anyone would be likely to do that when they’re by themselves in a prison.

Molly says she’s in the courthouse… Okay, that works. She’ll wait for Andrea here. Alexis asks if there’s a problem, but Molly says she’s not sure. Andrea was having breakfast next door and wants to see her in person. Alexis asks if she said what it was about, but Molly says, no, which means it’s bad news, right? If it was good news, Andrea would have told her what it was. Alexis says, they don’t know that, and Molly says, she didn’t sound happy. She seemed nervous. Alexis tells her, just relax. Andrea will be here any second. In the meantime, does Molly want her to wait? Molly asks if she has time, and Alexis says she always has time for her. She suggests they sit down, and Molly asks if she’s sure. Alexis says, she’ll just text Gregory and tell him that she’s going to be a little late this morning. Molly says, Alexis is spending a lot of time with him. Did she and Diane have an argument or something? Alexis says, the only thing she and Diane argue about is exercise. Is she not allowed to have more than one friend? There. She’s available to Molly for the rest of the morning. Molly asks her to thank Gregory for her, and Alexis says she will. She has to admit he was a great hire, and for a stuffy professor, he’s actually a lot of fun. He has great stories. Molly says she’s glad to hear that. She really likes him and hopes he stays around a long time.

Blaze says she’s sorry. Does she know Kristina? Kristina says, yes… no. Blaze doesn’t know her, but she knows Blaze. She loves Blaze’s music. Blaze thanks her, and Kristina says, her latest single is amazing. It’s on all of her playlists all the time; her cooking playlist, her running playlist, her productivity playlist. Her fangirl moment is going to come to an end now. Can she get Blaze a table? Blaze says she’s meeting someone here, but they’re running late. She thinks she’ll just wait at the bar. Kristina says, the first round’s on her; she insists. What can she get Blaze? A Bloody Mary? A mimosa? Blaze says, just some sparkling water. She’s here for a business meeting.

Trina says she’s working on her essay for her art seminar, and Spencer asks if she didn’t say her goal was to have more of a work/life balance at PCU. She says she did, but not if she wants her essay to be good, and she does. He says, she just started her junior year at PCU. If he has to guess, he bets she has two more weeks for this at least. Is he right? She says she’ll take him up on that bet, because he’ll lose in a heartbeat. It’s due on Tuesday. He says, oh, Tuesday, pulling her into his lap. In other words, she has plenty of time for a little bit of fun. He kisses her.

Portia asks, what’s going on with their daughter? and Curtis says, while they were playing video games last night… She says, the ones they said she wasn’t very good at, and he says he doesn’t think she’s figured out the buttons just yet. She says, he has to teach her. She wants to be down with them, and wants it to be a family affair. He says, of course (🍷). They’re getting a little off topic. While they were playing video games, Trina told him that she was planning a trip. He wondered if she mentioned that to Portia. Portia says, Trina hasn’t, but she’s certainly not surprised. Trina’s been pretty busy; moving back into the dorm, working part time at the gallery, and plus that huge class schedule she still has. She’s sure Trina just hasn’t told her yet. So where’s she going? Another art gallery probably. He says, no. It’s not art or school related. She’s taking a trip to Manhattan… with Spencer.

Diane says, as Carly knows, she just had breakfast with Robert Scorpio, and Carly says, Diane told her that he might have some insight as to why the judge gave Drew such a ridiculous sentence. Diane says, Robert told her that Judge Kim has career aspirations well beyond his current seat on the bench, and Carly says, like what? Diane says, like the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. The Second Circuit Court could be a huge steppingstone to the Supreme Court. For that you need an impressive judicial record, friends in the Justice Department… Carly says she gets all that. What does this have to do with Drew?

For a guy with a short haircut, Drew spends an inordinate amount of time washing his hair. One of the inmates nods to the other, and they approach. Drew feels their presence, turns around, and the fight starts. Drew slams one of them to the ground, but the other grabs Drew’s neck, and pushes him up against the wall, shoving his face under the shower stream.

Andrea finds Molly, who asks, what’s going on?

Drew finally gets the better of the inmate trying to strangle him under the water, but the other one gets up and jumps back into the fray. He gets Drew down, and they kick the crap out of him. Looking at these two goons, I find it hard to believe they could get the best of Drew, even nakey and wet, but he lies unconscious. We see blood go down the drain with the water.

Diane says, Judge Kim appears to be, could be, paving the way for the Justice Department to offer Carly a deal. Judge Kim hands Drew an overly harsh sentence. The Feds are well aware Carly is frantic to get Drew out of Pentenville. That’s their leverage. They offer to release him from prison in exchange for… Carly says, in exchange for information on Sonny, and Diane says, there you go.

Portia says, Trina and Spencer are going to New York City, and Curtis says he doesn’t want to betray her trust, but that’s what Trina told him. And he got the feeling Trina expected her to tell Portia. She asks, when is this happening? For how long? He says, this weekend, a couple of days. That’s the way he understands it. She says, okay, and he says he knows Spencer is a tricky subject for her and Trina, and he’s sorry if he upset her. She says, Trina’s a junior in college. If she wants to go away for the weekend, she has every right to, and she certainly doesn’t have to tell her mother about it in advance. He says, that’s not how he expected her to react. Is she really as calm about this as she seems?

Kristina asks if she can get Blaze a refill, and Blaze says, sure. Kristina says she understands this is totally none of her business, so feel free to say so, but does this meeting Blaze is having possibly have anything to do with her next album? Blaze says, no. She’s looking for new management because her last manager was a total creep. Thank God that’s over. Kristina says she remembers that whole thing blew up at the Nurses Ball. She’s sure everyone wants to sign Blaze though. Blaze says, they do, but after Linc, she realizes she needs more control over her career. It’s hard to find people with vision. Most just want you to churn out the same songs year after year; the old, shut up and sing. They don’t want to hear she plays four instruments and writes as well. She has a voice, and it’s her fault she stayed with Linc for as long as she did, because he wouldn’t listen to it. She won’t make that mistake again.

TJ tells Jordan that he’s fully prepared for their lives to change, if and when a baby comes along. He understands he won’t be able to devote as much time to medicine, and that’s not a problem. Everything will take a backseat to the baby. He shouldn’t even be talking like this. They don’t even know if the IVF was successful. Jordan asks how long before they find out if it worked, and he says, Andrea should know in a few days. But he and Molly are trying to give her space. They’re trying to resist the urge to text her every morning asking if she’s pregnant. Jordan says she knows it can’t be easy, and he says, it’s not. Molly’s been through so much disappointment since they started trying to have a baby. He doesn’t want her hopes up if it doesn’t happen this time. She says, but it could.

Molly says, before Andrea tells her why she needed to see her, she needs to say something first. This whole surrogate experience has been hard on her and TJ, but she’s also tried to put herself in Andrea’s shoes. She must feel so much responsibility to make this happen for them, and she just wants Andrea to know, if she has bad news, and it didn’t take… Andrea tries to interrupt, but Molly keeps on going. And if she doesn’t want to be their surrogate anymore, Molly completely understands. Alexis says, Molly is just so smart. Sometimes she overthinks things. Andrea says she’s not here with bad news; just the opposite in fact. She’s pregnant. Molly says, really? and Andrea says, they should have Dr. Navarro confirm, but the home test says she’s pregnant. She and Molly hug.

One of the inmates gives Drew another kick, but his cohort says, that’s enough. The job’s done. They leave, and we see more blood go down the drain.

Portia tells Curtis, is she thrilled that Trina is going away for the weekend to Manhattan with Spencer? Of course (🍷) not, but what is she supposed to do? March over to her dorm and forbid her to go? Curtis says he knows how much she doesn’t trust Spencer, so the idea did occur to him, and she says, if she thought for a second that would work, she’d be at Trina’s dorm in a heartbeat. But she knows better. She’s learned by now that she can’t pressure their daughter. She learned the hard way. Trina is a lot like Curtis in that way. He says, and she’s not stubborn at all, and she says, okay. Trina inherited her streak from both her parents. He says he should probably get to his check-up, so they’ll talk tonight.

Trina tells Spencer, stop, and he asks, what’s wrong? Is she not having fun? She says, that’s not the point. He’s distracting her and she needs to finish this paper before they go to the city. He says he knows it’s hard, but it’s going to be okay. She’s such a perfectionist, and he knows she’s such a good student, but they’re going to be back from their trip on Monday and she’ll be able to turn in her paper on Tuesday. He admires how smart she is. This all looks very impressive. She probably doubled the amount of research she needed for this paper, but she’s going to have time to finish this when they get back from their trip. She says, he’s probably right, and he says he is right. She says, but if she doesn’t finish  this paper before they go, she’ll be thinking about it all weekend, and she wants this weekend to be about them. All she wants to be thinking about is him, and her, and them being together.

TJ asks if Jordan really thinks it could happen. He’s been trying not to let himself go there, thinking he’ll somehow jinx it, but what if it worked and Andrea is pregnant? She says, then it will be the best news in the world. He says, wow. That means in nine months, Baby Ashford-Davis could be here? What if they’re not ready? Or if they don’t know what they’re doing? Or if… Jordan says, no one knows how to do this the first time around, and he says, in medical school, he’d just open a book and study and have the answers. There’s no book to tell him how to be a good dad. What if he can’t do it?

Andrea says, when she took the test and found out she was pregnant, all she could think about was telling Molly. And yes, it’s incredibly premature, and they should schedule an appointment with Dr. Navarro, but when she saw the result, it made her so incredibly happy, she figured Molly would feel the same way. Molly says she is; she does. And Andrea 100% made the right call in telling her because they’re in this together. Oh my God. She’s got to tell TJ. He has a really busy day at the hospital. Maybe she should wait to tell him tonight. Andrea says she’ll let Molly make that call, and Molly says, if Andrea is pregnant, she needs to eat something. Andrea says she just had breakfast, but if Molly hasn’t eaten, she could maybe have a juice or something. It does feel like they should celebrate, right? Molly says, absolutely, and asks if Alexis would like to join them, but Alexis tells them to go celebrate together. As they’re about to leave, Alexis calls Molly over, and says she’s very happy for them. She doesn’t want to be a Debbie Downer, but she just wants Molly to remember it’s early. Things happen. She’s not saying they will, but she doesn’t want Molly to get ahead of herself. Molly says she knows. Alexis is right and Molly hears what she’s saying, but this is the first good news she’s had in a really long time, and she wants to really celebrate. Alexis hugs her.

Kristina says, Blaze and Chase were so good at the Nurses Ball this year, and Blaze thanks her. She says she loved Danielle Ponder, and Kristina says, her little sister’s obsessed with her. Blaze asks how many sisters she has, and Kristina says, two brothers and four sisters. Blaze says, wow, and Kristina says, that’s a lot, right? She and her sisters have performed a few times at the Nurses Ball. Blaze says, Kristina sings? She needs to hear more about that.

Carly tells Diane, so we’re doing this again. The only way to get Drew out of Pentenville is if she gives the Feds information on Sonny? Diane says, this is all still pure speculation on her part. And Robert’s part. They have no proof that the Feds, the Justice Department, are involved in any way. There’s no firm deal on the table. This could just be a political stunt by Judge Kim to move him up the ladder. It could also be the reason he gave Drew this insane sentence. Carly tells Diane that she doesn’t know what to say, and Diane says, say nothing. It’s only her obligation to present Carly with all the options. Carly says, it’s not an option. If the Feds came to her and offered her a deal, she’s not going to take it. Diane knows that. She knows Sonny’s not her husband anymore, but he’s still her family, and she’s not going to be the one who puts him in prison. Diane says, not even if it means saving Drew? and Carly says, not even if it means saving Drew. Diane says, atta girl.

Cyrus walks into the shower area, and sees Drew lying unconscious, the shower running. He checks Drew’s pulse, and yells for the guard. He shouts, a prisoner’s been attacked! Come quick!

Blaze says, what Kristina is telling her is that she’s more than a bartender, that she has hidden talent. Kristina says she is in fact more than just a bartender. She manages this place. Blaze says, good for her, and Kristina thanks her and says, clearly between the two of them, Blaze is the professional singer here; she’s just having fun. Blaze says, that’s all that really matters, because if she’s not having fun, neither is the audience. Kristina says she doesn’t know how Blaze does it. She gets terrified standing onstage. Once she’s there and in the moment, she can enjoy herself, but it’s a worthy cause and they raised some money, so that’s all that counts. Kristina’s phone rings, and she tells Blaze that she’ll be right back.

Jordan tells TJ, there are tons of books on parenting, and numerous websites with advice on infant care, but the bottom line? There’s no roadmap for raising a child. It’s on the job training. He says, what if he fails? There’s no trick to changing a diaper, but how does he make his child feel comfortable? How does he make them feel safe and secure? Jordan says she’s not the best person to be giving parenting advice. She missed a lot of his upbringing, and it’s something she’ll regret for the rest of her life. But what she does know is, he’s an amazing person with an incredible partner. He and Molly will figure this out together. He thanks her and says, for the record, she’s an amazing mom and she’ll make an incredible grandma. She says she’s still rethinking that name. She’s too young to be called grandma. Doesn’t he think? He says, absolutely, and they laugh.

Alexis says, speaking of celebrating, would it be all right with Molly if she told Sam and Kristina that Andrea is pregnant? Molly asks, what happened to her saying it’s still too early? and Alexis says she knows what she said. If Molly lets her tell them, she’ll make sure they’re cautiously optimistic. She just wants to make sure all the Davis girls are on the same page with Molly and TJ. And whatever happens, let’s all be supportive. Molly asks if this is where Alexis tries to get her and Kristina talking, and Alexis says, absolutely. Is it so wrong for a mother to want her children to talk to each other? Molly says she guesses they’re going to find out sooner or later. Go for it. She gives Alexis a kiss on the cheek and says she loves her. Alexis says she loves Molly, and Molly leaves to join Andrea.

Spencer says, Trina has no idea the fantastic weekend he has planned for her. There’s no way she would even be able to think about, even for a second, some silly paper she has to write. Trina says, first of all, her paper isn’t silly. Art is going to be her career. She takes her work very seriously. He says he knows, and she says, she doesn’t want to be thinking about her paper when they go on their trip. Which is why she needs him to go. She pushes him toward the door, and he says, but even if she didn’t finish her paper, he doubts she’d be able to think about school while she’s there, because… Never mind. That’s okay. She says, what? and he says, never mind, opening the door. She says, what is it? Tell her. He asks if she really wants to know, and she says she does. He closes the door and says, he got them tickets to see Moulin Rouge. She says she listens to the original cast album all the time, and he says he knows. It’s almost like they’re dating and he knows these things about her. They have amazing seats; they’re going to be in the third row, center stage. (Those are good. Never sit in the first row. You’ll be looking up their noses.) And he got them dinner reservations, at Essence. She says, that place is supposed to be the hardest place to get reservations at, and he says he has great connections. She says, maybe he’s right. It will be amazing. She can’t wait. She hugs him, and he says, she doesn’t have to wait. He’s already packed, so why don’t they get her packed and get out of here?

Esme comes out of the hospital elevator, toting Ace, and Portia asks if everything is all right with him. Esme says, he’s fine. He had his normal pediatrician appointment this morning, and she tried to make it as early as possible, so she doesn’t miss too much work. Portia says, that’s commendable of her, and she seems to be doing a wonderful job with Ace. That’s a happy baby. Esme says she can’t take all the credit. Spencer’s actually been a really big help. She appreciates Portia suggesting that parenting class they took together. It was really helpful to get them on the same page. Portia says, that’s great, but her expression doesn’t look like it’s great.

Spencer says, what he knows of late September in Manhattan is that it could be anything weatherwise, so Trina will want to be prepared for hot and cold. She’s going to want to bring something fancy for the theatre, and he thinks she should pack something casual in case they want to go for a walk around Central Park. So where does she want to start? She’s going to look amazing no matter what she wears, so don’t give him that look. She thanks him for the compliment, but she doesn’t need his help packing. He says, this is to speed things up, not slow them down. The sooner they get on the road, the sooner they get to New York, the sooner they have some fun. She tells him that she’s going to keep saying this until it sinks into his thick skull. She’s not packing until she finishes her essay. And she can’t finish her essay until he leaves. What part of that is confusing? He says he completely understands. He just has a different goal, because he knows her, and if he had to guess, he’d say that essay is probably finished. He’s thinking she has to do a little bit of proof reading and editing. She smiles, and he says, she’s so busted. That’s exactly what it is, and she can do all of that on Monday when they get back from their trip. Let’s go. She says, he’s wrong, but he says he doesn’t believe her. She says, he can believe her or not, but if he really wants to speed up this departure, he’ll go. The door’s over there.

Esme says she’s surprised at how good Portia’s been to her, as a doctor, and almost as a friend. Portia says she’s sure Esme’s heard of the oath the doctor’s take; first do no harm. For her, she took that to mean, be of service and help people. Esme says she’s not surprised Portia is kind and caring as a person. She’s just a little surprised Portia is extending that kindness to her, especially considering the awful things she did to Portia’s daughter. Portia says, but Esme’s a different person than when she did those things to Trina and her friends, right? Esme says she’s really just trying to be a better person for her son, and Portia says, that’s the person she’s reacting to. She’s reacting to Esme, the mom of beautiful Baby Ace. Esme thanks her and says she really can’t tell Portia how much that means to her that she can come to Portia for advice about Ace. Portia says she was a young mother too, so she gets it. She knows how hard it can be, and sometimes you just need some help. And with Laura and Doc out of the country, she just thought Esme might need some extra support. So if Esme needs anything else, she knows where Portia is. Esme says, sounds good, and thanks her.

Carly tells Diane that she hates that Drew is being used as a pawn by this judge for his career. Not to mention, this wouldn’t be happening to Drew if it wasn’t for his involvement with her. But not turning evidence to free Drew is less about Sonny and more about her kids. If Sonny goes to prison, they’re in danger. They’d all have targets on their backs, and Drew wouldn’t want that. Diane says, now she’s not understanding. Is Carly saying she’s regretting being involved with Drew? Carly says, no. She regrets what her world has done to Drew. Diane says, but Drew is not new to Port Charles. He’s been around the block. He was aware of how complicated Carly’s life is, and he chose to be involved with her anyway. Carly says, that’s not making her feel any better, and Diane tells her that she’s just saying, don’t torture herself with gratuitous guilt. And certainly don’t blame herself for the bad conduct of this overambitious judge. Carly says, but can they prove that conduct? Can they prove that judge gave Drew a ridiculous sentence just for political gain? Because right now, that’s the only chance they’ve got.

Cyrus turns off the shower, and covers Drew with a towel. A guard walks in, and Cyrus says he found Drew like this. He’s barely breathing. He needs a hospital now. The guard runs back out.

Spencer asks how much time Trina thinks she’ll need, and I wish he would stop shouting. He talks fast and loud. She says she doesn’t exactly know, but he added about an hour for interrupting her. He asks if she’s really saying she’s sorry he showed up, and she kisses him. He says, that’s the last things she should do if she wants him to leave, and she says, go. He says, she can’t kiss him like that and expect him to go. No. She says, yes – she pushes him out the door – because she needs to finish her paper if he wants her to kiss him like that in New York. He says she doesn’t play fair, and she says, no, she doesn’t, kissing him one more time and closing the door. He yells, type fast, Trina Robinson. New York City awaits.

Esme says, Ace did good today, and Portia says, he’s a pro. Such a big guy. Esme says it was nice to see Portia, and Portia says, it was nice to see her too. Take care. She tickles Ace’s tummy, and Esme leaves. Curtis comes out of the elevator, and Portia asks how his check-up went. He says he’s still in a wheelchair, but aside from that, all good. She says she wanted to tell him that she really appreciates him. She thanks him for filling her in on Trina’s trip. He says, we are Trina’s parents. We’re in this together.

Blaze is enjoying watching something on her phone, and Kristina asks what she’s watching. Blaze says, you. At the Nurses Ball a few years back. Kristina was singing Sara Bareilles song, and she’s good. Kristina says, Blaze did not look her up, but Blaze says, of course (🍷) she did. It took her all of 30 seconds to find it online. It’s hazy, but Kristina totally misrepresented this. First of all, it’s not an easy song to sing, and this choreography is really good. She hopes if the Nurses Ball ever asks Kristina to perform again, she’ll do it. Kristina says she absolutely will not, and Blaze says, who’s the professional singer here? Kristina says, that would be Blaze, and Blaze says, exactly. So just take the compliment. Kristina says, okay, she will. If Blaze stops watching that. Blaze says, deal, taking out her earbuds, and Kristina thanks her for the compliment.

Alexis calls Gregory, and says she just got some really great news, and she thinks she made a breakthrough with Kristina and Molly… Right? The reason she’s calling is that she’s in such a good mood, she doesn’t feel like going to work today. So she was wondering, after she runs a few errands, what does he say to them crossing something off his bucket list?

Diane tells Carly that she thinks if there were evidence against Judge Kim for unfairly sentencing people to advance his own career, some reporter would have already dug it up. She’s just saying she’s here to present all options. Of course (🍷) she’s going to try. Of course (🍷). But they need to have realistic expectations. It’s a long shot. Carly says, a long shot is better than no shot at all. Where do they start? Diane says she needs to see if there’s a precedent for a judge delivering a politically motivated sentence (I can’t imagine there isn’t), and if that sentence was then overturned. Because that could go a long way in getting Drew’s case seen before another judge. Carly thanks her, and Diane’s phone rings. She answers, and says, yes… Yes. She’s going to command a full explanation… That’s right. Bye. Carly asks, who was that? What’s going on? Is it bad? Diane says, yes. It’s very bad. Drew was attacked in Pentenville. Carly says, how bad is it? and Diane says, he’s in an ambulance on his way to General Hospital. Carly says she has to get to him right now.

On Monday, Brook says she wants to sign Blaze as her first client; Jake says he has to talk to Elizabeth about Charlotte; Valentin tells Nina that he has a plan to make them all move right past it; and Carly says, Sonny promised to protect Drew.

🎤 We Noticed…

Next stop, The Savoy.

🥀 Hats Off To Billy…

I don’t remember him being in AMC, but then again, I remember very little about AMC at this point. Except for Susan Lucci waiting on getting that Emmy. He must have been pretty young.

In related news.

🍊 Not Her Finest Hour…

No surprise, everyone has an opinion.

https://people.com/housewives-respond-to-shannon-beador-alleged-dui-hit-and-run-7971761

https://www.eonline.com/news/1386192/rhocs-emily-simpson-speaks-out-on-shannon-beadors-dui-arrest

👠 She’s On Board…

My guilty pleasure. I saw them twice when they last got together, and they put on an amazing show. I can’t imagine what the ticket prices would be for it now though.

https://extratv.com/2023/09/21/mel-b-says-victoria-beckham-is-on-board-for-spice-girls-reunion-exclusive/

🌴 In Case You Wondered…

What it takes to outwit, outplay, and outlast. I used to think Jeff Probst was the antichrist until Andy Cohen came along.

https://ew.com/tv/survivor-45-behind-the-scenes-casting-cover-story/

🎉 He Finally Made It…

They definitely captured Rick’s worried expression.

https://screenrant.com/walking-dead-rick-grimes-lego-project/

🏹 Simply the Best…

Dead City was impressive, but Daryl is definitely the one to beat right now.

https://www.gamesradar.com/the-walking-dead-daryl-dixon-fans-best-franchise-has-been-in-years-reddit/

⚰️ Just Around the Corner…

October 22 – be there or be dead.

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/fear-the-walking-dead-trailer-season-8-the-walking-dead-sanctuary-dwight-sherry/

🐟 Oldest In the Tank…

I hear he has a seeing eye crab. It almost seems cruel to keep him in an aquarium, but then again, it would be the worst to see him get set free and immediately get eaten by a shark.

https://people.com/worlds-oldest-aquarium-fish-older-than-scientists-thought-7971807

🐩 The Real Award…

Grammy winners loved pets too.

https://celebritypets.net/grammy-award-winners-2023-meet-their-celebrity-pets/

📰 Quotes of the Week…

For it’s not light that is needed, but fire; it’s not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind and the earthquake in our hearts. – Frederick Douglass

We do not learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience.John Dewey

Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out. – Robert Collier

We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light. – Plato

Do one thing every day that scares you. – Mary Schmich

Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth. – Henry David Thoreau

It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation. – Herman Melville

Success only comes to those who dare to attempt. – Mallika Tripathi

Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Your wife is well educated and well mannered, and you’re just, oh well. – Carl McMillan (Reno Wilson), Mike & Molly

Integrity: Don’t leave home without it. – me

🍁 Equinoxing Autumn…

Meet me on Monday really Tuesday for soap and tea tidbits. Until then, stay safe, stay never taking the last piece of pizza without asking first (especially if it’s mine), and stay keeping in mind a long shot is better than no shot at all.

September 21, 2023 – Willow Gets Sam Some Crucial Information, Don’t Hang Out With Friends’ Exes & Road

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Eddie/Ned works on his song, when Brook peeks around the corner. She says she was wondering if the coast is clear; no granny sightings. He says, no. Tracy isn’t here. If he’s playing his guitar, Brook can rest assured Tracy is nowhere in the vicinity. She’s having a hard time wrapping her head around the fact that he’s Eddie, not Ned. (Confession: I prefer him as Eddie and hope Ned never comes back.) Brook says, Tracy gave her an earful yesterday about the evils of the music industry, and he says he bets she did. He hopes Brook didn’t listen to her. She says, not even close. She actually has an important meeting today, and if all goes well, he’ll be looking at a successful music manager.

Olivia sits at her desk and flashes back to being at The Savoy with Eddie. She smiles, when there’s a knock at the door. Anna says she’s sorry to interrupt, but Olivia says, not at all. She’s just waking up from a late night at The Savoy. What brings Anna by this morning? Anna wonders if she would be allowed to look at the security footage from the corridor outside the suite where they were staying, and Olivia asks, why? Anna says, because of the break-in? and Olivia says, what break-in?

Nina tells Valentin that Charlotte is still sleeping, and he asks how she was after he left last night. Nina says, she was fine. She stayed in her room after he left. (What happened to the sleepover?) He says, good, and thanks her. She says, Charlotte is welcome here anytime, and he says he knows. He just didn’t give her much of a heads up and he appreciates it. It gave him a chance to make some arrangements. She says, arrangements for what? What is he going to do about Charlotte targeting Anna?

On the phone, Carly says she accepts the charges, and Drew is put through. She asks if Drew is staying safe, and he says he’s doing his best. She says she misses him, and he says he misses her too. She asks how it’s going. Does he have any news or information for her to give to Sonny? He says, not yet. He’s still working on it. Cyrus listens through a door that’s open a crack.

Diane meets Robert at the MetroCourt, and he says, the delightful Miss Miller. She says, flattery will get him everywhere, and he says he sees she’s ready for work. She reminds him that he said it was a working breakfast, and he agrees he did. They sit, and she asks what case they’re working on, and he says he may have found a way to help Drew, and he gets to see her at the same time. She says, either way, he has her attention.

Dressed in scrubs, Willow goes to the hospital reception desk and hugs Deanna. Deanna says, it’s so good to see her, and Willow says she’s thought about this day a lot, especially during her treatments. She used to watch the nurses and thought about working alongside them again. Now she finally is. Deanna says, yes, she is, and everyone on staff couldn’t be happier to have her back with them. They really missed her. She thanks Deanna and says she missed them too. The phone rings, and Deanna says, her first call back. Does she want to take that? Willow says, absolutely, and answers the phone, 10th floor nurses’ station.

As Sam comes out of the hospital elevator, her phone rings. She asks where Dante is at, and he says he’s working on getting Gladys’s bank records. Hopefully, soon. She says, what about the toxicology report? but he says, that’s going to take a little bit longer. She says, that’s time Sasha doesn’t have.

Drew tells Carly that he asked around and put out some feelers, but unfortunately, he doesn’t have anything yet. She says, be careful, please. If he feels like it’s getting dangerous, she wants him to back off. He says he will, and she says, promise her. He says he promises. Now enough about him. How is she? She says she’s doing fine, except he’s not here, and he says he knows. How are the girls? She says, Donna and Josslyn are doing great. What about him? Has he seen Scout and Sam? He says, Scout just started school. She’s really busy. She’s got homework, soccer practice, and swim lessons, so he hasn’t seen much of her, but he guesses that’s probably for the best. She says she has Diane working every angle to get him out of there, but until then, he can’t cut himself off from the people who love him, especially Scout.

Diane asks what Robert’s sleuthing skills have sussed so far, and he says he did a bit of checking on Judge Kim. It seems he’s pushing for a promotion to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. She says, being tough on major crime would endear him to the Second Circuit Court, but why go after somebody like Drew and give him an overly harsh sentence? He says, forget about Drew. Think about Drew’s girlfriend and her ex-husband. Diane says, once again, all roads lead to Sonny.

Anna tells Olivia that she and Valentin were supposed to have dinner in the hotel restaurant last night. They changed their minds and decided to order room service. Then by the time they got to the suite, someone had broken in. Olivia says, what? and Anna says she filed a report with the PCPD. Olivia says she’s so sorry this happened to Anna at her hotel, but Anna says, it’s not her fault. Olivia says, this is the first she’s hearing of this. Which is very strange. Nina is usually very good with her in communicating hotel business. Anna wonders if Nina left a message somewhere, and Olivia says, it’s possible, but Nina didn’t communicate with her directly. As she said, she was very distracted last night. Maybe Nina left a message on her business line. She just wants to apologize on behalf of the MetroCourt Hotel. If there’s anything at all she can do for Anna… She assumes Anna’s been moved to a different suite. Anna says, yes. Olivia’s staff were great. They were moved almost immediately. She’s fine; she really is. Olivia asks if Anna has any idea who would do this to her, and Anna says, it’s possibly the same person who burned her house. Olivia says she’s sorry. If there’s anything Anna needs, she’s here for her. Anna says, there is something she can do, and Olivia says, name it. Anna says, the security footage. She was told it’s missing. She just wanted to make sure there’s no misunderstanding. Olivia says, they have a state-of-the-art security system; she can assure Anna that. Anna says, if she could access the footage… but if it is missing, maybe Olivia could pull it up from another source, like the mainframe server. Olivia asks, about what time did the break-in happen? and Anna tells her, she’d say between 7 and 9 pm. Olivia looks on the computer, and Anna says, what she’d like is the footage from outside the suite and also the surrounding area. Olivia tells her, don’t worry.

Valentin tells Nina, first, he’d like to keep Charlotte close. He needs to keep a watchful eye on her. He’s been distracted. He’s obviously neglected her. Nina says, distracted, maybe; neglecting her, no. He says his daughter is running around doing God knows what. She’s a child. That’s something he’s obviously forgotten. He needs to spend more time with her. She says, he’s always put Charlotte first, and he says, has he? Because he doesn’t think Charlotte feels that way. And now she’s targeting Anna for his absence. Nina says, his daughter is going to need more than more time with her dad. At some point, he’s going to have to confront her about everything she’s done. He says he knows, but first, he needs to know the extent of his daughter’s crimes.

Sam tells Dante, if they could get the bank statements, it could provide circumstantial evidence, but she bets those statements aren’t going to show that Gladys withdrew a ton of Sasha’s money. It was probably taken out in cash. Dante says, right. If Gladys was paying Montague in cash, they won’t be able to prove it. That means the only thing they have tying him to Sasha, keeping her in Ferncliff, and almost killing her is Cody. She says, no one is going to believe Cody, and he says, the other option is to try and prove that Montague was giving Sasha mood-altering drugs. She says, one step at a time. First, they need to prove there was a drug and get the toxicology report. She looks over at Willow, and says she thinks she has a way to get it.

Eddie suggests Brook tell him about her meeting. He could use a distraction. Lyrics just aren’t flowing for him this morning. She sits next to him, and says, there’s this amazing singer. Her name is Blaze. She’s a total rising star, and Brook wants to be the one to take her to the top. She is an incredible talent, like Beyonce level (very debatable). He says, wow, she must really be something, and Brook says she wouldn’t be signing Blaze if she wasn’t special. He asks if she’s already agreed to work with Brook, and she says, not exactly. They’re actually meeting today, and she’s going to give Blaze the full court press on why she should sign with her. He says, if she’s smart, she would take the deal. Brook’s got a lot going for her. She says, if all goes well, maybe she can represent him. What does he think? He says he’s not sure she’d want him. Marshall Ashford called this morning and offered him a gig at The Savoy tonight. She says, that’s great, and he says, it is, but he kind of promised Marshall that he’d finish this song, and he’s not going to finish this new song, so his music career could be over before it even started.

Olivia says, it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Anna was right. The file containing the footage from noon to midnight is missing from the area around Anna’s suite. It’s like it’s been wiped from the server. Anna asks if it could be a computer glitch, but Olivia says, this is the first time that’s ever happened. Anna says, who else has access to the server it’s stored on? and Olivia says, her and Nina. Hotel security can get the security footage, but they can’t have access to the server. Anna asks how long they typically keep the security footage, and Olivia says, three years before it’s deleted. Anna says, obviously whoever broke into her suite hacked into the hotel’s system and deleted themselves breaking in, and Olivia says, this does not sound like a random break-in. This is obviously a professional job. Anna says, it does imply whoever’s after her is somewhat sophisticated.

Valentin says, the first thing he needs to know is if Charlotte burned Anna’s house, and Nina says she can’t imagine Charlotte would do that to anyone, let alone Anna. He says he wishes this was a mistake, some sort of misunderstanding, and Nina says, not in a million years did she think Charlotte would break into Anna’s room, trash the place, destroy her clothes, and leave a threatening message. But they saw the security footage. Where was Charlotte when Anna’s house burned? He says, she was at camp. It’s an hour away, but she could have taken a Ride Share. Nina asks if he keeps track of her Ride Share history. Does he keep track of her spending? He shakes his head and says he thought he did. He’s so stupid. She tells him not to blame himself for any of this, and he says he sent her to live with Sam and Dante. Who knows what she tells them he’s okay with or not okay with? He has no idea what she’s up to when he’s not around.

Drew says he wishes he could talk to Carly all day, when the guard taps him and looks at his watch. She says, her too, and he says he has to go. She says she loves him, and he says, same. He’ll talk to her soon. They say goodbye, and Guard Johnson approaches Drew. He asks if Drew was serious about getting his son that internship at Aurora, and Drew says 100%. Johnson says, that doctor Drew was asking about… Drew says, Gatlin-Holt, and Johnson says, yes, him.

Diane says she gets where Robert is going with this, and he says he figured she would. She says, it’s a fascinating theory. So Judge Kim hands Drew an overly harsh sentence, paving the way for the Justice Department to swoop in, provide Carly with a deal that will reduce Drew’s sentence, if and only if Carly flips on her ex-husband. Robert says, there’s nothing to indicate the Justice Department even knows what’s going on here. It could just be the work of some over-zealous judge who’s trying to score a few points. She says, either way, it could benefit Drew, and he says he loves the way she thinks. She thanks him, and asks if they should take this a step further, and he asks if they’re still talking about the case. She laughs and says, they are. Pure speculation. If Judge Kim is working on his advancement, the Justice Department might want to have his case reassigned to avoid even the appearance of impropriety. So her question for him is, where does she go to do a deep… Anna walks in, and Robert says he has to cut this short. Anna’s just arrived. He gets up and walks over to her.

Sam says, it’s good to see Willow back at the hospital, and Willow thanks her, and says she missed it. She spent a lot of time here as a patient; it’s nice to be back as a nurse. Sam says, they’re lucky to have her, and Willow asks if there’s anything she can help Sam with. Sam says she hates to hit Willow up on her first day, but she does need a favor. And it’s not for her. It’s for Sasha.

Anna says, in Robert’s message, he told her it’s important. What’s going on? He says she needs to see this for herself, and asks her to sit down in a nearby booth. He says he’ll join her in a minute. He’s going to get his briefcase and say goodbye to Diane. He tells Diane that he’s sorry, but they’ve got to cut this breakfast short. She says, he’s been very helpful, and he says, they’ll compare notes and do this some other time. She says she’s got it from here, and he says, breakfast is on him. He’ll make it up to her. She says, totally unnecessary, as she enjoys a piece of toast. He goes back to Anna, but Diane doesn’t look happy.

Brook tells Eddie that she knows what it’s like trying to finish a song. If the lyrics aren’t coming, you can’t force it. His gut will tell him when it’s the right time to finish. He says he appreciates it, but what is he going to sing tonight? Marshall and the crowd will be expecting a new song. She says, maybe he can break out some of the classics. You can never go wrong with those. He says he’ll figure something out. He hopes she’s going to be there. She says, absolutely. She wouldn’t miss it. She thinks there’s someone else who would like to go. Maybe he can give her a personal invitation. He thanks her for the advice, and says, she’s pretty sharp. That Blaze would be lucky to have her.

Olivia looks at the computer files and says, this can’t be right. Security back-up is even missing. She calls Nina, who says, what’s up? Olivia says, Anna Devane was just in her office. Anna was telling her all about the break-in in her suite last night. Does Nina know anything about this? Nina says, yeah. She’s sorry. When she found out about it, she meant to tell Olivia, but she got distracted by work. Olivia says, Anna asked to see the security footage from the area around her suite the night of the break-in and it’s missing from the server. She knows Nina was in her office last night. Is there any chance she tried to pull up footage and accidentally deleted it or something? Nina says, Olivia is right. She pulled up the footage, but it was already gone. Charlotte comes out, and Nina says, can they just talk about this when she gets to the office? She has to go. Bye.

Nina asks Charlotte how her night was in the guest room, and Charlotte says, where’s papa?

Dante leaves a message for Anna, and says he just read a report that there was a break-in in her suite. He kind of wishes he’d heard it from her, and not the police report, but give him a call when she gets a chance. Valentin comes into the interrogation room and says, he and Dante need to talk privately. It’s kind of important. Dante says, what about? and Valentin says, Charlotte.

Willow steps away from the desk and asks if Sam has heard from Sasha or Cody. Are they still together? Is Sasha okay? Sam says she can’t go into details right now, but there may be a way for Willow to help Sasha. Willow says, Sasha is one of her best friends. Sasha’s put herself on the line for her so many times. Willow will do whatever is needed. Sam says, she and Dante have a theory that Dr. Montague, the psychiatrist who was appointed to evaluate Sasha, has been drugging her; undermining her mental health and making her appear mentally ill. Willow says, that’s horrible. Why would a doctor do that? She’s sorry. Sam said she couldn’t go into details. It didn’t make sense that Sasha suddenly went off the deep end and stabbed Cody. Then being sent to Ferncliff. It seemed so extreme. What does Sam need her to do? Sam says, the first step is proving it. So she needs a copy of the toxicology report from the day Sasha stabbed Cody. Does Willow think she can access that?

Johnson says, the doctor Drew was asking about went to solitary, and Drew asks, why? Who was in solitary? Johnson says, Bobby Leonard. He attacked a guard, and that’s who the doctor was here seeing. Drew says, he was here seeing a guard? but Johnson says, no, Leonard. The guards beat him up pretty badly, so the warden wanted to keep it quiet. Drew says, that’s who Dr. Gatlin-Holt was here visiting? and Johnson says, he got his information right from the warden’s right hand. Drew asks if he was here to see anybody else, but Johnson says, one and done. Johnson starts to leave, but Drew says, wait a second.

Drew wonders why an inmate would attack a guard, and Johnson says, who knows? Maybe he did it to get drugs from the doctor. Drew would be surprised what a lot of guys would do around here to get drugs. That’s all he’s got. He doesn’t know what else to tell Drew. Drew thanks him, and moves on. Cyrus comes out, and tells Johnson, well done. He thanks Johnson, and says, his son Keith will be well taken care of. He’ll get far more than an internship at Aurora.

Robert takes a box tied with a ribbon from his briefcase, and hands it to Anna. She asks what it is, and he tells her to open it. She says, he’s not the gift giving type, but he says, this is not the time to editorialize. Just open it. He rubs his hands together, and she says, it’s not even her birthday. He says, a lot of people went to a lot of trouble to get this here. She’s going to love it. She opens the box and sees a digital photo frame. He says, like it? and she asks what he did. Across the room, Diane doesn’t look amused.

Willow gets on the computer at the desk, and pulls up the toxicology report. She looks around, then takes a picture of it with her phone. Willow looks closer and sees Sasha tested positive for fluoxetine and dextroamphetamine. She switches the screen back, and sends the report to Sam. She asks if Sam got it, and Sam says she did. Great. Willow says, Sam was right. This is bad.

Nina and Charlotte go into Kelly’s, and Carly asks Charlotte, how’s school so far? Charlotte says, it’s going okay, and Nina says, they had a little sleepover, and of course (🍷) she has nothing in her kitchen for them to make breakfast. And even if her refrigerator was fully stocked, they’d still get a better breakfast here. Carly says, that’s Kelly’s. Everybody’s home away from home. She asks if Charlotte wants the usual, and Nina says, she has a usual? Charlotte says she has French toast when she and Jake have breakfast here, and Carly says, extra cinnamon? Charlotte says, please, and Nina flashes back to Valentin asking where Charlotte’s been, and Charlotte saying she was with Jake. She remembers Charlotte saying, they were at the promenade, and since she was close, she decided to visit papa; and Charlotte showing them pictures. Carly says, Nina? and Nina says she’s sorry. Crimson has her very distracted lately. Carly asks if Nina wants to order something.

Valentin tells Dante that he and Charlotte have been a apart for far too long. Charlotte made him realize that last night when she showed up at Anna’s hotel suite. Dante asks if it was after the break-in, and Valentin says, that’s why he wanted her to spend the night at Nina’s. They’re still pretty close, and he wanted Charlotte to feel assured. Going forward, he wants her to feel safe and secure, so he’s taking steps for the two of them to live together again full-time. Dante says, okay. That’s great. She misses him. Valentin says he’s grateful to Dante and Sam; they’ve been terrific. But he has a lot of time to make up for now. Dante says, maybe he could let her come by and visit every once in a while. Her and Rocco were getting along pretty good. Valentin says, believe him. He knows now more than ever how important family is to Charlotte. He gets up to leave, and Dante asks, what are his thoughts on that break-in? Valentin says he thinks whoever’s done this is trying to unsettle Anna (how astute!), and he thinks they’ve succeeded. He leaves.

Brook calls Blaze and says, they’re all set. She just wanted to call and let Blaze know she’s looking forward to their meeting. This could be the start of something really great. She’ll see her soon.

On the phone, Olivia says she wants to know what happened to the footage from last night… It didn’t just disappear. How did someone get into her security system and just take down the security footage… Eddie comes to the door, and she motions him in. She says she doesn’t want to hear any excuses. The MetroCourt Hotel pays their company a small fortune to take care of this stuff that’s supposed to be secure. She wants to know what the hell happened and she wants to know who’s responsible… Yes. She slams the phone down, and says, what? Eddie says, bad time?

Charlotte goes to wash her hands, and Carly says she’ll get Nina a menu. Carly asks if Charlotte comes in here frequently, and Carly says, she’s been here a few times since she got back from camp. Nina asks if she’s usually alone or with someone, and Carly asks why she wants to know so much about Charlotte. Nina says, Valentin wants to know too. He’s curious as to what his daughter is doing since they spend so much time apart. Carly says, she’s with Dante and Sam; she’s fine. Nina says she knows Charlotte’s fine, but Carly’s raised a teenage daughter. She knows they don’t tell their parents everything, especially fathers, and that is what Valentin is facing with Charlotte. Carly says she’s seen Charlotte in here with Jake a few times, and Nina asks if she’s ever alone. Carly says, maybe once or twice, and Nina says, ever with anyone else? but Carly says she’s only seen her with Jake, that’s it. Nina thanks her, and Charlotte joins them. She asks if they’re talking about her.

Sam finds Dante, and he asks if she has something. She shows him her phone and says, read it and weep. It’s really bad. But this is the first step in proving Montague was drugging Sasha.

Diane watches Anna and Robert as she waits for the elevator. Robert tells Anna, press that and look at the pictures. She says she’s treasuring the moment, and he says, that’s what the pictures are for. Diane gets in the elevator, and Robert says, look at number two. Anna sees photos from their wedding and starts to cry. We see photos of her over the years, some with Robert, some with other people, while there’s a song part.

Olivia tells Eddie that she’s sorry. That was very rude and she doesn’t want to seem unwelcoming. She’s got a lot going on at work today. He says he can see that. She looks intense. Is work always this stressful for her? She says, he’s passionate about his music, and she’s passionate about her hotel. He says, fair enough. Speaking of his music… She asks if he finished the song, but he says, no, but the end will come to him eventually. She says, when it does, she knows it’s going to be spectacular, and he says, one can only hope. But he did take another step forward in his music career. She says, how so? and he says, Marshall Ashford is as good as his word. Marshall called him this morning and asked him to perform at The Savoy. She gets all excited and asks, when? He says, tonight, and she throws her arms around him, saying, that’s great news. She backs up and says, that’s really great news. Congratulations. She knows it’s going to be great. It’s going to be a really sweet gig. She sits down and asks him to please excuse her. She’s got a lot of work to do. The hotel’s not going to run itself, right?

Deanna asks how Willow’s first day is going, and Willow says, great. This was the perfect day for her to return to work.

Dante asks what he’s looking at, and Sam says, Sasha’s toxicology report. He asks how she got this, and she just smiles. He says, she’s got two drugs in her system, and Sam says, the fluoxetine, which is an antidepressant she already had a prescription for and dextroamphetamine. When taken in combination with the antidepressant, it can cause hallucinations, paranoia, similar symptoms to a psychotic break. The dextroamphetamine must have been the drug Dr. Montague gave her to finally put her over the edge. He says, so how do they prove it?

Cyrus calls to Drew, and Drew asks what he wants. Cyrus says he wanted to warn Drew, and Drew says, about what? Cyrus says, the warden’s on a tear, and Drew asks, why? Cyrus says, rumors are circulating she’s up for a big job. She can’t have anything happen that makes her look bad or incompetent. He’s hearing she’s putting the place on lockdown to make sure there are no incidents and nothing goes wrong. Drew says, lockdown? That’s going to put everybody on edge. Cyrus tells him, keep your head down. Stay invisible. Drew continues down the hall.

Nina tells Charlotte, yes. They were talking about her. How it seems she’s grown up overnight. Carly says, you know who Charlotte reminds her of at her age? Charlotte says, who? and Carly says, Lulu. Charlotte asks if Carly really thinks she’s like her mom, and Carly says, oh yes. She knows Charlotte adores her dad, but don’t forget she’s a Spencer too. Diane comes in, and Carly asks them to excuse her, going over to Diane. Diane says she just came from a chat with Robert Scorpio. Carly says she could really use some good news, and Diane says, he gave her a little insight as to why Judge Kim might have handed down such a harsh sentence to Drew, and what they can do about it.

Nina and Charlotte sit at the counter, and Nina says, Charlotte misses her mom. Charlotte says, every day. She promised her mom to take care of Rocco and not to worry about it and just get better, but it makes her sad she’s still in a coma. But she always feels better when she’s with her papa. Guess what? He says they’re going to be together full-time. Nina says, great. And Anna? Charlotte says, yeah. That’s okay.

Anna says, it’s the most perfect present, and hugs Robert, thanking him. She asks, what inspired him to do that? and he says, she lost all that stuff in the fire. She was more upset about losing those pictures than she was about losing the house. She says, you can replace a house, and he says he called in a few favors. People went through phones, albums, computers. She can go back as far as she likes, then go back further. She laughs and says, he’s brilliant. He says, when she’s right, she’s right, and she says, this means the world to her. He says, and she means the world to him. He’s so glad she likes it. She says she loves it. She’s probably going to look at it a couple of thousand times tonight, and maybe some more in the morning. Valentin comes in, and they lock eyes.

Tomorrow, Curtis asks if Portia is really as calm about this as she seems; Trina says she’ll take someone up on that bet; Carly asks Diane if it’s enough to get Drew out of Pentenville; and some inmates catch Drew alone in the shower. Don’t drop that soap!!!

Southern Charm

In watching what happened last week, I see Madison smirk while Taylor is going on her tirade. I don’t care what kind of a wife and mother this girl portrays; I don’t trust her. I just can’t grasp how she snagged Brett. He must never have seen the show. Yeah, I can guess what she might have to offer, but a dude with his assets, both financial and physical, can’t possibly have a hard time finding someone equally skilled.

On another note, I look at the blurb in the digital guide, and Kathryn’s name is still on the show. Huh? Is she making a not-so surprise appearance? Or is whoever makes the guide just lazy?

Venita’s dog Charles has a blue/green tail! I guarantee, this will be the best moment of the show. Unless Little Craig comes along with a mohawk.

Craig calls Paige, who says she’ll be back Saturday. She asks about the party, and he says, it was fun. In his interview, he says he knows what Taylor is dealing with and that she didn’t mean it. No good will come of telling Paige that Taylor accused her of cheating. In her interview, Taylor says she loved her job and gave everything up to travel with Shep. We flash back to that, and she says, at the time she thought it was the right decision because she thought they were going to have a life together. Instead, she was just out of a job. Thanks for that, Shep. Taylor visits Leva at one of the restaurants, and does a presentation for a mixer called Day Chasers, but fails miserably from her ums to struggling with getting the cans out of the box. In Leva’s interview, she says, it’s hard to watch. In Taylor’s interview, she explains that one of Shep’s buddies needs a rep. She thought impressing Leva would be a big deal. Leva suggests she carry the produce, but Taylor come in and promote it. In her interview, Leva says she’s supporting Taylor however she can. This is why you should never quit your job for a dude. Truth! Leva says, the last time she saw Taylor, it was a debacle, and we flash back to that. She says she doesn’t want Taylor to be that person. Taylor says, there was a rumor going around about Paige, and she said it to be hurtful. She thinks it’s really between her and Shep, and has nothing to do with Craig. In her interview, she says she regrets what she said. She doesn’t want to care, but she does.

Craig goes golfing with Austen and JT, who I kind of like, so maybe he should run away. In Craig’s interview, he says he met JT a couple years ago when JT was in Charleston. At first he wondered, who is the kid with the Napolean complex, but JT grew on him and they became friends. Craig periodically makes short jokes, and I have to admit they’re pretty funny. In JT’s interview, he says he’s known Craig a long time. They play golf and hang out. He made Charleston his home, and now he lives life in the Charleston bubble. It’s the best little bubble , and he thinks he’s never going to leave. JT says he’d invited friends to stay with him in London for some golf event in Paris, and Taylor hooked up with his friend. He asks if Shep is bothered by Austen hanging out with Taylor, and in his interview, Craig says he thinks it’s Shep’s way of staying in touch with Taylor, and it comforts him. Craig says, don’t hang out with friends’ exes, and JT says, it’s going to come back and bite Austen.

Olivia meets Rod at a boardwalk, and in her interview, she says, they met the first time at a crowded bar, and had a flirtation. He gives her a coffee, and they walk on the boardwalk. She says her roommates just moved out, and he asks if she feels like an empty nester. In Olivia’s interview, she says, dating in Charleston is intimidating. She’s ancient by Southern standards. When you’re 30, you’re dust. They sit in the park and eat the sandwiches and chips he brought. He seems like a super nice guy, and in her interview, Taylor says, he has a chivalrous spirit. It’s refreshing and makes her want to give him a shot. With Austen, she was in Neverland; now she’s on earth. They talk and have a lot of laughs, and Rod says he wants to make it a habit. They kiss a little bit.

Patricia looks amazing for 110, with new striking blonde highlights. New Butler Randy brings martinis for her and Whitney, who complains incessantly about the chair he’s sitting in. Randy seems cool, but there will never be another Michael. In her interview, Patricia tells us, in Britain, it’s gauche to clink glasses; they just do a cheers. She tells Whitney that she was sorry to have missed Madison’s party, but she told Madison that she’ll go to the next one. She hassles him about settling down, and in her interview, she says, her father married in his 60s, and Whitney has his DNA. She thinks he needs to get over 22 year old models; he complains they’re inarticulate. They need to expand the search. Whitney says, to quote the Keebler elves, you can’t rush richness. She says she thought he would quote Strindberg or something more esoteric. They should have their own show. Grey Gardens: The Next Generation.

Madison calls mom Tara, and asks when Tara is coming to visit. She’s free this weekend. Hudson is at his dad’s and Brett is in California; she’s alone. Tara says she’ll come, and gives Madison kudos for being a good wife. In Madison’s interview, she says she made pot roast, and Brett left all the carrots around it. She realized he must be allergic, but he didn’t complain one time. If he was allergic, I would think he’d have said something, and removed the carrots. He probably just doesn’t like carrots. Tara says she’s sorry she missed the party, and Madison says, they’re talking about having a baby. Brett is now in an office versus fighting fires. In her interview, Madison says, Brett took a step back from the frontlines after they got married. If she has a baby, she’s going to want him there all the time.

Austen, JT, Craig, and Shep go to bar, and Shep talks about all the girls he met in Melbourne; he went golfing, barhopping, and was even someone’s date for a wedding. JT asks if he was on an app, but Shep says he had organic success. JT wonders why Shep let Taylor go. He doesn’t understand. It would be hard to do better. Austen says, he did not say that, and JT says, Shep should find a way to marry that girl, but Shep says, there are plenty of fish in the sea. JT keeps asking, but why? and Craig says, JT is in love with Taylor. He lights up when she comes into a room. Austen says he does too, but he’s not in love with her. JT asks if Shep cares that Austen has a relationship with his ex, but Shep says, Taylor decides who she hangs out with. JT says, bro code, and in Shep’s interview, he says, Austen is like a life raft between him and Taylor. It’s because he cares. JT says he gets what Shep is saying, but to have a sleepover with a friend’s ex… This is obviously news to Shep, and JT says, they all went out to a bar, then to Austen’s, and he left. When he called Taylor in the morning about having coffee, she said she was still at Austen’s house. Shep says, obviously he never knew this, and Austen looks like he wants the floor to swallow him up. Craig asks Austen if it was just him and Taylor, but Austen says, he was downstairs, and thought Taylor left, but she slept in the guestroom. It surprised him when she was there in the morning, and she said she got drunk. JT says he thinks they’ve hit the point where it’s a little grey and murky. Shep agrees, but says he has no claims. Austen insists he’s like a protective brother, and Craig asks if they ever kissed. Austen says, no, but I’m not so sure. Craig tells Shep that Austen looked down to the left when he answered, and in Craig’s interview, he says, you only have to watch a handful of spy movies to know if they look to the left, it means they’re lying. I have heard that before, but I’d love to know the logic behind that theory. Austen says, they could share bed and nothing would happen, and maintains they never kissed. Shep says he believes Austen and they should drop it. In Shep’s interview, he says, Austen is a close friend, so he has to go with what Austen said, because friends trust each other. If Olivia came on to him… He doesn’t really see her doing that, but he is pretty charming and cool. I gag.

Madison visits Venita, and Charles takes off after a cat outside. Madison asks if they’re pulling weeds or planting pretty stuff, and Venita says, both. In Madison’s interview, she says, there’s only a few people she’ll pull weeds out of the damn ground for, and Venita is one of them. She’s glad she and Venita are friends again. Don’t talk sh*t about her and they’ll be fine. In Venita’s interview, she says, she can laugh with Madison and doesn’t feel judged. She asks Madison how Brett felt about meeting everyone, and Madison says, other than Taylor, he seemed pretty happy. Venita says, Taylor has the right to be hurt, but she can’t be bringing dildos and screaming at people’s parties. It’s not the time and place. She’s not used to this side of Taylor, and feels like they should get the girls together and see if they can reel her in. Have some girl talk, and make her realize that if she’s having a down moment, call one of them and not yell at people. Madison says, an ex’s best friends going to side with them, and she thinks Austen is low key in love with Taylor.

The guys decide to go to another bar, and Austen tells JT, that was a lot. Outside, Shep tells Craig that he thought he was pretty evolved, but it would be f***ed up if Austen slept with Taylor. He has no idea if they kissed, but he’s not playing detective. Austen and Taylor had a good relationship when he and Taylor were dating, and when the breakup occurred, it got stronger. Craig thinks it’s sketchy. Rodrigo meets them at the next bar, and Craig says he’ll pay JT’s tab if he wears a T-shirt from the bar that says Big Deck Energy. In Austen’s interview, he says he’s known Rodrigo for a decade. Rodrigo was best friends with one of his friends high school, and is one of his favorite humans in Charleston. We find out Rodrigo has a boyfriend of eight years, and Austen asks JT, when was the last time he had sex? JT says he hasn’t been interested in anyone, and Craig says, he’s holding out for Taylor. JT tells him to stop painting that narrative, and Shep, Craig, and Austen go to the bar. Shep says he knows how much Taylor loved him, and he can’t believe they’re out drinking and talking about failed relationships. Craig says, maybe Shep is softer than he thought. Maybe it bugs him more than he wants to admit. Shep says he didn’t know about Taylor spending the night. He doesn’t want to know. It bothers him, but it’s her choice. Austen tells them that he’s sitting right here, and Shep says, they could have had a one night stand, and Taylor wouldn’t have said sh*t. Austen says, that’s not what happened, and in Craig’s interview, he says, this is so bad.

Craig says he knows it hit Shep, and Austen tells him to stop pounding this. He suggests they go somewhere else and stop talking about their exes. They decide to move on, and JT asks if he can take the shirt off now. They go to a rooftop lounge originally named Rooftop Lounge. Austen makes that toast that ends with, the best ships are friendships. JT, Rodrigo, and Austen go to the bar for a shot, and Shep tells Craig that in ten or twenty years, traditional marriage will be passe. Lust and love are two different things. Lust happens in the blink of an eye. It doesn’t mean much, but it’s something. Wow. What a philosopher. At the bar, JT says, that was a lot of ex talk for one night, and Austen tells, don’t bring him and Taylor up next time. Craig asks how Shep feels, and Shep says he doesn’t know. He feels 50/50 that something happened, but he can’t go back in time. He wouldn’t be surprised if they went for it and no one would ever know. He thinks it’s f***ed up.

Next time, Craig can’t drive a U-Haul; Shep and Craig continue to talk about Taylor and Austen; Madison tells Taylor that Austen is low key in love with her; Shep tells Olivia about the sleepover; and Olivia asks if anything happened.

🍂 Summering Into Fall…

Start your weekend by stopping by tomorrow for soap, teatime, words to take note of, and a musical moment. Until then, stay safe, stay planning for Halloween as early as possible, and stay never quitting your job for a dude.

September 20, 2023 – Game Night At Maxie’s Goes Awry, The Trip Didn’t End the Way Shannon Thought It Would & Dogs

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Tracy sees Brook walk into the hospital and asks why Brook hasn’t been returning her phone calls. Brook tells Tracy that she has nothing to say to a family member who blackmailed her and caused her to lose her job.

At Maxie’s new place, James asks what Felicia is doing, and she says she’s doing her homework. He asks if she isn’t too old to be in school, and Mac asks who told him that? A person is never too old to learn. Life is like one big, long journey, and there’s always something you can pick up along the way. James says, like when Cody taught him to knots? He shows Mac his slipknot, and Mac says, he did this? And Cody taught him how to do it? James says, when he was at Kelly’s with Oma, and Felicia says, that Cody, always full of surprises.

Cody says, if they turn themselves in or get caught, Sasha could wind up in Ferncliff. They can just avoid all that. They can just vanish. She asks how that would actually work.

Gregory approaches the reception desk, and Elizabeth asks if everything is okay. He says, nothing to worry about. He was hoping to catch Dr. Bronson. Does she know if he’s still here? She goes to check on the computer and flashes back to telling Finn that she doesn’t think Dr. Bronson is the right doctor for his father. Finn comes out of the elevator, and Elizabeth says, his dad is here to see Dr. Bronson.

Anna goes to Sonny’s office, and he says, to what does he owe the pleasure? She asks if his offer of protection still stands.

Nina looks at the security footage of Charlotte sneaking into Anna’s room, when Charlotte walks in. Valentin says, look who he found.

Sonny asks, what’s going on? He thought Anna didn’t want protection. She says she just came from the MetroCourt. Someone gained access to her suite. They trashed the room, destroyed her clothes, and left her a message on the mirror in lipstick. Sonny asks, what kind of message? and Anna says, you think you got away with it. You didn’t. You think you’re safe. You’re not. She guesses she’s the target of a personal vendetta. Someone’s toying with her, trying to unsettle her, maybe throw her off her game. He says, it sounds like someone’s trying to get under her skin. She says, they’re succeeding. She just feels like the walls are closing in on her. Burning down her house is a violation, but it’s kerosene and a match. This is personal. They came into her space and touched her things, and she doesn’t think it’s the first time. They came back to the suite the other day, and her mail had been moved from one place to another. She knows that sounds crazy. It’s a small thing, but she noticed it. He says, it’s a hotel, there’s housekeeping, but she says, they don’t come every day. Whoever did this has been there before. What scares her is, she doesn’t know how many times.

Charlotte says, it’s so good to see Nina, and Nina quickly closes the laptop, hugging Charlotte. Nina asks, what brings her by here? and Valentin says, there was an incident at the hotel suite; the police are there. Nina says she knows. The front desk called to let her know what’s going on. She’s so sorry Charlotte showed up with all of this going on. So what’s the occasion? What brings Charlotte here? Charlotte says she just wanted to see papa, and Valentin says he’s glad she did. What did she do today? Where has she been? Charlotte says she was with Jake. I wonder if they’re going to be bad seeds together, since Jake was a little skewed at one time. I would love that.

Gregory says, it was nothing serious, but he thought he should check in with the doctor, and Finn says he’s glad. In fact, there’s something he wanted to talk to Gregory about. Does he mind if they have a conversation before he meets with Dr. Bronson? Gregory says, not at all, and asks if Elizabeth would check to see if the doctor is in and available. Elizabeth says, absolutely, and Finn and Gregory step away. Gregory asks, what’s on Finn’s mind? He couldn’t help noticing Elizabeth trying to signal him. He can’t wait to hear what this is about. Finn says, it’s about how Gregory is managing his ALS treatment.

Tracy asks Brook, that’s what we’re doing now? We’re throwing temper tantrums? Even toddlers outgrow that phase. In a grown woman, laughable. And by the way, she didn’t do anything to Lucy Coe that Lucy wouldn’t have happily done to her first. Brook says, this isn’t about Lucy and Tracy; it’s about her and Tracy. They’re supposed to be family. Tracy used her. Tracy blackmailed her. Tracy preyed on her where she’s most vulnerable; her love for Chase, her fear of losing him, her insecurity about the past with him. Tracy says, everything she did was for Brook’s own good, and Brook laughs. She asks how losing her job is good for her.

James says, Cody also taught him this, and Mac asks what he calls that one. James says, it’s an exploding clove hitch. Cody said, you have to be careful. If you pull it the wrong way, the whole knot will just unravel – he pulls it – like that. Felicia says, wow. It looks like James is on his way to becoming a sailor. James says, that would be super cool, and asks Mac if they can go to the stables. Cody promised he’d let him feed the horses. They could go tomorrow after school. Mac says he’s afraid they can’t. Cody’s going to be away for a while. James asks where he went, and Mac says he wishes he knew.

Cody tells Sasha, say the word, and they’re gone. He’ll iron out the details. She says, they have a car and some cash thanks to Sam, but they have no phones, no IDs, no internet access, and they’re both escaped mental patients considered dangerous. She stabbed Cody, and Cody attacked and tied up Dr. Montague. He says he wishes he’d done a lot worse to Montague; he might still yet. She says, no. He can’t get any deeper into this mess. He’s already thrown his life off-track for her. He tells her not to paint him as some kind of hero. Things wouldn’t have gotten this bad if he’d just been honest from the start. She asks how he’s dishonest.

Mac tells James, when Cody comes back, they’ll feed the horses, and James says, okay. Mac goes into the other room, and James asks to see Felicia’s homework. She says she’s learning about the hospital and all the rules and procedures. She’s going to learn everything she can so she can help the people in there. He asks if she means like the doctors and nurses, and she says, not exactly, but she does want to help the patients. He says, help them do what? and she tells him, like helping them understand what the doctor said, or if they need help finding their way around the hospital, or just making sure if they’re happy and comfortable, or if they need someone to talk to. He says he thinks being a doctor would be better, and she asks if he wants to be a doctor when he grows up, but he says, no. He wants to be a policeman like daddy and grandpa. The doorbell rings, and Mac opens the door to Scotty and Lucy, who’s holding a bottle of wine. She says, surprise!

Cody tells Sasha that he’s known about Gladys’s money troubles for months now. She was neck deep in the red to Selina Wu. He knew she sold Brando’s garage behind Sasha’s back to settle that debt. She says, he knew? and he says, yeah. He should have told her the whole truth back then. She asks why he didn’t, and he says, the reason he told himself was that she was so dependent on Gladys, he didn’t want to cause her anymore pain, but if she wants to know the real reason, the reason he doesn’t even want to admit out loud… She says she does, and he says, the real reason is, he didn’t want to jeopardize his relationship with Selina. She put him in that game to steer it, to make sure the players that she wanted to win would win. And if she wanted someone to lose, his job was to take them out fast or let them just keep playing and running up a bigger debt. He did it just for the extra cash. Stable hands don’t exactly make bank. But soon enough, Selina made it clear he didn’t have the option to quit or to talk. So he just kept quiet, even long after he knew Gladys was playing Sasha.

On the phone, Elizabeth says she’ll just give Amy a call back if they do end up needing to see Dr. Bronson. Finn says, it’s Gregory’s private business. The way he chooses to manage his disease is entirely up to him. Gregory says, it’s become increasingly clear to him that nobody manages ALS. He stopped driving, and all too soon he’ll stop walking, and then he’ll stop eating. Then talking, and finally, he’ll stop breathing. Finn says, but his quality of life between now and then, the way he handles his symptoms, the way he works around his limitations. He has options Finn doesn’t even think he knows about.

Anna tells Sonny, she feels like it’s a warning. Somebody wants to leave her with absolutely nothing. They destroyed her house, then the new clothes she bought. He asks if she checked the hotel surveillance. They have to have a recording of the halls, the elevators, and the lobby. She says, that’s the thing. Valentin went straight to security, but there’s nothing. He asks what she means, and she says, the footage is missing. He asks if that’s what Valentin told her.

Charlotte says, she and Jake went over to the promenade, but since she was close, she thought she’d visit papa. Do they want to see something cool? She takes out her phone and says, Jake almost fell into the fountain. She’s not interrupting Nina’s work, is she? Nina says, no. She was just doing a little research and wants to put it out of her head. She’s hoping to never see it again.

Sasha says, Cody never struck her as the type of guy to rewrite history, but he says he’s been known to when it works to his own advantage. She asks, what’s the advantage of making himself look bad? That’s not how she remembers things at all. From what she remembers, he was always warning her about Gladys. He told her not to trust Gladys, and she refused to listen. He says, that’s because he never told her the whole truth. He knew that Gladys was betting way more than she could afford. He figured she was dipping into those accounts she was supposedly managing for Sasha, and she was just managing them for herself. But he didn’t want to cross Selina, so he kept his mouth shut and covered his own ass until it was too late. She asks, what changed his mind?

Mac invites Lucy and Scotty in, and asks if there are any Pine Valley cops waiting in the bushes for Lucy. Lucy says, very funny. No, it’s just us gangsters. She hands Felicia the wine, and Felicia thanks her and says, it’s good to see them both. What brings them here? Scotty says, Lucy’s a little down in the dumps. He thought maybe he’d bring a little hooch and game night – he shows them a case he’s carrying – and cheer her up. James says he loves games. What are they playing? Scotty says, sorry, Charlie. Only for adults. James says he’s not Charlie, and Felicia says, he wouldn’t like these games. Why don’t they read a story? It’s a little past his bedtime anyway. Tell everybody goodnight. James says, goodnight grandpa, Lucy… and Charlie. Felicia takes him to the bedroom, and Mac tells Scotty and Lucy to have a seat. Scotty says, kids today. They don’t know that expression, sorry, Charlie? Lucy says, nobody under 40 knows sorry, Charlie. She bets he listened to 8-track tapes as he drove over. He says he did. He was listening to… Mac says he gathers they’re here to cheer Lucy up over her Deception lawsuit, and Lucy tells him, zip it. She doesn’t want that mojo out there. She just wants to have laughter and fun with friends, and play some games. Although that prospect seems a little dismal since her life is crumbling around her. Scotty promises everything is going to be all right. Pick a card. She says, stop it. Those are just words right now. He says, Alise is a top-notch attorney. She’s on the case. Lucy has nothing to worry about. She looks at him, and he says, she’s supposed to unwind a little. He thinks he might have some gummies in his pocket, but for crying out loud, there’s nothing she can do about it anyways. Maxie walks in, and Lucy says, aside from killing Tracy Quartermaine… Maxie says, she’ll have to get in line.

Brook asks how dragging her into corporate espionage against her friends is for her own good. She never should have trusted Tracy. Tracy says, of course (🍷) Brook should trust her. Everything she did was for Brook. Brook should be thanking her, not sulking. Brook says, Tracy’s right. She should be thanking her.

Anna says she knows Sonny doesn’t trust Valentin, but they were together when they found the mess in the suite. They’d just come from the hotel restaurant, so they were together the whole time. Sonny says, okay, but that doesn’t prove his innocence. He could have excused himself to make a phone call and gone to his room, or he could have paid somebody to do it. She says she doesn’t think so. She’s aware of his shortcomings, as is Sonny, but that hasn’t stopped Sonny from taking his assistance in business, has it? He says, absolutely, but they do have to thank Valentin for bringing Pikeman into their lives.

Charlotte asks why Nina is in this office. Isn’t she usually on the fifth floor? Valentin says he thinks it’s getting late to head back to Dante and Sam’s. Maybe she could spend the night at Nina’s. Nina says, that’s a great idea. She would love that. It could be a girls only sleepover and they can catch up. She’s missed Charlotte so much. Charlotte says she would love that. It would be like that time they had the blackout and camped out in the living room. Nina says, and Charlotte was saying all those ghost stories she heard at Lila’s Kids Camp. Charlotte says, until papa got scared, but Valentin says he remembers being worried Charlotte would get scared. Charlotte says, sometimes she thinks Valentin doesn’t know her very well, and Nina says she’ll shut this down, grab her stuff, and meet them downstairs in the lobby. Valentin says, deal, and as he closes the door, he whispers, get it off the server. She looks again at Charlotte sneaking into Anna’s room.

Gregory asks Finn if he’s talking about treatment options, but Finn says, more along the lines of something a little more holistic. And he thought they might check out some other neurologists. Gregory asks if something is wrong with Dr. Bronson, but Finn says, not at all. He’s highly respected and made significant contributions to research, but… He thinks Elizabeth put this better than he ever could. Dr. Bronson seems to concentrate on treating general symptoms, not focusing so much on the patient, you. He thinks Gregory deserves a doctor who will help him live life to the fullest, not one that’s just predicting when everything is going to fail. Gregory asks if this is what all the looks between Finn and Elizabeth were about. Did Elizabeth put him up to this? Finn says, no, not at all. Gregory says he’ll ask her directly, and goes over the desk. He says he understands Elizabeth has reservations about his doctor, and she joins them. Finn stammers and says, they both do, and he’s grateful to Elizabeth for raising the question. Elizabeth says she’s so sorry for overstepping, and Finn says, they both just think there’s a better neurologist out there for him. And he’d like Gregory’s permission to go find them.

Lucy tells Maxie, she has a better idea. She lures Tracy into that Quartermaine crypt with that stinky smelling cheese she likes, and seals her in completely. That rat no one will miss is already buried. Mac tells her not to talk that way, and Maxie says, Mac, please. She thinks Tracy’s too clever for that. Lucy might be better off putting something in her drink. Scotty says, she does like her cognac, and Lucy says, but she has to see Tracy’s face when she does it. Mac says, hello? No one is offing anyone. Police Commissioner, remember? Lucy says, yeah, but he’s being very old fuddy duddy. Felicia comes back and asks them to keep it down; James and Bailey Lou are asleep. Maxie says, oh yes. I have kids. Sorry. Felicia says, whatever they’re talking about is way too gruesome for game night. They should be ashamed of themselves, fantasizing about ending someone’s life. Lucy says, excuse her, but Felicia knows Tracy has been a thorn in her side almost her entire life, and Maxie says, and Tracy cost her a close friend and her business. She might not even be able to keep this house if Deception goes under. Felicia says, they’re two of the most brilliant, tenacious, inventive women she knows. If the worst happens, they’ll pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and find themselves another successful endeavor. Maxie says, she can’t possibly think it’s that easy, and Mac says, nothing in life is that easy. Maxie says, it wasn’t easy the first time they did it. They put Deception on the map, and The Deceptor was their baby. Now Tracy’s threatened to let all of it go down the drain unless they give her 75% of their company. Lucy says she did get a much better offer out of her, but that smug look on Tracy’s face… Maxie says, I’m sorry, what? Lucy got a better offer? When was Lucy going to tell her this?

Tracy says, that was fast, Brook thanking her, and Brook says, yes, Tracy was right. Moving in with Chase has provided her with an entirely new perspective on everything. Tracy blackmailed her into going back to Deception, and she was obligated to Lucy, Sasha, and especially to Maxie. She would have done everything in her power to keep Deception afloat. But now, because of Tracy’s spiteful lawsuit, she’s been released from that obligation. So now, she’s free to pursue her number one passion full-time. She’s going back to music. She starts to leave, but Tracy grabs her arm and says, absolutely not. Music was her father’s downfall. She will not let that happen to Brook. Brook asks what Tracy is going to do to stop her. She has no more blackmail leverage over Brook. Chase knows everything and fully supports her. That’s all that matters to her. Tracy says, listen to me… but Brook says she’s done listening to Tracy. She hopes Deception was worth it because it just cost Tracy her granddaughter. She walks away.

Cody says, at the pool when he felt the knife and turned to see Sasha, he saw in her eyes something terrible. That wasn’t her. He knew that something else had taken control. There’s no way she would have stabbed him, unless she wasn’t in her right mind. He knew she couldn’t have lost her mind so fast and so completely unless someone else had drugged her. He knew in his gut she’d been set up and he knew he had to do something about it. There are a lot of things in his life he’s not proud of, but he knew he couldn’t live with himself if he didn’t at least try to help her. She thanks him and says, he did more than he knows. He tells her not to thank him yet. They’re not out of the woods. She says, he got them this far, and honestly, she’s so thankful for the rescue, but she’s even more thankful that he believed in her.

Nina, Charlotte, and Valentin go to Nina’s place, and Charlotte says, this is going to be so much fun. She just hopes the power stays on. Nina tells her not to worry; she has plenty of candles. Why doesn’t she get Charlotte settled in the guest room? Valentin says he’ll be right in, and when they’re gone, he leaves a message for Anna. He just wanted to give her a heads up that he’s taken Charlotte to stay at Nina’s for the night. He looks at his phone and sees one missed call and one new voicemail to Anna.

Sonny says, Valentin? and Anna says, yeah. He says, she should have taken the call. Maybe he has great news. She says she’ll call him later. There’s something else she wants to address with Sonny. He says he’s all ears, and she says, the shooting at the pool, the bullets they dodged. She thinks they were meant for him, not her. The recent events, the burning of her house, the message on the mirror, those were aimed specifically at her. The shooting at the pool is a public attack. It’s a mismatch in psychological profiles, which leads her to believe they’re dealing with two distinct and conflicting motives. He says, two different perpetrators, and she says, that’s what she thinks. Because the dichotomy of the patterns, that’s what convinces her. He asks if she’s telling him that the shooting was a warning from Pikeman, and she says, and possibly the WSB.

Maxie says, 51/49 and Lucy turned it down. Did Lucy even think about telling her that Tracy made her that offer? Lucy says, but she would have had to surrender her 1% of ELQ, and Maxie says, okay. Scotty says, but she can’t do that. This is like a smorgasbord for Lucy. Maxie says, nobody asked for his opinion, and Lucy, firing perfectly good attorneys, turning down secret deals, making choices all by herself? Mac says, Lucy should be running these things past Maxie, her partner, and Scotty says, look at Lucy; she’s got nothing. Lucy tells him, shush, please. He isn’t helping. This is totally separate. Maxie says, but it’s just fine if she doesn’t know… and Felicia tells them, take it down a notch, please. Maxie says she’s put everything she has on the line for Deception. And by the way, didn’t Lucy get that 1% from Alan? Lucy says, don’t say Alan. Maxie knows she hates that name. She’s acting just like Tracy. They start bickering, when James comes out and says, it sounds really loud. Could they play something else?

Gregory thanks Finn and Elizabeth for thinking about this and looking out for him. Elizabeth could never overstep. He hereby gives Finn his permission to find a different neurologist. He’ll see whoever Finn recommends. Finn thanks him, and Gregory says, after all, Finn is a highly respected diagnostician, who’s made significant contributions to research. How could he not trust Finn? Elizabeth says, exactly, and Finn says, he for one, is grateful, but Gregory says he’s the one who’s grateful to them both for their perspectives and for speaking up. Finn’s phone beeps, and he says he has to go authorize the release of some labs. He’ll be right back. He leaves, and Gregory says, a new doctor might not make much difference, but if it gives Finn a sense of control, he’s all for it. Mostly, he’s grateful to Elizabeth for supporting him. He’s so glad Finn has her in his life.

Tracy approaches the desk, and Finn asks if she’s the cat or the canary. She says, don’t ask, and he says, canary. She says she needs a level 5 backgammon game to forget about this one. She needs a win. He says, she might be disappointed. He’s picked up a few new tricks. She says, no kidding? Has he been binging videos of Double Six King Kyle? He says, now that she mentions it, but don’t knock it. He’s got some excellent strategies. She asks, what’s his father doing here so late?

Cody says he guesses that means they’re not disappearing, and Sasha suggests they see what Sam and Dante come up with first. He tells her, in that case, he says they call it a night. They need to rest up for whatever comes next. She can take the bed. She asks where he’s going to sleep, and he says he’s actually getting pretty fond of his chair here. She’s a lot nicer than she looks. Sasha says, no way. They’re going to have to come up with a different plan for tonight.

Sonny asks if Anna is trying to tell him there’s a link between Pikeman and the WSB, and she says she thinks it’s possible. She wanted him to be fully informed, so he could take into consideration all the possibilities that represents. He thanks her for the heads up, and she says, he has to be vigilant. He says he’s going to beef up his security and get Anna protection. She won’t even know they’re there. She says she’ll know, and thanks him. He says, she’s just got to be careful because whoever’s after her isn’t going to stop anytime soon. She says she just wishes she knew what they wanted from her.

Valentin says he’s sorry he hasn’t found a house for him and Charlotte yet; one where they can all live. She says, you and me, and Anna, and he says, yeah. She says she hopes it happens soon. She misses him and wants them to be together more than ever. He kisses her forehead and says he loves her, and she says she loves him too. She gets under the covers, and he leaves.

Valentin thanks Nina for letting Charlotte stay the night, and she says, of course (🍷). She loves having Charlotte here. He says he doesn’t want Charlotte near Anna. He doesn’t want her out of his sight. Nina says she knows. There are a lot of questions. They know she went into the suite, but there are no cameras in the suite, so they don’t know exactly what happened. He says he doesn’t know how to begin to handle this. His head is swimming. She says, how about this? Go back to Anna, but remember this; no matter what happens, she’s here for him. And she’s here for Charlotte. She helps him put his jacket on, he says he’ll see her in the morning, and he leaves.

Finn tells Tracy, dad’s schedule is anyone’s guess. She’d have to ask him, but if she’d like some cathartic backgammon tomorrow, just let him know. Maybe he’ll let her win. She laughs, and Gregory joins them. He says, she’s here very late, and she says, for a very boring board meeting that was followed by her granddaughter insulting her. She could use a drink. Gregory says, it’s probably not what she had in mind, but can he offer her a soda to lift her spirits? She asks if they’re back to killing her with kindness again, and he says, it was just a thought. She’s welcome to decline. She says, no. Far be it from her to respond to kindness with rudeness. She would be delighted to take him up on his offer. He says, after her, and they walk to the vending machine. Finn tells Elizabeth, when he sees his dad in his element like this, all wit and charm, it seems like everything is normal. Then he thinks about what’s to come. She says, Finn’s doing the best he can for his dad. That’s all he can do. He says he wishes he had the words to tell her how much it means to have her with him while he does this, and she takes his hand.

Gregory gives Tracy a can from the machine, and she thanks him. She says, ginger ale (which makes me immediately want one). She’ll just pretend it’s a whiskey/ginger. She opens the can, and sees Gregory struggling with his. She asks if he’s all right, and after a moment, he says, no. Actually, he’s not and it’s about time she knew. He’s been diagnosed with ALS. She says, Gregory, no… She doesn’t know what to say.

Maxie tells James, sorry. Let’s go back to bed. She’ll tuck him in. She’s right behind him. She turns around and says she never thought Lucy would be so selfish. She walks out before Lucy can say anything, and Lucy grabs her bag, heading for the door. Following her, Scotty says, hold it there. Wait a second. Take it easy. They leave, and Felicia tells Mac, so much for their quiet night. He says, poor Maxie. She’s lost so much in her life. He’d hate to see her lose this too. She’s worked so hard. Felicia says, so has Lucy.

In the hallway, Lucy asks Scotty, is this karma? and he says, if karma was a thing, she’d be the Queen of England. She says, and he’s always been her knight in tarnished armor, and he puts his hands on her shoulders, telling her, things are going to work out. They always do. He hugs her.

Lying in bed, Sasha says, this isn’t right. They need to switch. She leans over the bed, and says, Cody? On the floor, Cody snores loudly, and she whispers, goodnight. She goes back to sleep, and he opens his eyes in the dark.

On the phone, Nina tells Sonny that she’s not going to make it home tonight. He asks, what’s going on? and she says, Valentin asked her to take Charlotte tonight because someone broke in to Anna’s suite. He tells her, that’s what Anna said. She said he went into the MetroCourt to check the surveillance video, and it was missing. He’s trying to figure out how someone got in there to remove the video. She says, it’s very unsettling that someone was able to bypass all the security measures at the MetroCourt, and he says, it must have been a professional or somebody with a lot of help. Anyway, he’ll miss her tonight. She says she’ll miss him too, and he says, have fun with Charlotte. They say goodnight.

Anna looks at the message on the mirror for the millionth time. Valentin comes in and looks at it with her.

In the guest room in the dark, Charlotte takes out a box from her backpack. She opens the box and takes out tarot cards. She configures them in front of her on the bed.

Tomorrow, Carly asks if someone has any news for her to give to Sonny; Robert tells Diane that he wants to help Drew; Cyrus says he wants to warn Drew; and Nina asks what Valentin is going to do about Charlotte targeting Anna.

The Real Questionable If They Are Housewives of Orange County

Continuing to inflict themselves on Mexico…

Jenn has now fled the table, and Tamra says she doesn’t think Ryan is good for Jenn. The consensus is, none of them do. Meanwhile Jenn calls Ryan with Taylor as back-up. She cries to him, saying she’s tired of the women talking smack about him. She asks if there’s anything she needs to know, and in her interview, she says, Ryan told her about a one night stand, but now she’s wondering if it was a one year thing. Her head is spinning. She loved her family and didn’t want her marriage to end that way. She upheld her end and wants him to uphold his.

There’s turtle talk among the women, not to be confused with turtle time. In Tamra’s interview, she says, they’re going to be parasailing and swimming with the turtles. She just wants to have fun. In Jenn’s interview, she says she’s pissed at herself for putting up with Tamra’s behavior. On the way back, Emily tells some of the others, it’s messed up that Fancy Pants Heather called her Snuffleupagus. Fancy Pants needs to laugh at herself if she’s going to say sh*t to her. We flash back to that, and Gina says she thinks Fancy Pants is sensitive because of her childhood. We flash back to Heather’s mother being an asshat, and saying she was called Smother. Emily says, regardless, she doesn’t get to hammer people and be mad when it comes back. In Gina’s interview, she says, Fancy Pants doesn’t mean to offend people. She’s just good at it naturally. Vicki talks about some woman whose parasailing cord snapped, and she landed on a building where they couldn’t get her down. So… Is she still there? Vicki doesn’t say. Shannon wonders what purpose Fancy Pants had in telling Emily that she talked about her, but couldn’t tell Emily what it was she said. In Shannon’s interview, she asks why Fancy Pants is saying negative things about her to people all the time.

Diegos number one and two are the group’s turtle guides. One of the women asks if the turtles bite, and one of the Diegos says only he bites. Alrighty then. The go out on a boat, put on snorkel equipment, and jump in the water. Except for Shannon, who says she’s shaky, and has to make a production out of it. In her interview, Tamra says, swimming with the turtles is calming for the soul. I could see that. It seems very peaceful. Fancy Pants goes parasailing with Vicki, who screeches like a banshee the whole time. Fancy Pants tries to get her to happy place so she’ll stop, and on the boat, Jenn says, Vicki sounds like she’s dying. It’s nice that Vicki’s up there. She can’t hear the critique on her relationship. The parasailers get back to the boat, and Vicki throws up over the side. Following that, they do tequila shots using the snorkels, and in Emily’s interview, she says, it’s easy to do a shot when you’re Snuffleupagus. You can just put it in your trunk.

They get glammed up for dinner, and Emily falls into the bathtub while Gina is helping her lace up her sandals. They go to an amazing restaurant and sit outside, and Shannon shows off her bruises from jumping off the boat. Shannon says she doesn’t know if it’s a topic to bring up here (if you have to think about it, it probably isn’t), but she thought Jenn and Tamra seemed to be moving forward after Montana. She’s wondering if it was really resolved, and Jenn says she thought they were in a good spot. Vicki – who has absolutely no business in this conversation – trashes Ryan, and says, Jenn should have made her marriage work. No man is worth it. Shannon says, that’s Vicki’s situation, and Gina says, Vicki doesn’t know Jenn’s history. Don’t attack her. Vicki tells Gina, stay out of it, and Gina says she didn’t bring it up. She’s just sitting here trying to eat her [chicken] wings. In Gina’s interview, she says she thinks Jenn is a good person who made a mistake. What puts Vicki in the position to say Jenn ruined her family? Vicki says, she left a good man for a loser and got burned. Is she talking about Don? I don’t remember him as being any prize. Jenn says, she told the girls, her divorce was like mourning, and she didn’t understand why she wasn’t enough for him. Shannon says she has nothing but empathy, and in Jenn’s interview, she says she has guilt for decisions she’s made, and when the women criticize her, she sometimes feels like she deserves it.

Last Day. I’m sure Mexico is glad. The women are going to Talum for some shopping, but Jenn wants to see a shaman. Vicki acts like a jerk, and Jenn says she wants to end on a good note. In her interview, Jenn says she wants Tamra to come, because whatever they’re doing in this realm, it’s not working. Fancy Pants calls Terry, and tells him that she forgot how loud Vicki is. She’s never doing this again. In Shannon’s interview, she says she forgot her toothbrush, and didn’t know where the lobby was. She kept thinking someone would get her one. She’s been using a towel. Wow. No wonder she’s afraid to live alone. Tamra, who’s had enough, calls the desk and requests a toothbrush, telling them that Shannon hasn’t brushed her teeth in 4 days. On the shuttle bus, Shannon announces she’s got a toothbrush, and everyone cheers. On the way to town, Emily brings up Fancy Pants unfollowing everyone, and Heather explains she had FOMO when she wasn’t on the show. Emily says, maybe she feels like she doesn’t fit in because of saying things like that, and in Gina’s interview, she says she follows, likes, comments with everyone. In Emily’s interview, she says, it makes Fancy Pants look like she thinks she’s on a pedestal. They follow me, but I don’t follow them because I’m queen. Fancy Pants says she is now following Emily, and Emily jokes that she blocked Fancy Pants. At least I think it’s a joke. Everyone laughed. In Fancy Pants’ interview, she says she’s seen how they twist things. She’s been 100% the punching bag on this trip. She can’t do anything right. She just wants to be quiet and let the trip end. Jenn hates them all and wants to go home. I get that feeling every time I watch this show.

Jenn, Shannon, Vicki, and Tamra go to see the shaman. In Vicki’s interview, she says she’s trying to understand what it’s all about, and in Tamra’s interview, she says she doesn’t even know what the word shaman means. The others go shopping, and Emily immediately buys a crown. In Fancy Pants’ interview, she says she’s had people be mean to her before, but this was a lot, especially from people who are supposed to be her friends. If retail therapy can’t cheer her up. that’s a problem. The shaman waves a chalice of smoke around each of women, and asks the sun to open their hearts. He asks that they be in harmony, joy, and love. I tell him, good luck with that. Oh, they’ll leave that way, but it won’t last. He asks their purpose or goal, and Shannon says she wants to have an open heart, and wants her friends to feel the same. Vicki says she needs acceptance, and wants to receive unconditional love. Tamra says she wants to be able to trust her friends and have them trust her. She wants to come from a place of love, and eliminate the hate in her life. Good luck with that too. Jenn says she wants clarity, happiness, and authentic relationships, and the shaman says, love is the most important element of all.

Fancy Pants goes to sit by herself, but Taylor finds her. Fancy Pants tells her that she doesn’t want to talk anymore, and Taylor says she knows they’re not close, but she’s feeling Fancy Pants’ pain. In her interview, Fancy Pants says she probably shouldn’t confide in Taylor. She might do something terrible like say she’s cute, but at this point, she has nothing left to lose. She tells Taylor that she feels like she doesn’t fit in, and anything she says gets turned around. Taylore says she thinks Fancy Pants doesn’t get as much of a hall pass, because they believe she thinks she’s better than them. Taylor thinks it’s the money, and they feel inferior. It’s not right. Fancy Pants says, they keep telling her that it’s her problem, and at this point, she doesn’t want to talk to anyone. Taylor says she understands. I agree that the women think Fancy Pants act superior, but I don’t think it’s about the money. It’s about her delivery, but she’s probably not going to change at this late date, so maybe they should just say, it’s Heather being Heather, and ignore it.

Meanwhile, the shaman group all throw some stuff in the air, concluding the end of their ceremony. In Tamra’s interview, she says she realizes she wants a deeper relationship between her and Jenn. She hugs Jenn, and says she’s sorry. She just wants the best for her. Been here before. Give it time and she’ll be screeching at Jenn again. In Jenn’s interview, she says she doesn’t know if it’s real. At the end of the day, she might have sucker written on her forehead, but she wants get back to who they were.

The group goes up a million stairs to a restaurant in what can best be described as a humongous treehouse. It looks so complicated to get up there. After the stairs, there’s some kind of net with pads built into it that’s navigated barefoot. Kind of like walking on big rocks across a creek. A creek a million feet up. Shannon freaks, remembering the rope exercise, and we flash back to her squishing Vicki’s hand between two ropes because she was holding them so tight. Vicki tries to help her, and she screams, don’t touch me! She steps on a pad and falls, Spanx up. Fancy Pants tells them that they can walk around, and Vicki says she doesn’t want to end up in the hospital. She’s walking around. I’m surprised there’s no flashback, since Vicki’s gone to the hospital while they’re on trips a couple of times. After all this, they decide it’s too hot, and move to a table toward the shadier inside. The culinary director comes out and says he’ll be cooking for them. Food porn! Food porn! Jenn says she wants to be better, and Emily says, all she knows is Jenn’s situation with Ryan. She’s an adult, and whatever happens, happens. Ryan doesn’t define her. Vicki says she’s at a good place and wants a forever love. Gina asks if Vicki’s boyfriend is the one, and Vicki says she would marry him, but they’re taking it slow. Fancy Pants says, it’s the first time she’s known Vicki not to be all-in. It makes her sad and happy at the same time. Eager to stir the sh*t after claiming she wanted to come from a place of love two minutes ago, Tamra says, Fancy Pants said Shannon wasn’t all-in with John. We flash back to that, and she did, but Fancy Pants says she doesn’t remember saying that. In her interview, she tells us that she said nothing wrong, but Tamra is repeating it in way to get Shannon mad at her. Did she run over Tamra’s cat? Now pissed, Shannon says, Fancy Pants should use a different word, but Fancy Pants says she doesn’t want to be word policed anymore. Shannon says, Fancy Pants claims she said something horrible about Emily, but Fancy Pants says, Tamra was the one talking about them. In Fancy Pants’ interview, she says, Emily thought she was making it up, and she didn’t understand that Emily misheard. In Emily’s interview, she says, her bad. Should she write Fancy Pants a note? Tamra says, Fancy Pants called them a bunch of f***ing losers, and Fancy Pants says she was talking about Noella and Jen. Nice twist on what she said. In Vicki’s interview, she says she’s uncomfortable being  around fighting. She never liked it. It’s not who she is. We flash back to seeing that’s exactly who she is. In another bout of grievous misunderstanding, Gina says she’s done, and in her interview, she says she’s been a genuine friend to Fancy Pants, and the whole time, Fancy Pants was saying nasty things about her. Fancy Pants gets up and says she gets it. They don’t like her. Gina is still not listening, and babbling about Fancy Pants talking sh*t about her. Fancy Pants says, she’s done, and walks out. Ugh. I hate to admit it, but this time Fancy Pants is right. They just aren’t listening that she was talking about other people. On top of it, Tamra keeps adding fuel to the fire.

In her interview, Fancy Pants says, Tamra is going to say she called Gina a loser, and Gina is going to believe it? We flash back to Gina telling Fancy Pants that not everyone sees Tamra with their eyes open. Vicki goes to the bar, and literally weeps to the bartender about what’s going on. In her interview, she says she feels bad for Fancy Pants, and also as a woman to another woman. She’s matured and realizes what’s important, and it’s not this. These women really don’t see themselves as they are, do they. Fancy Pants says she’s done with the show. She’s out. Shannon hunts her down, and asks, what’s going on? Fancy Pants says she doesn’t like being the scapegoat. Still at the table, Gina says she thought Fancy Pants liked her. She’s been a good friend. In Gina’s interview, she says she can’t force Fancy Pants to be a good friend. What else can she do at this point? Um… maybe listen to what Fancy Pants is actually saying? Firsthand? Fancy Pants says, they just went to a shaman, and Vicki says she can’t be here. Emily tells Gina, people with superiority complexes need to be accountable. At the table, Shannon says, Fancy Pants is thoughtful, generous, and kind, and a little calculating. This trip didn’t end the way she thought it would. What is it Dr. Phil says? The best prediction of future behavior is past behavior? Yep. No insight whatsoever.

4 hours later. The Tres Amigas hit the bar. In Shannon’s interview, she asks, when was the last time the three of them danced on a bar? She tells the other two, the trip turned into a lot of drama, but she’s glad they ended on a happy, fun note. Even though they’re old ladies, they were able to dance on the bar. At the hotel, Fancy Pants, Taylor, and Jenn clink glasses. Taylor says, onward and upward, Willy Wonka. At the bar, Shannon is upset that Fancy Pants claimed it was her talking trash, and in Tamra’s interview, she says, when Heather is up against the wall, she’ll throw anyone under the bus. In Fancy Pants’ interview, she says she wants to show Gina that it’s Tamra who’s been talking sh*t about her. Shannon tells the amigas that they need to end the trip on a positive note, and Tamra smushes them against her.

I hate them all and I want to go home.

Next time – THE FINALE! – a circus; Emily gets on a unicycle; Jenn questions Ryan; Fancy Pants tells Terry that she got grilled in Mexico; Fancy Pants plays a tape for Gina; Gina tells Emily that she’s being more aggressive than usual; and Tamra says, Fancy Pants is rallying the troops.

💼 Unpacking My Baggage…

Join me tomorrow for soap and some Charm. Until then, stay safe; stay letting people get off the elevator, train, or whatever before you get on; and stay remembering a person is never too old to learn. Life is like one big, long journey and there’s always something you can pick up along the way.

September 19, 2023 – Anna’s Tormenter Is Revealed, Sad Goodbyes, Reunited, Holiday Romance, This Week In NYC, Salty Talk, What House, Second Dragon, Worthy Piece & Sun

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Marshall walks into The Savoy, and N’neka tells him that this is the slowest night they’ve had in months. He says he knows it, and wonders where everybody is. She says, not here, and he tells her, it’ll pick up. It has to. Selina comes in, and he says, oh God. Not what he was hoping for.

Trina walks into the house, and Portia hugs her, and tells Curtis, look who came to visit. Trina says she comes bearing a gift to christen the new gaming system. Curtis asks if that’s the new Sudden Death, and she says, they just released it Thursday, showing him the case. He says, they’ll play head-to-head, and Portia says, three heads are better than two. Trina says, she wants to play? and Portia says, of course (🍷) she does. Trina and Curtis look at each other and laugh.

Sasha thanks Sam for the clothes, and says she feels almost human again. She thanks Dante too, and he says, no problem. She tells Cody, your turn, and Cody says he’s all right, but the others loudly disagree. He says, no need for an uprising, and Sam pushes him toward the other room, telling him that he smells.

Dex walks into Sonny’s office and says, the knock off shoe shipment arrived; no problem. (Ah-ha! Something Sonny does that’s illegal.) Sonny says he wouldn’t be too sure about that.

On the phone, Anna asks if they have an ETA on the officers… No emergency. She just wants to start cleaning up. There’s a knock at the door, startling her, and she says she thinks they’re here. She opens the door, and it’s Charlotte. She asks, is papa here?

Valentin tells Nina, stop there… go back… freeze it. She says, oh my God. It can’t be. He tells her, play it through. He wants to see what happens. She says, they know what happens, but he says he needs to see it. She hits play.

Selina tells N’neka, what a lovely night it is, and N’neka tells her that she looks stunning. Selina says, so does N’neka, but then, she always does. She introduces a man, saying, this is her good friend Silas. She tells him that Marshall is watching the club for her and Curtis, and Marshall asks what they’re having to drink. Silas says, champagne? and Selina says, excellent call. Marshall says, one bottle of champagne for Miss Wu, but Selina says, just two glasses. They won’t be staying. They’re only here for a quick drink, out of loyalty to Curtis. They’re headed to the new club, Intrigue, downtown. Marshall asks if they have gambling there, and Selina says, not that she knows of, but it’s always jam-packed. She and Silas head for a table, acting like they’re drunk already.

Curtis thanks Trina for bringing the game over. He’s definitely down to play, but why doesn’t she tell him why she really came over? She just moved back into her dorm, and he knows she’s not homesick already. She says she doesn’t have to be homesick to come home. She just wanted to hang out with him and mom. Portia comes in with a bowl of popcorn and asks, who’s winning? but Trina says, the game just finished loading. They haven’t started yet. Portia sits down and says she doesn’t know if they noticed, but video games aren’t really her thing. Trina says, understatement, and Curtis says, especially Sudden Death. Portia says she did see on here that they have virtual tours where you can check out castles in Europe. Why don’t they try that? Trina says, that sounds really amazing, but they’re trying to get all Dirty Harry with the zombies in this game. Portia says, of course (🍷). As long as they’re having fun. Trina says, before they get started, how about if she gets them some iced tea, and Curtis says, the caffeine will give him some adrenaline for the game. Trina leaves, and Portia says, it was so sweet of Trina to come by. Curtis says, she knows why Trina came by, doesn’t she? To check on them. He doesn’t mind. She raised a very special young woman.

Sonny tells Dex, the charges have been dropped against him, but that raid, his arrest, that’s just the beginning. The Feds are going to be watching every move he makes. They’re going to be tracking whoever he associates with. Does Dex know what he’s saying? Dex says, live like he’s under a microscope, and Sonny says, right. They’ve been trying to take him down for years, but never for NSA violations. This is on a whole other level. It’s just going to get more complicated, and Pikeman isn’t taking no for an answer.

Anna says, when Charlotte comes in, it’s going to be a bit of a shock. Just don’t touch anything, okay? Charlotte asks, what happened here? Where’s papa? Anna says, it looks like they had a break-in, and her father’s gone to hotel security. What is Charlotte doing here? Charlotte says she took a Ride Share, and Anna says, by herself? Charlotte says she’s 15, and Anna says she knows, but even so. Do Dante and Sam know she’s here? Charlotte says, they’re out somewhere; it’s not a big deal. She just needed to see her father.

Valentin says, play it again, but Nina says, watching it isn’t going to change what’s there. He says, maybe there’s something there, something he missed that makes a difference. Play it again. She hits play, and he covers his face with his hands. She asks what he’s going to do, and he says, nothing yet. She says she can’t just ignore this, and he says he knows she can’t. He can’t either. But this is a volatile situation. Can she let him handle this? His phone rings, and he says, Anna. Anna says, Charlotte’s here. She wants to see him. He says he’ll be right there, and tells Nina that he has to go. He says, please don’t show this to anyone else, and leaves.

Cody says, they were all right. He’s very glad to be out of that creep’s clothes. Look what he found. It was in one of Montague’s pockets. He hands Dante a prescription bottle with no label, and Dante says he’ll have to have them analyzed. Cody says he’s guessing Montague wasn’t planning on taking those pills himself, and Sam says, Montague knew he crossed a line and Sasha was his only witness. A loose end. Sasha asks what Sam is saying. Does she think Dr. Montague was going to slip her an overdose? Cody says, he had those pills on him when he found them in her room, and Sasha asks if they think he was going to kill her.

On the phone in the back hallway, N’neka says she’s at the club. They’re going to need some help down here. Asap.

Selina goes to the bar and thanks Marshall for an enchanting evening. Too bad there were so few people to enjoy it. He says he’s sure it will pick up later, but she says, from what she’s been told, it hasn’t been picking up much this past week. If he was truly loyal to his son, he’d reconsider letting her take The Savoy off his hands before it’s worthless. He says, not a chance. She’ll see. They’ll survive and thrive. She says she wouldn’t be too sure. The club doesn’t have the same draw without his son’s charm. Something Curtis obviously got from his mother. He says, she knows nothing about his family, or loyalty, or even good champagne. So why doesn’t she go over to that club she’s so excited about and see if that’s for sale? Silas joins them and asks if everything is okay here. Selina says, Mr. Ashford’s son suffered a great tragedy. He’s obviously traumatized by it. It’s best they leave him to his misery. She thanks Marshall for the champagne, and saunters out with Silas.

Trina and Curtis are deep in the game, and Portia tells Trina, watch out! but Trina says, that’s the zombie ghost that comes out to collect the bodies. Portia says, of course (), when her phone beeps. She steps away, Curtis and Trina not even noticing, and listens to a message. She tells them that she has to go out for a bit, and Trina wonders if they drove her away. Curtis asks if everything is okay, and Portia says, everything is fine. She just has to help out a friend. Trina says, sorry if they left her on the sidelines, but Portia says, don’t worry about her. Just continue playing their video game. Neutralize those zombies. She’ll be back as soon as she can. She leaves, and Trina says, mom’s the best, but she is off when it comes to video games. Curtis says, Trina inherited her gaming gene from him, and Trina says, he got that right. They go back to playing.

Olivia and Eddie/Ned walk into Olivia’s office, and Olivia asks what Nina is doing there. Nina says she was checking the wedding bookings. She was checking on the date of her wedding and didn’t want to wrestle around looking for the binder they have. She’s just checking to see what was confirmed. Olivia tells her, the binder is right over here, taking it from the credenza and handing it to Nina. She says, they’re just heading out, and Nina says she heard Eddie had a great recording session. He says, the studio was great. Be sure to thank Sonny for hooking them up. Nina says she’ll do that. Sonny was happy to help him out. Olivia tells Nina to take her time. Just lock up when she leaves. Nina tells them to have a good night, and when they leave, she gets back on the computer.

Anna tells Charlotte that she’s so sorry. She’d take Charlotte to the restaurant for hot chocolate or something, but she’s got to stay here and wait for the officers. Charlotte says she’s not a kid anymore. Anna doesn’t have to keep her amused. Anna says, my bad. Charlotte’s almost an adult. Valentin comes in and thanks Anna for calling him. He asks what Charlotte is doing here, and she says she just wanted to see him. She didn’t realize he’d be busy. There’s a knock at the door, and Valentin opens it to a couple of officers. One of them says, they had a report of a break-in.

Dante tells Sasha, they can’t say Montague wanted to kill her, but maybe he wanted to keep her unstable enough so he could move her somewhere else and keep her recovery virtually impossible. Cody says, the fact Montague was bringing the pills into Ferncliff points to something extreme, right? Doctors don’t dispense medication from their pockets. This shows he had some kind of plan. Sam says, but what exactly, and how do they prove it? Sasha says, it all started when she petitioned to end Gladys’s guardianship, and the court assigned Dr. Montague to evaluate her. Cody says, that might be a coincidence, but they know Gladys and Montague know each other from the poker game at The Savoy. And granted, Montague’s debt isn’t as deep as Gladys’s, but every gambler needs a steady cash flow. Sam says, so Gladys ropes in Montague to make Sasha appear unfit to the court, but he pushes it too far, and she winds up stabbing Cody and gets into Ferncliff. Dante says, but then, Montague’s got another problem. What happens if Sasha regains enough clarity to the point where she can link her breakdown to the pills he was giving her? He’s got to cover his tracks. He’s got to make her look, not just insane, but hopelessly addicted. Cody says, he’s at least guilty of what? Covert drugging? Wouldn’t that be considered poisoning? Dante says, it’s criminal malpractice and attempted… Sam says, again, how do they prove it?

Dex lets Rowan Hume into Sonny’s office, and Sonny tells him to have a seat. He asks Dex to stay, and asks Hume if he minds. Hume says, whatever he likes, and sits down. He says, congratulations are in order. They were all very pleased to hear about the charges being dropped. Sonny says, really? and Hume says, of course (🍷). Pikeman regrets any trouble Sonny faced, and would like to offer him this as an apology. He puts a briefcase on the desk, and Dex opens it. He turns it around to show Sonny it’s loaded with cash, and Sonny asks if this is an apology or a downpayment for another deal.

Anna tells the officers, the room was like this when they got here. As far as she can tell, nothing is missing. Her tablet and computer are here, untouched. Officer #1 says, they can send forensics if she’d like, and she says, yeah. Valentin says, this is a hotel room. Forensics is going to find a thousand different fingerprints from a thousand different guests. How helpful is that going to be? (It doesn’t say much about the MetroCourt’s cleaning staff.) Officer #1 says, it might not yield much. They can pursue this if Anna likes, but it sounds like a case of malicious mischief to him. Does she want to file a complaint, start an investigation?

Curtis says, sorry, my friend, you just got slimed, and Trina says, not fair. She’s the one who got the wolfsbane. He asks if she’s ready for the next level, and she says, Marshall told her that Curtis went to the club the other day. Curtis says he did, and she says, Marshall told her that N’neka and the whole staff were excited to see him come back. He says he’s not sure he would consider it being back, and she says, but it’s his club. Doesn’t he want to get in the swing of things again? He says, a lot’s happened… it’s obvious. It was good to get out of the house, and going back opened his eyes to a lot. Some good and some that’s hard to admit.

Portia goes to the club and asks N’neka how it’s going. N’neka says, slower than her last relationship, and Portia says she can see that. Marshall comes out, and asks, what brings Portia down here? They hug, and he asks, where’s Curtis? She says, Curtis and Trina are at the house in their video game world. It’s too loud for her, so she decided to get some air and ended up here where it’s quiet. He asks if she doesn’t have an early start to work tomorrow, and she says she does, but her head is pretty full of all the dead zombies, so she thought she’d come here and be with them in the land of the living. He asks what he can get her, when Olivia and Eddie/Ned come in. Olivia says, it’s a ghost town, and Eddie wonders, what happened to this place? The last time he was here, it was hopping.

Dante says, according to the authorities, Montague is the victim here. He was beaten and tied up. Sasha says, he had a pocket full of pills that he was going to use to OD her, and Dante says he understands that, but they have no proof. These could have come from anywhere. Sam says, and right now, it’s just their word against his. Cody says, and they’re escaped mental patients, and Dante says, Sasha is either an escapee or a kidnapping victim. Cody on the other hand, is a felon, wanted for assault and kidnapping. Sasha says, Cody didn’t kidnap her; he rescued her. They have to stop this before it gets any worse. They can turn themselves in and tell the truth.

Sonny says, Pikeman wants another go around, and Hume says, absolutely. Sonny says, another shipment, and Hume says, most definitely. And this is a peace offering. Compensation for Sonny’s trouble. Sonny tells Dex to close the briefcase and give it back to Hume. Tell his boss, it’s no deal. When he was in custody, he got a lot of questions about Pikeman. So they know what’s going on. It’s got nothing to do with his people, because they didn’t do any talking. That means it’s on Hume’s side, and that’s a problem. Hume says, nobody in Pikeman would be that careless, and Sonny asks if he can guarantee that. Hume doesn’t say anything, and Sonny says he didn’t think so. It’s a big organization. So here’s the deal. Find the leak, and until they can assure him it’s plugged (is that a double entendre?), there’s no deal. He’s not going to let the Feds use Pikeman to get him.

Dante says, turning themselves in isn’t as simple as it sounds. They need proof to back up their story, and right now they don’t have that. Sasha says, Dr. Montague injected her several times with drugs. Wouldn’t the hospital have some sort of record? Cody doubts Montague went through the proper channels for that, and Sam says, what about the medication he gave Sasha before she went to Ferncliff? Does she have the prescription that he wrote? Sasha says, he never gave her a prescription; he just handed her the pills. She makes a frustrated sound and says she can’t believe she didn’t question that. Cody tells her not to blame herself. She was betrayed by the people she trusted, and no way is that her fault. Sasha says, Cody risked everything to save her. Now he’s the one facing charges. How do they prove he’s innocent? Dante says, they might have something going for them. Mac is the Commissioner, and he thinks Mac is going to see Cody’s innocence. Cody flashes back to showing Dante that Mac is really his father.

Trina says she can’t imagine how hard it must be to go back to The Savoy, but Curtis did it. He says he’s not going to lie. It was tiring, but he’s getting stronger every day. She says, Marshall told her that he was thinking about selling The Savoy, and Curtis says, it’s nothing she needs to worry her pretty little head about. She says, but it was his dream, and I can’t believe she let that remark slide, just like I can’t believe he said it in the first place. He says, The Savoy is a special place. It’s like a home away from home in all the best ways. Just imagine throwing a party every night – good food, good music, and even better company. Walking from table to table, fraternizing with people he wouldn’t have known otherwise. It was amazing. She says, was, and he says, sadly, sometimes in life, dreams can change. And he can’t imagine that same party under this current situation. She says, but he is the club. What’s going to happen to it? He says, let’s not talk about me. Let’s talk about you. She says, Curtis… and he says, don’t get all Stella on him now. He’s her dad and he wants to hear about her. She just started school and moved into the dorms. What is she looking forward to this year? And he does want to remind her, all work and no play. Have fun sometimes. She says, funny he mentions that, because actually, there is something she’s looking forward to that has nothing to do with school. She says she’s planning on taking a trip to New York for the weekend with Spencer, and he says, that’s something he’s surprised her mom didn’t tell him. She says she hasn’t told her mom yet, and he says, yet, but she does plan on telling her. Trina says she thought she should wait until she gets closer to the trip. Curtis knows how her mom feels about Spencer. He says he definitely does. The most important thing is how Trina feels about him, and that is… Trina says she thinks she’s in love with him, and Curtis asks if she thinks Spencer feels the same way. She tells Curtis, he hasn’t said, and Curtis asks, has she? She says, no, and he says, why?

Portia asks N’neka, besides it being dead in here, what’s the emergency? and N’neka says, not what, who. Selina was in here tonight, slinking around with some trophy date. She and Marshall had a face-off. Portia says, what kind of face-off? and N’neka says she didn’t hear all of it, but voices were definitely raised, and Marshall barely held it back. Portia asks, what set him off? and N’neka says, there was tension the moment Miss Wu walked in, but when she came back from leaving Portia the message, Marshall was basically kicking her out, and saying she should buy some other club downtown. Is she trying to get her hands on this place? Portia says she thinks so. She overheard Marshall talking to Curtis about it. N’neka says she doesn’t think Curtis’s father should be pushing her. Miss Wu is not someone to be toyed with (just as I think, Miss Wu would be a cute name for a toy breed dog). Portia says she knows exactly what Selina is, and N’neka did the absolute right thing by calling her. Miss Wu is dangerous. She just doesn’t think Marshall realizes how truly dangerous she really is.

Marshall asks Eddie/Ned what he was recording, and Eddie says, it was nothing really. He was just demoing a new song. (Is demoing a weird looking word or what?) It’s only half done. Marshall asks why he hasn’t finished, and Olivia says, that’s what she keeps asking him. Eddie says, it’s easier said than done. Creating a song isn’t like writing a term paper where you just power through to finish it. He needs to wait for the spark of creativity to ignite. Marshall says, de-bop-shu-bop-shebang (or something like that). This man speaks the truth. Sometimes you got to tune into a melody. Eddie says, exactly. The song came to him unexpectedly. It was just a little fuzzy. Like he could almost catch it, but not quite. So he just has to wait for the muse to visit him again. Olivia says, the ghost of Elvis Presley, and Marshall says, if Eddie needs any clarinet, he’s there. Eddie says, he might just take Marshall up on that. He’s worked with a sax before, but he’s never worked with a clarinet. Marshall tells him, you know what they say. Once you go with a clarinet, you just never forget, and they laugh. He says he has an idea. Why doesn’t Eddie finish his song and debut it here at the club next week? It’s a challenge. Eddie says, it may be a bit of a downer to play in a house this light. Does Marshall think there will be more people here next week?

Anna says she wants the officers to pursue the formal channels. Someone should tell her what they uncover and keep her in the loop. Officer #1 says, will do, and they head out the door. Before they leave, Officer #2 tells Anna, this may seem like simple harassment, but after the arson at her house, does she think the two incidents could be related? She says she doesn’t know. Yeah… Maybe. She doesn’t know what they’re going to find in here. She doesn’t know. He says, they’ll keep her posted, and leaves. Valentin closes the door and says, they’re not safe here. Anna says, obviously, and he asks Charlotte to get on the house phone and ask the desk to move them to a new suite. Charlotte says, sure, papa, and goes to the phone. Anna tells Valentin that she’s so sorry Charlotte had to see all this. It’s probably quite scary for her. Was he able to access the security footage?

Dex tells Sonny that Hume is gone. He got in a Range Rover with New York plates and drove off. Sonny says, so tell him. What’s Dex’s take on what just happened here?  Dex says he thinks it’s above his paygrade, and Sonny asks if Dex thinks he just hired him to open doors and call him boss? You want some life, you’ve got to grab it. What’s Dex doing here anyway? He knows Dex is smart; he pays attention. He doesn’t think Sonny sees his mind is always spinning? Because he’s not the boss, he has access to people and places Sonny doesn’t. So now’s Dex’s chance to show him how he thinks as a heavyweight. If Dex wants to move up in Sonny’s world, Sonny has to know if he can trust Dex’s judgement. So tell me what you think?

Marshall says, The Savoy is in a slump, and Eddie/Ned says, that’s putting it mildly. Marshall says he wouldn’t want to play for this crowd either, but the one thing that’s been missing tonight, the one thing that’s been missing every night is his son Curtis. If Eddie’s looking for a promoter, look no further. Curtis will pack this place. He just needs to give Curtis something to promote. He’s thinking, the return of Eddie Maine? Whoo! That might be just the ticket. Marshall gets up, and says, think about that, while he sends over two drinks for Eddie and his lovely date.

Trina tells Curtis, maybe she’s not ready to say I love you first. Or maybe she’s waiting for Spencer to say it first. (That’s the one!) She doesn’t know. He asks if she’s having any doubts about Spencer, and she says, no doubts. She just feels impatient and annoyed, disappointed at times. He just does the stupidest things, but then he does the sweetest things. Curtis says he hasn’t spent much time with Spencer, but he thinks she knows from early on he wasn’t a fan. But all that changed in Greenland. He has every respect for the way he cared for Trina. And he also respects the way Spencer lights up every time she’s in the room. But all that aside, is she sure she can count on him emotionally? She says, that’s what’s hard. At first, she would have said, definitely not. But then over time, she thinks, yes. He says, she and Spencer come from two different worlds, and she asks what he means. He says, she’s responsible and practical, and she’s grounded in the real world. Spencer comes from a crazy, rich family. He doesn’t have to work a day in his life. She says, it’s not his fault he was born rich, and Curtis says, no, it’s not his fault. But he’s learned this; people with too much free time and money, tend to get into a lot of trouble.

Eddie/Ned says, his beautiful date. Marshall’s right about one thing, but does Olivia think this is a date? She says, he’s giving them free drinks. She doesn’t see why not. N’neka sets down their drinks, saying, compliments of The Savoy, and they thank her. Eddie asks what they should toast to, and Olivia says, to Marshall’s challenge. He finishes the song, and comes back and sings it here next week. He says, why not? and they clink glasses.

Portia tells Marhsall that she heard Miss Wu was sniffing around. Something about buying the club. He says, she can sniff all she wants; it’s not for sale. Curtis built this place from the ground up, and he’s not going to let Selina Wu swoop in and take it.

Trina says, Spencer’s not like that. Curtis should see him with Ace; he’s amazing. Curtis says, her mom told him that Ace is always going to be part of the equation. Is she sure she’s ready to take on a child at this point in her life? And how is Spencer going to cope if Esme decides to take Ace and leave town? How is Trina dealing with Esme after all the torture Esme put her through? Trina says she doesn’t know. There’s a lot she doesn’t know, but she does know, they don’t know what the future holds. (That’s a lot of knows.) Curtis says, true dat. Look at him. Think about Epiphany. Sometimes you just got to live in the moment. She asks what he thinks. Is this her moment?

Dex tells Sonny, his impression is, Pikeman is a very efficient operation. They have legit government contracts, but obviously have a parallel operation going. Maybe it operates through a rogue offshoot. Hume seemed surprised when Sonny suggested he consider somebody on the inside, but as far as Pikeman itself, it wouldn’t make sense for them to jeopardize everything to leak to the Feds everything about their deal with Sonny. And he agrees with Sonny. It wasn’t one of Sonny’s men. Sonny says, damn. Turn Dex on and he just goes. Thanks for the insight. Here’s the thing. The Feds arrested him on false information; false information he planted. The thing he doesn’t know is the timing of, or the extent, of the FBI investigation. Do the Feds already know they made a move with Pikeman? Or are the Feds going by what they’ve already put out there? Dex says, with all due respect, he thinks the safest option is to cut ties with Pikeman, but Sonny says, that’s a problem because Pikeman isn’t taking no for an answer. So what he did tonight was buy time. Now he has to figure out how to move forward.

Cody tells Dante, they can’t rely on Mac’s good will to beat this. He still has to uphold the law. Sam suggests they give her and Dante 24 hours to see what they can dig up, and Dante agrees. He says, they’ll go back to Port Charles, while Sasha and Cody stay here. They do have to turn themselves in at some point, but that’s not now. Sam says, they’ll be in touch tomorrow, and Cody says, he can’t thank them enough. Sasha says, thank you so much, and Sam says she only did what she thought was right. Dante tells Cody that he’s sorry… but Cody says, Dante, as always, is the rock who kept him on the straight and narrow. He thanks them both for everything, and they leave. Sasha says she can’t believe what Sam and Dante are doing for them, and Cody says, they believe in Sasha; so does he. She says she guesses all they can do now is wait and see what they turn up, and he says, they do have one other option. She says, which is? and he says, they could just disappear.

Anna asks if there was anything on the tape, but Valentin says, there was nothing there. She asks how that’s possible; there’s cameras everywhere. He says, the footage from this floor was missing, and she says, okay. So someone forged a keycard to get in here and then they wiped the surveillance tape? So they could ransack a room, destroy her clothes, and write an intimidating message on the mirror. Charlotte says, the front desk wants to speak to Valentin, and Anna says, let her deal with that. He should just take Charlotte back to Dante. He says, he’ll call her when he’s on the way back, and Anna thanks Charlotte, taking the phone. Valentin and Charlotte leave, as Anna asks if they were able to find another suite… That’s perfect. That will be fine. Valentin closes the door, and in the hallway, Charlotte says, ready, papa? but Valentin just looks at her.

Back on the computer in Olivia’s office, Nina brings up the footage again. We see Charlotte approach the door and look around. She slips in a keycard, goes in, and closes the door. Nina says, oh, Charlotte. What have you done?

Smelled that one coming.

Tomorrow, Tracy says, Brook should be thanking her; Felicia says, Cody is full of surprises; and Valentin asks what Charlotte did today.

🥀 Tributes and Remembrances…

His colleagues.

His mom. So sad.

👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨 In Happier News…

It’s a shame they had no scenes together, but there’s always another day. IMO, she’s the only one who’s had real chemistry with Roger Howarth.

☃️ At the Chalet…

I was starting to think there were no romantic holiday movies without Ryan Paevey in them.

🗽 New York Minute Or Two…

This week’s RHONY. Still not loving them. Except Jenna. Jenna’s cool.

🧂 Some Salt For the Table…

This week’s RHOSL. Heather gets less pleasant with every episode.

🍊 She Tried To Be Quiet…

She could possibly have been in shock, but how did they justify her being hurt, yet being caught while she was walking her dog?

https://people.com/real-housewives-of-orange-county-shannon-storms-beador-arrested-alleged-dui-hit-and-run-7971129

🐉 Enter the Dragon…

Maybe I’ll give this another go when Season 2 roles around.

☠️ Advocating For Piece…

You don’t have to love or even know about the anime. I saw a giant fish in the trailer and said, I’m game. One of the better choices I’ve made. Like Pirates of the Caribbean, but better.

https://www.avclub.com/one-piece-review-tv-netflix-live-action-adaptation-1850804738

⚔️ Maintaining Parameters…

Slide into this blog tomorrow for soap and throwing stones at the glass houses of the OC. Until then, stay safe, stay never double-dipping at a party, and stay knowing that you don’t know what the future holds. Sometimes you just got to live in the moment.

September 18, 2023 – Valentin Gets a Shock From the Security Footage, Sad Farewell, Just the Same, Popular On Deck, Least Favorites, Not So Bizarre, Wrong Turn & Endless

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Anna looks at the writing on the bathroom mirror, when Valentin comes in and touches her shoulder. Startled, she turns around.

On the phone, Nina says, the minute Gladys gets this message, she wants an update. Call her. Does she understand? She’s Sasha’s guardian. Gladys is supposed to be giving her any updates on Sasha. Call her. Lucy comes in and says, that’s why she’s here. She needs to know exactly what’s going on with Sasha.

Blair puts her hand on Martin’s shoulder and leans down, saying, hello sweetheart, and kissing him on the cheek. She asks if he isn’t going to be a gentleman and invite her to have a seat. She sits and says, don’t mind if I do. Thank you.

Elizabeth says, the patients don’t know how lucky they are to have Stella’s help, and Stella says she’s the lucky one. At her age to have the most fulfilling job of her life? It’s pretty special. Looking at Stella’s paperwork, Elizabeth says, six out of these eleven patients have the same doctor, and Stella says, you always want the best doctor you can get, and sometimes these complicated cases take the total focus of the doctors, and the patients can be a little intimidated by some of the doctors. Elizabeth wonders if she means they don’t ask all the questions they want the answers to, and Stella says, that’s where she comes in. Hopefully, she gives them the answers they need. She can see that Dr. Bronson has to deal with all kinds of neurological complications and incurable conditions. Elizabeth says, like ALS.

Gregory walks into Alexis’s office as Esme slams a folder onto Alexis’s desk. He asks if everything is all right, and she says, yes. She was just arranging some things for Alexis. He says, good luck with that. She has her own very random system of order. Does Esme need his help? Esme says, no, thank you. Is there anything she can help him with? He says, Alexis left a message that she’d be here for a while. He was hoping to catch her. It’s late. Shouldn’t Esme be getting home? Esme says, that’s why she was finding more work to do. She doesn’t exactly want to go home yet.

Chase goes into his apartment, and says he’s got Brook’s favorite. He sees her holding her head, and asks, what is it? She says she got fired, and he says, what? But Maxie was in such high spirits when she came over earlier today. Brook says, she was just too nice to involve him, and he says he’s so sorry. She says she’s not even upset about the job. She’s upset because she lost her best friend.

Walking down the hall with Alexis, Finn says he hopes Molly and Kristina can work through their problem. She says, he figured it was the two of them, huh? and he says he just got the impression it wasn’t Sam. She says, true. The two of them are driving her crazy, but she knows she needs to let them work it out on their own. He didn’t share. Is he okay? He says he’s just trying to honor his father’s wishes, and she says she admires that. He says his dad wants them to go on like everything’s normal, and she asks if Gregory told Chase, but Finn says, no, he didn’t.

Valentin and Anna walk back to the living room area, and Valentin says, whoever got in here… She says, was trying to get to her. Well, it’s working.

Blair wonders if Martin wasn’t even going to say hello, but he says he didn’t see her. She says, he saw her, all right, and Trish comes by. Martin asks if he could please have… Blair tells her to bring him another drink, and she’ll have what she was having over there before, please. Trish leaves, and Martin asks what Blair is doing here. She says, if she didn’t know better, she’d think he wasn’t happy to see her, and he says he’s not. Nor is he happy with her meeting with the likes of Tracy Quartermaine, of all people. Blair says she thought he didn’t see her, and he says he might have caught a glimpse. She says, but he was distracted by his friend, the gorgeous brunette. He didn’t want to introduce her to ex-wife #3? Blair would love to meet her. Where did she disappear to?

Nina says, if Lucy is looking for Olivia… but Lucy says she’s not; she’s looking for Nina. She spoke with Nina’s assistant who said she was here. She just needs to ask Nina something. Martin is down in the lobby waiting and she doesn’t have a lot of time. Just please tell her about Sasha. Nina says, as Lucy clearly heard when she barged into the office, she left word for Gladys to give her an update when she hears anything. Lucy says she doesn’t have time to wait. She needs to know what’s happening with Sasha right now.

Chase asks, what happened with Maxie? and Brook says she was trying to convince herself there was something she could do to make it right, but Maxie made it perfectly clear that there is nothing she can do to make up for it. He says he takes it that Maxie found out Tracy got the information about The Deceptor from her, and she says, yeah. Deep down, she knew they would. Maxie could lose her livelihood. She just moved; she’s got three kids she’s got to support. He says, the case hasn’t been settled yet, and she says, but it doesn’t look good and it’s all her fault. And now she’s getting exactly what she deserves. Maxie hates her.

Alexis says, Gregory told her that he was going to Chase’s apartment the other day to tell him, but Finn says, he changed his mind. Chase called him this morning asking about a new baseball glove for Violet. He doesn’t know. It’s not going to be easy for either one of them when his father finally does tell Chase. Alexis says, it’s not easy for anyone, and it’s certainly not easy for Finn. Finn says, all he’s wanted to do since his father told him is help him. He’s been researching ALS day and night. What he’d really like to do is talk to Dr. Bronson about his case. She says, but he can’t do that, can he? and he says, it’s his dad’s illness, so legally and ethically, he has to get his permission. He’s concerned bringing it up right now will just upset him more. She says, he and Dr. Bronson are both doctors. She’s sure he would understand and share with Finn what he could, but Finn says, doctors don’t really like that, and he doesn’t want to go behind his father’s back. She says, he’s right; it was a terrible idea. He says, they’ll be at a point where his father won’t be able to walk anymore; he won’t be able to speak. But it’s still up to him when and how much he wants Finn to be involved.

Gregory asks Esme why she wouldn’t want to go home to that adorable son of hers, and she says, it’s not Ace she’s avoiding; it’s Spencer. But she doesn’t want to bother him with her problems. He says, she’s not bothering him, and she says, it’s just that she and Spencer have been spending a lot of time together taking care of Ace, and she thought everything was going really well. Spencer adores his little brother, and Ace lights up every time Spencer walks in the room. It felt like for the first time in her life she knew what it was like to be part of a family. He says, sounds like a good start to him, and she says, until she overheard Spencer talking to Alexis about going out of town for the weekend with his girlfriend Trina. He asked Alexis to check up on her, and in spite of what she thought, it’s very clear Spencer doesn’t trust her. So much for family.

Marshall comes into the hospital and tells Stella that they need to talk. She says she’s a little busy, but he says, it’s important. Elizabeth says, Stella is overdue for a break, and Stella thanks her, leaving for a more private spot with Marshall. She asks if everything is good with Curtis, and he says, at least for now. She asks, what’s that supposed to mean? and he says, Curtis is thinking of selling The Savoy. She tells him, bite your tongue. That will be the death of him.

Valentin says, they were sloppy this time, and Anna says, this seems very deliberate to her. It seems very personal. She just bought this. She picks up a white shirt streaked with red, and says she bought it because she doesn’t have any clothes because they burned up in the fire. She’s only worn this one time. She doesn’t even like it, and the only reason it’s ruined is… He says, because it’s hers? and she says, because it’s hers. His stuff isn’t here. It makes her think, whoever’s doing this wants one thing. They want to leave her with nothing. He says, and then what? It’s more than that. The message in the bathroom: You think you’re safe, but you’re not. It’s a direct threat.

Martin tells Blair, that woman who was just here? They just met. He’s not even sure he remembers her name. Blair clinks her glass against his, and says, Lucy Coe. Lucy owns Deception, the cosmetics company, just like her. Some people might even consider them rivals. But she hears on the street that Lucy’s company’s not doing that well. He says, let him guess. A little bird named Tracy Quartermaine told her that. She says, possibly, and he says, enough is enough. What exactly is she doing here with Tracy tonight? She says, he’s an intelligent man. She’s sure he can figure it out.

Nina says, all they know for sure is, apparently Cody Bell took Sasha out of Ferncliff, and Lucy asks how he managed that. Nina says, he got checked in as a patient, and Lucy says, Cody’s not crazy. Nina says, no, he’s not crazy, but he convinced someone he needs help, and he’s on the verge of being charged with kidnapping. Lucy says, there is no way that Cody kidnapped Sasha.

Chase says, Maxie may be angry, but once she has time to think it through… Brook says, think what through? She betrayed Maxie, Lucy, and Sasha. He says, she made a mistake, and he knows for a fact Maxie has made mistakes in the past. And they know Tracy and what she’s capable of. They’ll understand the pressure Brook was under. Brook says, that’s the part she feels the worst about. Letting Tracy blackmail her because she was too afraid of him finding out the truth. She should have trusted him enough to tell him the truth himself. He says, it’s too late for that, gets up, and goes into the other room.

Alexis says, Finn’s a good son, and she knows it’s even harder for him to let his father handle his own medical decisions because he’s a doctor. He says, between the two of them, it’s tearing him up inside, but he has to admit and accept his limitations. She says, good luck with that. It doesn’t always work out so well for her. He says, his father is lucky to have her in his life, and she says she’s lucky to have him in hers. She’s just trying to keep things as normal as possible because he said he wanted to maintain a normal life for as long as he could. Finn says, it’s not easy to go along with, is it? and she says she thinks they all have their own unique ways of imagining how they’re going to deal with the… He says, the transition? and she says she hated that word when people used to substitute that for dying. And now, she thinks it’s really appropriate. She doesn’t know if it’s going to make things any better or not, but he’s not alone. They’re in this together. She takes his hand, and he says, it means a lot.

Gregory tells Esme, sometimes, even family can let you down, but they will almost always be there for you when you really need them. The bonds of family don’t easily break. Esme says she realizes she was this horrible person before, but she’s trying really hard to make a new beginning. She wants to be the best receptionist, and more important, she wants to be the best mom she can be for Ace, and she’s trying really hard to build a new relationship with Spencer based on respect, because he is Ace’s big brother. But what’s the point, because Spencer only sees her as the person she was, not who she is now. Just like everybody else. Gregory says, if it means anything, Alexis had her doubts, but she sees Esme for who she is now. And so does he. Is it okay if he gives her a little advice? She says, anything, please, and he says, sometimes when you only look at the big picture, it can be really frustrating and infuriating. So try to focus on the short term. Maybe the one thing that happened today that made her smile. She asks if that works for him.

Stella tells Marshall, Curtis can’t sell The Savoy. He’s so proud of that club. It keeps him motivated; it inspires him. He says, she’s right about that, and she says, that’s more important than ever for him to keep fighting to recover. He’s got friends and co-workers there. Didn’t he go back to work? Marshall says, he did, and you can see how he is at the club, the way he interacts with all the people. It’s like he has his finger on the pulse of Port Charles. Stella says, it sounds like exactly what he needs to keep fighting to recover. Why on earth would he want to sell? Marshall says, he may have gotten an offer he can’t refuse.

Anna asks if Valentin doesn’t think someone who’s burned down her house and broken in here has had ample opportunity to kill her already. He tells her that he’s not saying someone doesn’t enjoy torturing her a little bit, but she knows that message in the bathroom is a threat. She says she knows that, but this doesn’t look like someone who works for Pikeman or the WSB, and he says, okay. So it’s not professional looking, but burning her house down? Taking a shot at her at the MetroCourt pool? Now this? This is not a coincidence. She says, okay, and he says he’s not taking any chances. They hug, and she gets an odd look on her face.

Martin says, Blair gave Tracy the rights and copyright on her attempts to develop a beauty wand, but Blair says she gave Tracy absolutely nothing. However, she did pay a very handsome sum for those rights. He’s a lawyer. He knows by only owning those rights Tracy could file suit against Lucy and Deception. He says, the fact that Blair would do something like that, with someone like that, to hurt someone like Lucy Coe? Shame on her. That is just vile. She says, no. What is vile is him whispering her original idea into his girlfriend’s ear and making her think it was her idea just to get her in his bed. He says, that’s not what happened, and anyway, Lucy’s product actually works. Hers never did. She says, Lucy would have never even gotten it off the ground if it hadn’t been an idea he stole from her. You know what, buddy? It’s going to cost you big time.

Lucy tells Nina that Sasha didn’t want to admit it, but she thinks Cody cares for Sasha much more than just as a friend. He did come to her rescue when she had that problem at the Home & Heart show. Nina says, that was a terrible trick somebody played on her, and Lucy says, it was so cruel, but she did handle it. Sasha was okay, and Cody was there for her then too. She just wondered if maybe he feels like he’s rescuing her by breaking her out of Ferncliff; he’s coming to her aid. She’s really worried about Sasha, but Deception is also in a very precarious position right now, and she needs to know if Sasha is coming back. If she’s not able to come back, Lucy simply has to replace her as soon as possible.

Elizabeth sees Finn at the reception desk, but then goes to the computer. He says, she was coming over to say hello, then took a detour to the computer, and she says, actually, she wasn’t going to say hello. She was going to tell him something; now she’s not. She’s not sure it’s a good idea. He says, now she has to tell him, and she says, okay, but first, she recognizes this isn’t her place. TJ told her about an incident he had with Dr. Bronson, and then Stella was just telling her about some of her patients. It only confirmed what she’s been feeling since she took over as head nurse. He asks, what’s going on? and she says she doesn’t think Dr. Bronson is the right doctor for his dad.

Chase makes a drink, and Brook says, too late for what? For them? He says, no. Too late for her regret in not telling him. Because she did. She shared everything with him. She says, he’s so understanding, and he says, she did what she did because she was desperate for him to get his job back. He loves her for that. He loves her for so many reasons, but doesn’t want to spend time just rehashing the past. She says she knows everything is going to turn out all right as long as she has him by her side. She just hates what she did to her friends. He says he doesn’t understand. How could her grandmother put her in that position? She knew how close Brook was to Maxie, yet she still made Brook feel like she had to betray her best friend. Who would do that to their granddaughter?

Alexis approaches her office door and stops, hearing Gregory say, actually, it has been working for him. He finds if he focuses on a good thing during the day that happened, big or small, it makes a difference in his outlook. Esme says, what about today? and he says, today was really special. Today he tried lavender ice cream for the first time. It was amazing. He can’t believe what he’s been missing out on. (My stomach turns at the thought, but to each his own.) Outside, Alexis smiles, and Gregory asks, what about Esme? She says, that’s easy. Today, after Ace burped, he gave her the biggest smile. She could tell he thought it was funny, and it made her think how lucky she is to be his mom. He says, that sounds even better than his lavender ice cream. Why doesn’t she get home to Ace? He thinks he can handle rearranging her boss’s desk. She thanks him, when Alexis walks in, and Esme says, she’s back. Gregory falters a little, and Alexis runs over to him, asking if he’s okay.

Valentin asks if Anna will be okay on her own, and she asks where he’s going. He says he’s going to check the security footage and see if they can identify who did this, and she asks if he doesn’t think a professional would know there’s security cameras on every floor. They would have disabled them, or at least hidden their identity as best they can. He says, they’re going to find out. In the meantime, she can call the police and have them meet her here. She says, maybe forensics will find something, and he says, they’re going to find who did this and they’re going to stop them. He leaves.

Martin asks what Blair thinks this is going to cost him. Lucy’s the one being sued by Tracy Quartermaine. She says, and she’s the one paying him $50,000 a month in alimony, and he says, if she didn’t want to pay, maybe she shouldn’t have spent so much time jumping in and out of the sack with David Vickers. (Hey! I remember him!) She wasn’t exactly discreet. As he recalls, she was caught in flagrante. She says, because he hired that stupid detective, but he says, that had nothing to do with the money. That was because that sweet Southern judge thought $50,000 was adequate and reasonable compensation for his pain and suffering. She says, he’s just suffering so much with Lucy Coe, and he says, she’s definitely what he’d call a step up. She tells him, Tracy says he’s really hooked on her, so when Lucy loses Deception – and she will – he’ll have no choice but to make her wife #4. Marry Lucy, and when that happens, she won’t have to pay him another single dime.

Stella says, what is this Godfather talk? and Marshall says, a prominent businesswoman named Selina Wu offered Curtis a lot of money. Stella says, and he wants to sell? but Marshall says he’s not sure. But she’s trying to convince him that in his current condition, it would be too difficult for him to run the club. She says, too difficult because he’s in a wheelchair? These people make her crazy when they automatically assume anyone with a disability is incapable of holding down a job. If they saw a fraction of the grit and bravery she sees people display every day, they’d be ashamed of themselves. He says, as well they should. He knows what she does here is very important to the doctors and to the patients. He’s hoping that maybe she can find a way to lift Curtis up the way she does her patients. She says she’s going to do her best. Curits needs that club. It’s his lifeline to get out of the house. Marshall says, make him feel like he’s doing something worthy. His son can’t lose that club.

Esme asks if Gregory is all right, and he says he’s fine. Alexis says, it’s her fault. It’s that corner rug; it keeps coming up. They’ve got to get maintenance to look at that and tape it down. She thanks Esme for staying late. She’s sure her son needs his mom, and she’ll see Esme in the morning. Esme thanks Gregory again, and leaves. Alexis closes the door, and he asks how much she heard. She says, enough to know he lifted Esme’s spirits when she needed it.

Finn asks if Elizabeth is accusing Dr. Bronson of something, but she says, no. She thinks he’s a great neurologist. He says, okay. Tell him what she really thinks. She says she thinks diagnostically, there’s no one better than Dr. Bronson, but there are things that happen, or should happen, after the diagnosis… in her opinion. He says, that’s what he wants to hear, her opinion, and she says she can only compare him to Finn and some of the other specialists they have here. He says, all the nurses make fun of his bedside manner, and she says, and they still think he’s an amazing doctor because he’s responsive to his patients. He listens to them, he answers their questions, he treats them with respect. He doesn’t just diagnose, then follow standard procedure either. Dr. Bronson does. He says, and she thinks that’s how Dr. Bronson is treating his father? and she says, he diagnosed ALS. His main focus is treating the ALS by the book, rather than treating Gregory, the patient.

Nina says, let her get this straight. Lucy’s concern for Sasha is, what Sasha is going through might cost her money? Lucy says, no. Of course (🍷) not. She adores Sasha. Everybody does, but Nina is a businesswoman. She knows they can’t just be responsible for their own personal feelings. She’s responsible for employees; they could lose their jobs. The whole company. The timing of Sasha’s predicament is really bad, because Tracy is coming after them, and they could lose absolutely everything. Nina opens the door and says she thinks it’s time for Lucy to leave. Lucy says, what? and Nina says, Lucy heard her, as Valentin comes around the door. He knocks and says he could use Nina’s help, but Lucy says, no, wait. They’re not finished with their conversation. Nina says, their conversation is over. Goodbye, Lucy. Lucy says, wow, okay, and gives Valentin a look as she passes him. He goes into Nina’s office, closing the door, and says he can explain everything, but right now, he needs to show him all the security footage she has for the hallway outside of Anna’s hotel suite.

Gregory tells Alexis that he’s glad he could help Esme. She’s dealing with a lot. Alexis says, she’s not the only one, and he says, she’s young. Her life is just beginning. She says, and his is not over. She thought he was going to tell Chase that he has ALS. He says he was, and he went to Chase’s apartment with every intention of doing just that. But Brook had just moved in and the two of them seemed so very happy. He just couldn’t ruin it.

Elizabeth says, Finn doesn’t seem surprised, and he says he’s not. He had the same reservations about Dr. Bronson. He thought maybe because Dr. Bronson was treating his father, he was too close to be objective. She says she is being objective. And she’s not saying Dr. Bronson isn’t a good doctor for certain people, but his dad… Finn says, is dying, and he needs a more compassionate kind of care, and she says, yeah. He says, the problem is, his father chose Dr. Bronson, and he can’t just step in now and start dictating treatment. She says, Finn is an excellent doctor with exceptional experience. This is his lane. And she thinks his dad would feel reassured and supported by his opinions. Finn wouldn’t be telling him what to do. He’d just be offering his father an alternative.

Brook says, Chase must have been in town long enough to have heard the infamous stories of the Quartermaines bickering and backstabbing. Chase says, all the stories can’t be true, and she says she never wanted to believe they were either. She’s done her fair share of conniving and deceiving her family, but she really thought they were in a good place; that they could really count on each other. Now her dad thinks he’s someone else, and her grandmother… She’s always been calculating and tough. Brook actually admired her for it. But now she realizes, Tracy is deliberately destructive. Tracy is taking down Deception because she can, and she helped Tracy do it. Chase has no idea how lucky he is to come from a family that’s open and honest with each other.

Martin asks, what the hell is Blair talking about? and she says, follow the breadcrumbs, Marty. She won’t hesitate to talk to Lucy and tell her that he stole The Deceptor idea from her and gave it to Lucy. Then she’ll lose everything. Then, being angry and broke, Lucy will have no choice but to sue him, and she’ll be Lucy’s star witness. So she thinks him losing 50 grand a month is a small price to pay. Doesn’t he? He won’t lose Lucy and he won’t lose the rest of his money. Think about it, okay? She gets up, and stands behind him, kissing his cheek again. She says, it’s so nice to see him, and leaves. He sees Lucy in the hallway, messing with her phone, and runs over to her. He gives her a passionate embrace and kisses her, turning her so she can’t see Blair. At the elevator, Blair leans over and watches.

Nina says she can pull up the security footage from Olivia’s computer, but first, Valentin needs to tell her what’s going on. Is Anna okay? He says, no, she’s not okay. Someone broke into her hotel suite while they were at dinner tonight. There was a threatening message written on the bathroom mirror, her room was ransacked, and her clothes were strewn all over the place covered with red ink. Nina says, oh my God, and gets on the computer. She says, that would be the latest security footage from tonight, and he says, in the last two, three hours. She says she’s so sorry. She thought Anna would be okay here. He says he was hoping so too. Now he just wants to know who did this.

Anna looks at the message on the mirror again, focusing on: You think you’re safe. You’re not. She flashes back to the shooting at the pool and walking into her burning house.

Brook gets in the elevator after taking a last look, and Lucy says, wow. She doesn’t know what that was for, but Martin almost made her forget all her problems. They walk back into the restaurant, and he says, that’s what I’m here for, darlin’.

Gregory tells Alexis, it felt really good just now with Esme. To be able to lift someone’s spirits instead of depress them. She says, he does not depress anyone. To the contrary. He brings joy and happiness into many people’s lives, including his sons and yours truly. And his work here is invaluable. He says, take advantage of him for as long as she can, and she says she intends to. How is he feeling? He says, she saw. More unsteady more often. Dr. Bronson has made it clear he’s deteriorating rapidly, but he has every intention of living the best life he can for as long as he can. She says, good, and he says, but there’s something she needs to know. She says, of course (🍷), and he asks if she’s ever tried lavender ice cream. She says, yum, and he laughs.

Finn tells Elizabeth that he’ll talk to his dad about his treatment. Hopefully, he won’t be too resistant to sharing information. She says, then he can just take it from there, and he says, in the meantime, he’ll research some neurologists in the surrounding area and New York City. He has some colleagues who should be able to give him some good names. That way, when he talks to his father, he’ll have some alternatives. Elizabeth says, if he needs help with the research, she’s here, and he says he’s counting on it. He thanks her for giving him the push he needed.

Chase tells Brook that his family hasn’t always been open and honest. Growing up, Finn wasn’t around. She says, they worked that out, and he says, yeah. He’s glad they did. Because of all the time they missed, he feels like the time they have now is even more special. He never would have thought his father, his brother, and himself having a tea party with Violet would be the highlight of his week. She says she feels the same way about spending time with her dad and Leo, and he says, and now, he won’t just have his family together; he’ll have her too. She says she’s pretty lucky too, and they kiss.

Marshall says he’s so glad Stella is back in town doing the work she loves at this hospital. She says she didn’t mind being a jetsetter for a while, but she did miss her family and this job. He asks if they’re working her to death, and she says, it’s fine, but it will be nice to not be alone. Felicia Scorpio is joining their staff, and she has the feeling Felicia’s got the fire to make a difference. Marshall says, it’s not surprising Stella would be attracted to someone with the fire, because she is the original firecracker. It’s good to have her back, and the family are closer together. She says, he didn’t always feel that way, but he says, it’s water under the bridge. He lost Irene, and somehow it feels like she’s still a part of them, especially with Curtis and Trina and her. She says, they’re lucky to have the family they have, and he says, yeah, they are. So they’re going to keep this together. She can talk to Curtis about the club, and he thinks between the two of them, they’ll be able to set him straight and keep him from making a mistake he’ll live to regret. She says, yes.

Anna continues to stare at the message, and finally walks away.

Nina tells Valentin that she was able to pull up the footage. He said the last three hours? He says, maximum, and she says she’ll fast forward. He frowns at the screen.

Anna comes out to the living room, and flashes back to asking Valentin why he’s involved with Sonny, and who is the third party? He says, a defense contractor… Pikeman.

Valentin tells Nina, wait. Go back. She says she didn’t see anything, but he says, just go back. She does, and he frowns again.

Anna surveys the mess, and flashes back to Dante telling her that Valentin withheld the truth from her. When she told Valentin what she knew, he had no choice but to come clean. They don’t have to call it a lie if she doesn’t want to, but they both know he did lie about where he was the night of the fire. She picks up her phone and makes a call. She says she’d like to report a break-in.

Valentin asks Nina to go back again and freeze it. They both look astonished, and she says, oh my God. It can’t be.

Tomorrow, Sasha says, they have to stop this before it gets any worse; Eddie/Ned says he might just take Olivia up on that; Valentin asks Nina, please do not show this to anyone else; and Sonny tells Dex, don’t be too sure about that.

🥀 Way Too Young…

It was so sad to hear this.

https://people.com/billy-miller-soap-opera-general-hospital-the-young-and-the-restless-dead-at-43-7970876

🧂It Used To…

This show was promising in the first season, then just slid into the usual Housewives screeching and finger pointing.

Yachtie Come Back…

Ileisha is the only (real) chef who never threw a temper tantrum. Major kudos. But where is Kate on this list?

👠 Andy’s Hate List…

Carole’s not entirely wrong, and how dare Kenya get married and pregnant off-air? #TeamTwirl

📱 I saw a headline in OK Magazine  that said: Bizarre Behavior: Britney Spears posts whatever she wants on social media without thinking of the consequences. Apparently, whoever wrote that has never been on social media if they think it’s bizarre behavior.

🐻 Looking For a Pic-A-Nic Basket…

Apparently, it’s an even smaller world than they thought.

https://ew.com/amusement-parks/wild-bear-magic-kingdom-disney-world-ride-closures/

🤺 Main Character Energy…

Make a pit stop tomorrow for some soap and tea for two or more. Until then, stay safe, stay always picking up after your dog, and stay focusing on a good thing during the day that happened, big or small. It makes a difference in your outlook.

September 15, 2023 – Tracy Meets Ex-Wife #3, An Idea, A Tease, Blairversary, A Return, InstaRoger, Friends, The Problem, Spiraling, VanderAwful, Kick-Off, The Other Holiday, Canine Takedown, Quotes Of 10 & Love

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

A woman walks into the MetroCourt, and goes to Tracy’s table. Tracy says, Blair Cramer from OLTL, what a pleasure to meet you. They shake hands, and Tracy thanks Blair for joining her. She so much prefers doing business in person. Blair says, as do I. And this evening’s business is claiming what’s hers. Coming in with Lucy, Martin sees Blair and says, God, not her.

Esme tells Alexis that she has a call scheduled with the board at 5:30 and after that, she’s free. Alexis thanks her, and Esme says she just sent Alexis the cutest picture of Ace. She leaves, and Alexis looks at a photo of Spencer and Ace in the pool on her phone. She leaves a message for Gregory,  telling him that she’s going to be in the office for another hour, so stop by or call if he needs her. Spencer walks in and says he needs her. Does she have time for a fellow Cassadine?

Trina walks into an unorganized dorm room and says, Josslyn has made so much progress with moving in. Josslyn apologizes and says she had every intention of unpacking. It’s just that Dex came over, and they got a little distracted. Trina asks, how distracted?

Carly walks in to find Ava in her living room and asks what she’s doing here. Ava says she dropped Avery off; she’s upstairs with Donna and Pilar. Carly says, Avery’s welcome any time, but she didn’t have her on the schedule for tonight. Ava says she hopes it’s okay for her to stay. She has a late dinner with clients, collectors. She couldn’t say no. Carly says she has a hard time believing Ava, of all people, has a hard time saying no. So give it up. What has she done this time?

Austin goes into the unfamiliar house, and Nikolas says he’s just in time. Austin says, just in time for what? and Nikolas tells him, to say goodbye.

Anna and Valentin are seated on the MetroCourt terrace, and Trish gives them menus. She hands Anna an envelope and says, Detective Falconari left this for her. Anna opens it and sees a passenger manifest for flight 15303 with Pikeman’s heading. Valentin’s name is circled.

Tracy says, what Blair means is, what was hers is now Tracy’s, because she paid dearly for it. Blair says, yes, Tracy did, but she’s still due her final deal point, and Tracy says, it will come soon enough. Blair says, it better, because her ex is bleeding her dry, and the sooner he remarries, the better. Tracy says, as soon as Deception is hers, Lucy Coe will be flat broke. She’ll be hounding Blair’s ex relentlessly until he makes her Mrs. Martin Grey. Blair says, that works for her.

Martin tries to dash out, but Lucy says, they have to eat something. He says, there’s a swell table with their names on it over at the PC Grill, but she says, no. Is it because of Tracy? She is not afraid of Tracy Quartermaine. Never have been; never will be.

Alexis says she always has time for Spencer, kissing him on the cheek. What’s he got there? He says, this is his future, handing her some papers. It’s been over six months since his father disappeared, and as expected, the Cassadine attorneys have been in touch. She says, and full control of the Cassadine estate goes to the heir, and that would be him. He says, that’s right. They want to get the ball rolling. They want to give him full control. Quite frankly, he doesn’t understand what any of this legalese means, but he was hoping she’d be able to translate. She says she can translate. Come with her; they’ll see what’s what. She goes to her desk, and Spencer sits down.

Trina says, Josslyn and Dex are too much. Josslyn was never like this with Cam. Josslyn says, that was a different relationship, and Trina says, it seems they can’t keep their hands off one another. Josslyn says she knows, and Trina asks if they were always like this, but Josslyn says, not always. She thinks she was attracted to him from the beginning, even though she didn’t want to admit it. Now they’re together, and the more time they spend together, the better everything else is. Trina says she has to ask. Was Josslyn nervous the first time she was with Dex? Josslyn wonders why she’s asking.

Ava says she doesn’t know what Carly is talking about. She’s done nothing. Carly says, she did something that handed Austin and his cousin leverage over her, and Ava says, Carly thinks just because she’s asking her to watch Avery, there’s some nefarious connection to Austin and the creep? Carly says, this is the second time Ava has dropped Avery off unexpectedly, and Ava asks if Carly would prefer she took Avery and left. Carly says, this has nothing to do with Avery, and Ava knows it. Whatever’s going on, Ava’s in it up to her neck, and it’s something only Sonny can get her out of, so what is it? Carly just came back from Pentenville, visiting Drew. She and Sonny went there to ask for his help. Sonny wants him to find out who Ava’s friend Austin visited while he was there. Ava says, Austin did what?

Austin says, Ava is going to be so happy to find out Nikolas is alive when he gets back to Port Charles, but Nikolas says he’s not going to Port Charles. Austin asks what he means, and Nikolas says he can’t go back to Port Charles or let anyone know he’s alive before he ties up some loose ends. Austin asks, where are his loose ends if they’re not in Port Charles? Nikolas says, in Europe. He leaves in a few hours.

Valentin asks if Anna is getting notes from other men. Should he be jealous? She says, it’s more than a note, and he says he’s intrigued. What does Dante have to say? She tells him, read it for himself, handing him the manifest, and says, is it true?

Blair tells Tracy that she’ll always have a soft spot in her heart for Marty, but having to pay him 50 grand a month in alimony is really putting a crimp in her budget. On top of it, her youngest is in college, and her Jack – Jack is her problem child – Jack’s problems only seem to be solved with money. Tracy says, adorable. Rest assured, she has everything under control. Blair says she’s sure Tracy does. So how did it go in court? Tracy says she was a little concerned at first. Intellectual property theft can be difficult to prove, but luckily Blair gave her enough information for the lawyer, and everything went according to plan. And that tidbit about The Deceptor is exactly what she needed to get the judge to look at the case. Blair says, great. She hopes Tracy knows she’s just doing all this to help right a wrong. It’s not really about the money. An injustice was done here. People can’t just steal people’s ideas and make a profit from it. It’s about the people who get cheated out of their piece of the pie and Deception is one huge pie. Tracy says, so her intentions are completely altruistic. She’s doing this for the little people. Blair says, okay. Her motivation might be a little bit selfish, but that’s because The Deceptor was her idea in the first place. She just never got around to finishing it. Knowing her ex the way she does, she knows he’ll do anything to get what he wants. And in this case, it’s Lucy. Mouthy Marty couldn’t help himself. He had to share her design idea just to win her over. Tracy says she wouldn’t call Lucy a win.

Lucy asks Martin, who is that blond bobbed person with Tracy over there? She thinks she’s seen her before. Martin says, this is all sort of a big so what. Is she sure she wouldn’t change her mind about heading over to the Grill? He would surely love some of their crab cakes. She says, no, but she thinks she knows why he wants to leave. It’s because of that horrible, nasty Tracy. It’s enough to make you lose your appetite. But that’s okay; they’re not budging. They’re going to stick around. They’re staying. He says, in that case, he’s going to need a shot of something. Present company and all, he thinks they should just remain calm and order a couple of drinks.

Alexis goes through the paperwork, and tells Spencer, this is a really complicated document. She’s going to need some time with this, so what she’ll do is square things away. She’ll give him some instruction, and then get it back to him by tomorrow night. Is that going to work for him? He says, yes, and she says, he was smart to bring it to her first. He says he appreciates it, and she says she’s happy to do it actually, because… He says he knows. He’s not just talking about the legal document. She’s family and he’s very grateful for her. She says she’s so grateful for him. And for better or worse – and worse when it comes to the Cassadines – they’re family and they have an unbreakable bond. He says, except not where his father is concerned. He pretended to be dead. All of these years, he thought his father had sunk as far as he could, but then he disappeared and abandoned his brother. How does someone walk out on a baby? (Wow. Spencer is seriously out of touch with the world.) She says, his father had no frame of reference when it came to being a father. His own father was a horrible role model. She’s not making excuses for him, but she has a soft spot for him because he’s damaged, and it wasn’t his fault. There is no justification for a parent walking out on their child – never – but she can say with certainty that he loved Spencer. Spencer says, he has an odd way of showing it, but he is glad he has her. She says she’s always here for him, and he says, on that note, he has one more favor he’d like to ask her. She says, okay, as Esme approaches the door, and Spencer says, this one’s about Ace. Esme ducks back.

Austin asks what the hell Nikolas is talking about. He can’t go to Europe. He needs a passport. He needs money. Where did he get these clothes? Nikolas says he has multiple accounts and aliases, and Austin says, of course (🍷) he does. How could he not know that? Nikolas says, it’s just a simple matter of accessing them, and Austin asks, what’s in Europe? Nikolas says, many glorious things, but most important, his mother. She’s there trying to track him down. Austin says, so he’s going to meet his mother, but Nikolas says he has no intention of seeing her. He just needs her to know he’s alive. (So… he doesn’t have a phone?)

Valentin says he’s not going to lie. He hasn’t been totally transparent with Anna. She says she thinks that’s putting it mildly. After he left for Russia, it’s just been one truth after the other surfacing. She finds out he used to work for Pikeman… He says he never worked for them directly. He was an independent contractor. She says, semantics. She just feels that each new layer that gets peeled back, she gets to see who he really is. Like maybe she never knew him. He says he loves her. That’s all she ever needs to know. She says, is it? He’s not answering her question. Is that true? She points to the manifest, and he says, yes. Unfortunately, it is true. The night of the fire, Pikeman summoned him to a meeting in New York; they flew him to Manhattan. She says, that’s not much of a confession; that’s what it says in Dante’s note. He asks what more she wants, and she asks, what the hell was so urgent that he had to fly to New York City in the middle of the night? He says, Pikeman was concerned about Sonny; they still are. They wanted to consult with him. She asks why he lies to her.

Blair says, obviously her motivation in all of this is to stop funding Marty’s lavish lifestyle, and Tracy says, she’s made that abundantly clear. Blair says, 50 grand a month in alimony buys a lot of hummingbird cake, and Tracy says, yes, and she can only imagine what he spends wooing the floozy. Blair says, the gravy train has left the station. Is Tracy sure the judge can keep The Deceptor sales frozen? Tracy says, absolutely, and while they are frozen, Deception’s stock price is plummeting. The company will be essentially worthless by the time Lucy Coe and company see their day in court. Blair says, speaking of court, tell her how it went with Jackson, and Tracy says, great recommendation. Thank you. He did an impeccable job. Blair says, not only is he a very talented lawyer, he’s pretty irresistibly handsome to look at, doesn’t she think? Tracy says she hadn’t noticed, and Blair says she has to be incredibly focused on bringing Lucy Coe down not to notice that. Tracy is out for blood. Tracy says she doesn’t need blood. It’s the piece of her family’s company that she wants from Lucy. She has been using it to ruin her family’s lives for years. And Tracy won’t stop until she gets it.

Martin asks if Lucy doesn’t think the GH softball team is doing suspiciously well. Far be it for him to cast aspersions on the medical profession, but could they be cheating? Lucy says, maybe. Maybe that wouldn’t surprise her at all, because those Quartermaines have their grubby little paws in every aspect of the hospital, and the biggest cheaters are Tracy and her spy granddaughter Brook Lynn. She really did steal confidential and privileged information about The Deceptor. Shame on her. Martin looks so guilty, I laugh.

Josslyn asks if everything is okay with Trina and Spencer, and Trina says, they’re better than ever. It’s just with Curtis and school and the gallery, they hardly see one another. They’re never alone. The last time was the Haunted Star. Trina flashes back to kissing Spencer on the boat and saying, this could be their only chance to be this close again. She tells Josslyn, since then, it’s just been one thing after another. She just wants it to be about her and Spencer, but ever since Greenland, it just hasn’t been right. Josslyn says she’s sure it doesn’t help he’s living with Esme, and Trina says, no, it doesn’t, but she thinks Spencer found a way around that.

As Esme listens outside the door, Alexis asks what Spencer needs for Ace, and he says he and Trina are going to go to New York for a little weekend getaway. Alexis says, that sounds fun, and he says, it will be. He hopes she wouldn’t mind keeping an eye on Esme, and Ace.

Austin says he doesn’t understand this. Why would Nikolas insist on playing dead? Wait a second. He wants his mother to know he’s alive, but he doesn’t want to see her, and in the meantime, Ava is losing her mind thinking she killed him. Nikolas asks why he’s so worried about Ava, and Austin says he has a problem with people feeling guilty for killing people who clearly aren’t really dead. Nikolas says, Ava’s not someone who’s prone to guilt. Austin doesn’t know Ava like he does.

Carly tells Ava, when she was visiting Drew in Pentenville, Austin came in carrying his doctor bag, and she just assumed he was there for a medical reason. Ava asks, what makes her think he wasn’t? and Carly says, because he was actually there to deliver information to his boss, the same information that he stole from Sonny. Ava says, that’s a lot of speculation, even for Carly, but Carly says, they’re way past that. Sonny came to her and Drew for help. Her helping Sonny means she’s helping Ava.

Anna asks why Valentin had to go to New York City. He has a Pikeman contact here in Port Charles. Why didn’t he take a meeting here? Or use the phone? He says, Pikeman didn’t want to risk him being seen with a contact. It was safer to take the meeting outside of the city. Plus, Pikeman and the Sonny deal are fraught subjects for them, so he chose to lie about it. She says, fraught subjects? That’s a little clinical, isn’t it? She’s talking about them, their relationship. She thought maybe they were being honest with each other. He says he’s being honest with her now, and she says, because she’s making him. Would he have ever told her about the Pikeman connection on his own? What else is he keeping from her? He says he loves her. Please don’t do this. She says, he can’t keep saying that because it’s not actually an explanation. Just because he says he loves her, she’s supposed to accept everything that’s going on? That’s not how she felt when Dante told her that he just blatantly lied. She gets up, and he follows, saying, he lied to her because he wanted to keep the relationship with Pikeman separate from her. She asks how that’s working out. She was actually delivering a message from him to Sonny here at the pool when somebody decided to take a shot at her. Or Sonny, or both of them. He says he should never have involved her. He should never have asked her to deliver that message. He’s sorry. That was a mistake. She says, how many more lies and mistakes does he have to tell her about? Has he lied about anything else?

Blair asks why Tracy hates Lucy Coe so much, and Tracy says, because she’s a cockroach that her family has been unable to get rid of since she sunk her claws into Tracy’s brother. Lucy has a crucial 1% of voting rights of her family company. But all of that is about to come to an end, because once she has control of Deception, Lucy Coe will no longer be an issue. Blair says, Tracy has such a distaste for business. She remembers Tracy saying she hoped she never had to utter the letter ELQ again. Tracy says, the things some people remember. Well, it’s not all about her. Don’t get her wrong, she does so enjoy putting the screws to Lucy Coe for all of the chaos Lucy wreaked upon her family. Blair says, now she’s really curious. What did she do besides marry Tracy’s brother? Tracy says, she helped install Valentin Cassadine as CEO of ELQ, but there are other family dynamics at play now, and Blair says, such as?

Martin tells Lucy, maybe it’s much ado about nothing. Maybe the lawsuit won’t hold up in court. She says she wishes that were true, but she really thinks it will. She really thinks this lawsuit has traction, and the person she’s blaming the most is Brook. How could she do it to them? How could Brook steal all the ideas she had to come up with The Deceptor? It’s so galling that they’re making it sound like it wasn’t her idea, when it was, and yes, with a few helpful hints from him. He says, no, no, stop. He’s told her once. He’s told her a thousand times. He had nothing to do with The Deceptor. She says she told him a thousand times, he has to stop. He was right there. They both came up with the idea. He says, they’ll have to agree to disagree. That’s not how he remembers it. Things are complicated enough as they are. There’s no reason to drag him into it. She says, so he’s forgetting their pillow talk. Okay. She came up with the product, but because he suggested it. She never would have come up with the idea for The Deceptor if it wasn’t for him.

Josslyn asks if Spencer is moving out of Laura’s condo and getting his own place, and Trina says she wishes, but Spencer can’t get his own apartment yet. Josslyn asks if they’ve talked about it, and Trina says, it’s come up before, but Spencer can’t leave because of Ace and she totally gets that. He still doesn’t trust Esme. Josslyn says, can she blame him? and Trina says, no, not at all. She gets it. He needs to be there for his brother. That actually makes her like him even more. She loves that he’s there for Ace and puts him first. Josslyn says, it doesn’t bother Trina that the baby’s getting more attention than her? and Trina says she’ll be getting plenty of attention this weekend on their trip. Josslyn says, trip? Explain. Trina says, it’s only a few days. He’s taking her to Manhattan. Josslyn says, traveling together is a huge step, and Trina says she knows. It’ll be their first time alone together, completely away from everybody. Josslyn asks if she’s ready for that, but Trina says, it’s not like she’s rushing into it. They’re both adults, and they’re committed to each other. Josslyn says, of course (🍷), totally. It’s just that sex takes things to a new level. She just wants to make sure Trina’s thought about it. Trina says she’s done nothing but think about it.

While Esme continues to listen, Alexis tells Spencer that she has been keeping an eye on Esme and Ace. She seems to be doing well with him, and reasonably well as a receptionist. Aside from the obvious, why does he think she needs to be supervised? He says, they all know the new and improved Esme, the one who surfaced after claiming she had no memory of anything that happened before she washed up on the Haunted Star. But let’s not forget all of the awful things she did before that. (I’m not saying Esme wasn’t awful, but typical that the man carries zero blame. No offense, but truth.) Alexis says she won’t, but whether she’s faking her memory loss or not, he has to admit, Esme’s good with Ace. He says, she is, but she’s attempted to run away before, and with his grandmother and Doc out of the country looking for his father, he would just feel a lot better knowing Ace was safe. Esme drops the papers she’s holding, and says, uh-oh, acting like she just got there. She tells Alexis, sorry, she forgot to give her this payroll.

Austin says, if anyone is unknown to him, it’s Nikolas. He treated Nikolas as a patient for month. He nursed Nikolas back to health, and he had this agenda. He never even mentioned it. Nikolas says, Austin didn’t save him out of the goodness of his heart; they both know that. Austin says, eh, and Nikolas says, as for his agenda, it’s simple. The Cassadine estate is controlled by a trust. If the current owner of the estate, which happens to be him, disappears for six months, they’re presumed dead and control of the estate automatically passes to the heir. Austin says, who happens to be his son, and Nikolas says, Spencer. Austin says, Nikolas doesn’t like the way the Cassadines arranged things, and Nikolas says he wants to stop it. Austin says he doesn’t blame him, and Nikolas says, the only way to keep Spencer from controlling all of his money and resources is if proof comes to light that he’s still alive.

Valentin says he knows he’s given Anna reason to doubt him, but no, he’s not keeping any secrets from her. She says she’s curious. What pulled him into working for Pikeman in the first place? He says, greed, and he was younger then. He had nothing to lose, but not now. Now he has far too much to lose. Pikeman is very powerful, and they have a lot of memory. It’s just easier to cooperate and keep them as an ally. He doesn’t want to have them as an enemy. She asks if there’s any differentiation between those two things in a business like that, and he says, this is his problem. He wants her as far away from them as possible. She says, how can she be? She’s right here. She sigh/groans, and he asks if she’s okay. She asks if they can’t go up to the suite again, and he says, she doesn’t want dinner? She says, they’ll get room service, and goes to the table, picking up the itinerary.

Carly asks if Ava isn’t curious why the FBI arrested Sonny, but Ava says she was just relieved when the charges were dropped. Carly says, she never asked him the reason why? and Ava says, nope. Carly says, it’s because he left false information for Betty to find. Then Betty took it to Austin, who took it to his boss in Pentenville, whoever that is. Which means Austin and Mason’s boss has ties to the FBI. Ava says she doesn’t know why Carly is telling her all this. It’s got nothing to do with her. Carly says, that’s bull and Ava knows it, and Ava says, why doesn’t she let it rest? Carly says she thinks Ava did something, and Mason and Austin found out about it. And they’re threatening to take it to their boss, who could take it to the FBI.

Austin asks why Nikolas doesn’t go to Port Charles after. When he cleans up all of his loose ends and takes care of his money, why doesn’t he go then? Nikolas says, because his son Spencer hates him, and Austin says, his son has a pretty good reason to from what he understands. The way Ava’s explained it to him, this isn’t the first time Nikolas has pretended to be dead, which is like a weird habit with him. Who does that? How could he do that to his own son? Nikolas says, Austin doesn’t know what’s gone on in his family, and he doesn’t need to justify his actions to him. He knows for a fact that once Spencer gets control of the money and the Cassadine estate, he isn’t likely to ever give it back to him. Austin says, can you blame him? It’s an awful lot of money. Nikolas says, more than Austin realizes. The last thing he wants to do is open this up to a long, ugly court battle, because that’s exactly where it will end up. It’s better to stop the process before it starts. Austin says, Nikolas doesn’t think much of his son, does he?

Tracy says, Blair didn’t come all this way to hear about the dysfunctional Quartermaines, did she? and Blair says, they couldn’t be any worse than her family. Tracy says, could be. Does she use the words greedy, unscrupulous, and vindictive to describe her family? Blair says, that and more. She wouldn’t even know where to begin with their saga. Let’s just say, the Borgias have nothing on us. Tracy says, okay, then they’ll call it a draw. They both have dysfunctional families. Can they just get back to the business at hand? Blair says, so there’s more to it than Tracy getting her ELQ voting rights back.

Alexis thanks Esme, and says, the payroll wouldn’t have gone out in time, and she’d have a lot of staff members breathing down her neck. Esme says, sorry she forgot about it earlier, but if she gets it to accounting now, it’ll make it before the deadline. Alexis thanks her, and says she appreciates it – she signs the papers and hands them to Esme – and so will the staff when their direct deposits get in at the end of the week. Esme says, better get it to accounting, and leaves. Spencer looks at Alexis, no doubt wondering if Esme heard them.

Josslyn says she has to ask. Trina’s not feeling any pressure from Spencer about this, correct? Trina says, no. She’s not feeling any pressure from Spencer. Josslyn says, good, and she shouldn’t ever, and Trina says she’s just so happy and excited to be planning a weekend away, just the two of them. Josslyn says, a whole weekend in New York? It’s going to be perfect. Trina says, at first, he wanted to go to Turks and Caicos, and Josslyn says, the Caribbean? Isn’t it hurricane season or something? Trina says, that’s what she told him, and Josslyn asks how they settled on New York. Trina says, first, they were going to stop in New York, then go on to Turks and Caicos, but with school starting and her working at the gallery, she just didn’t want to be away for that long. So Manhattan was a compromise. Josslyn says, it was a good compromise, and Trina says, he wants to take her to a Broadway show, and then they’re going to have dinner at this hot, new restaurant. Josslyn asks if they’re going to have time for any other activities, and Trina says, oh yeah. They’re staying at this hotel that has a heated pool on the rooftop. Josslyn says she bets Trina’s more excited to see the hotel room than the heated pool, and Trina says, it is going to be their first time together.

Lucy says, Martin is right. They should have gone to the Grill. She’s not staying in the same room with Tracy Quartermaine, who is trying to take everything she’s worked so hard for. She’s going to freshen up, and she’ll meet him in the lobby. She leaves, and he takes out his wallet, looking around nervously.

Tracy says, actually, she never does anything for just one reason (a multitasker!), and Blair says she doesn’t see Tracy as a checkers kind of gal. She’s more of a strategic 3D chess player. Tracy says, actually, backgammon is her game, and Blair says, noted. Tracy says, but this is not a game. This is business. She learned a lot from her father, and maybe the most important lesson he taught her is that opportunities are not given, they’re made. And once they’re made, you have to take full advantage of it. She gets up, shakes hands with Blair, and says, a pleasure. She leaves, and Blair sees Martin. She walks over to his table, and puts her hand on his shoulder from behind, startling him. She bends down and whispers, hello, sweetheart, kissing his cheek.

Ava tells Carly, let her be clear about something. What Sonny is doing right now, he’s doing for Avery’s sake. Carly says she knows that. Sonny would do anything for his family. Ava says, because the situation is fraught (WOTD), she would like Avery to stay here with Carly and Donna for a while. Carly says, for how long? and Ava says, a week maybe? She doesn’t know exactly. Is that acceptable to Carly? Carly says, of course (🍷). Avery can stay here as long as she needs. Ava thanks her, and says she appreciates that. She heads for the door, and Carly says, this is also for Avery’s sake. Whatever she has going on with Austin, he’s keeping information from her. Do not trust him. Ava says nothing, and walks out, taking a pause when she gets outside.

Nikolas says, his son is a Cassadine, and Austin says, meaning? Nikolas says, he expects Spencer wouldn’t act any differently toward him than he would toward someone standing in his way. That’s enough to make sure Spencer never has power over him. Austin says, that’s an interesting family dynamic, when Nikolas’s phone dings. Nikolas says his car has just arrived, and Austin says, so he can’t talk Nikolas into changing his mind? Nikolas says, no, and thanks Austin again for all of his help. Austin asks where he’s going, and Nikolas says, it’s time for a family reunion, and leaves.

Spencer thanks Alexis again, not only for her legal advice, but for her support in checking on Esme when he and Trina are away. She says, they’re family. That’s what they do for each other. Just a thought, but Esme is family too, so if he could trust her first, maybe she could be more trustworthy. Spencer says, that would be difficult, and Alexis says, he has to admit, she cares about that little boy. He says he feels the same way about Ace that Esme does (highly doubtful, but okay), and she says, good. They have that in common. Let love for that little boy be the thing that brings them together, rather than the thing that tears them apart. Just a thought again. Let’s go. They walk out of the office, and Esme dashes into it. What happened to Alexis’s 5:30 call?

Josslyn says, Trina and Spencer have had their ups and downs. Trina trusts him. Trina says she does trust him, and she believes this is right. It feels like the right thing to be doing. Josslyn hugs Trina and says she’s so happy for her. She’s so happy for Spencer too. Trina says, that means a lot to her. She knows Josslyn and Spencer have had their differences. When Josslyn broke up with Cam… Josslyn says she forgives him. She gives him grief, but she knows he’s a good guy. Trina says she thinks so too, and Josslyn says, and Trina is the best thing that’s ever happened to him. Don’t you forget it. Trina hugs Josslyn.

Valentin says, Anna isn’t feeling well. Let him get her something. She says, it’s okay. She’s just feeling a little pain. Maybe if she lies down… She opens the door, and they see the room has been tossed. There are streaks of red on various white things to make it look like blood, and they draw their guns. Anna goes in the back, and Valentin picks up a red streaked white shirt and says, ink. What the hell? Anna turns on the light in the bathroom and checks the shower stall. It’s empty, and she turns around. In red on the mirror, it says: You think you got away with it. You didn’t. You think you’re safe. You’re not.

On Monday, Chase tells Brook, it’s too late for that; Valentin tells Anna, it’s not a coincidence and he’s not taking any chances; Lucy wants to replace Brook as soon as possible; Blair says, it’s going to cost Martin big time; and Stella tells Marshall, it will be the death of him.

💭 It would be beyond awesome if somehow Austin hooked up with Blair. Good times…

🩺 Ditched After Saving the Day…

Obrecht was the hero of the day for saving Willow and Drew a hero for saving her, but then nothing. Not even in the background. Some thanks.

🎉 Fanning Blair…

Hopefully, she sticks around Port Charles.

☎️ Old Home Week…

Brook could use her mother right about now.

https://people.com/rena-sofer-returning-to-general-hospital-as-lois-cerullo-exclusive-7969604

🥁 Joining the Social Bandwagon…

His first post is a pic of him and Jeff Kober. He’s definitely got my follow.

Not a Surprise…

Why wouldn’t two grifters come together?

https://ew.com/celebrity/elizabeth-holmes-jen-shah-prison-friends/

🤼‍♀️ Not Part Of the Solution…

I think it’s just Teresa ruining RHONJ. And they shouldn’t bother rebooting it. We already have The Jersey Shore.

🍹 She Did Get Loud…

In retrospect, I was pretty surprised when Taylor got a little out of control.

https://people.com/southern-charm-season-9-premiere-recap-taylor-ann-green-confronts-craig-conover-about-shep-rose-cheating-7969777

🍸 Rules of Awful…

And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

To be fair.

🎃 Let the Celebration Begin…

Those who can’t do, watch. I love these shows. It’s absolutely amazing what they create.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/halloween-wars/meet-the-teams-season-13

🦃 From Fake To Film…

Eli Roth finally did it. He’s been talking about this forever. I can’t wait.

https://ew.com/movies/thanksgiving-trailer-eli-roth-patrick-dempsey/

🐕‍🦺 Good Boy…

I was keeping an eye on this story since I have friends in the area. No surprise a dog ultimately brought him down.

https://people.com/police-k9-yoda-played-key-role-in-capturing-danelo-cavalcante-7969658

📢 Quotes of the Week

Short cuts make long delays. – J.R.R. Tolkien

The real problem is not whether machines think but whether men do.B.F. Skinner

You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do. – Carl Jung

Respect your efforts, respect yourself. Self-respect leads to self-discipline. When you have both firmly under your belt, that’s real power. – Clint Eastwood (This was before he started talking to empty chairs.)

There are no regrets in life. Just lessons. – Jennifer Aniston

Always look at what you have left. Never look at what you have lost. – Robert H. Schuller

How about not assume? How about giving the benefit of the doubt? Nothing is ever as it seems. – Jenna Lyons, The Real Housewives of New York City

I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took an excuse. – Florence Nightingale

I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. – Albert Einstein

Those aren’t glasses; they’re aquariums with stems. – Molly (Melissa McCarthy), Mike & Molly

🛌🏽 Wake Me Up When…

Come join me on Monday really Tuesday for soap and TV tea. Until then, stay safe, stay aware of how your behavior impacts others, and stay taking full advantage of the opportunities you make.

September 14, 2023 – Carly Brings Sonny To Visit Drew, Funny, Charming Exes Collide, All About Those VMAs, They Can Be Centerfield & Runnin’

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Sasha says she doesn’t want to believe what Cody is saying. Gladys would never do anything to physically hurt her. He says, believe him. Gladys knew Montague before he was her doctor. She used him to help send Sasha to Ferncliff. Sasha says, he’s wrong. He’s always been wrong about Gladys. It can’t be true. He says he needs her to believe this, and she says, Gladys would never drug her… He looks out the window and says, hold on. Someone’s coming.

Drew comes into the visiting room and sees Sonny with Carly. He says he always looks forward to their visits, but something tells him this is about more than just catching up. Sonny says, there is a situation, and he needs Drew’s help.

Cyrus is let in to see Warden Garten, and she thanks him for coming, telling the guard, that will be all. She’ll buzz him when she’s ready for him to escort Mr. Renault back to his cell. The guard leaves, and Cyrus asks how he can help the warden. She says, drop the pious act, padre. She’s had enough of his help. He hung her out to dry, and now he’s going to pay for it.

Dex sees Nina at the MetroCourt, and she asks what she can do for him. As he’s about to tell her, his phone rings, and he says, sorry. She says, take it, and he steps away. He asks, what’s going on? and Josslyn says she thought he was going to help her move into the dorm. He says, of course (🍷). He just has some work to finish up for Sonny. He should be done pretty soon, and he’ll be over. She says, great. She can get back to her book. Everyone’s talking about how great it is. They say goodbye, and Josslyn picks up The Other Black Girl. Sales of the book skyrocket immediately. Dex tells Nina that he has a message for her from Sonny.

On the phone, Austin says he’s done everything Mason has asked him to do… He doesn’t know. Will Mason please stop asking him that? He has no idea. Ava walks into his office and says, put down that phone. Austin says, nice to see her too. Come on in. He tells Mason that he’ll call back and asks Ava, what’s happening? She says, he’s not answering her calls, so she had to find him in person. She’s done with his cousin threatening her and her family. If he doesn’t honor their deal and return Nikolas’s body, she will go to Sonny, and she’ll tell him everything Austin and his cousin have done.

Trina is listening to music on her headphones while stands on a stepladder, putting tombstones next to the paintings. Spencer comes in and says, hello, hello. I tell him, do not sneak up on her while she’s on a stepladder, but he doesn’t listen and shouts, Trina! She falls.

Cody tells Sasha when he tells her to go, take the back exit of the cabin and run. There’s a trail right outside the door. Take it all the way to the road, and he’ll meet her there with the car. Is she okay? She says, yeah, and heads for the back of the cabin. Cody picks up a hammer and opens the door ready to strike. Dante and Sam are there.

Holding Trina, Spencer asks if she’s okay, and she says, yeah. He puts her down and she says she’s sorry (for what?), and he says, she’s good. She says, apparently, she shouldn’t be listening to music while she works, and he says, maybe not, helping her pick up the cards. He sees the dove on her desk and says, so this is where she’s keeping it, and she says, he’s cute. That’s why she likes him there. She thanks Spencer for catching her, and says, that was embarrassing, but it was romantic. He says he’ll always be there to catch her, and she says, it seems like he’s there for her when it’s important. He says, no. It seems like he’s the one always getting her in dangerous situations that she probably shouldn’t be in, like in Greenland. She says, that’s okay. She wouldn’t change it. He asks if she’s sure about that, and she says, positive. He says, she’s saved him at times as well.

Cody says, they scared him half to death. What’s Dante doing here? Sam says, he’s here because he cares and he can help, and she leads Dante into the cabin. Cody calls to Sasha, saying, it’s okay. They’re friends. She comes out and says, it’s good to see them both. Dante says, it’s nice to see her out of Ferncliff. It looks like she’s doing better. She says, thanks to Cody.

Austin asks Ava not to go to Sonny. If she did that, think about what would happen, rationally. Nothing good, right? Tell him what happened. She says, his lollipop licking cousin; that’s what happened. He asks what Mason did now, and she says, he came to her gallery and accused her of going to Sonny because his plan fell through. Obviously, Sonny saw right through it. Mason blamed her for that and started threatening her. She’s not going to take it anymore. She’s done everything that’s been asked of her, and still has no idea when this nightmare is going to end. He says, it’ll end soon. Mason will come through, one way or another. She says, one way or another? What the hell does that mean?

Dex says, Sonny wanted him to tell Nina that he’s going to be unreachable for a few hours. He doesn’t want her to worry. She asks if Sonny told Dex what he was doing, and Dex says, he’s with Carly. They’re visiting Drew at Pentenville. Nina thanks him for delivering the message, and he says, just doing his job, calling her Miss Reeves. She says she asked him to call her Nina. Remember, they’re both on Team Sonny? He says, of course (🍷), and she asks if Sonny told him why they’re visiting Drew. He says, that’s the only message Sonny asked him to deliver. He can be stingy with details. She laughs and says, doesn’t she know it. She asks if she can get him a cup of coffee to go, but he says he’s got to run. He told Joss that he’d help her with something this morning. Dex leaves, and she flashes back to telling Martin that she wants him to expose Drew and Carly for engaging in insider trading. Just make sure to keep her name out of it.

Carly says, Sonny was arrested by the FBI a few days ago, and Drew says he heard. Word travels fast in Pentenville. Congratulations. Clearly the charges didn’t stick. Sonny says, the charges were dropped for lack of evidence. He was basically trying to smoke out the enemy, so he gave them false information, but the false information was passed along to the FBI. Here’s the problem; he doesn’t know who the enemy is. And he’s pretty sure it’s somebody in Pentenville.

Warden Garten says, the idea was to trap Sonny and send him up the river (who uses that term in 2023?), not to watch him walk. Cyrus had one job – one. He was supposed to provide her with accurate information on Sonny and his deal with Pikeman, so she had something substantial to give to the Feds. They went out on a limb and set up a big sting operation that yielded nothing, absolutely nothing. Corinthos is a free man, and it’s his fault. Cyrus asks if she’s taking a tone with him. Doesn’t she think this whole thing pisses him off? Has she forgotten how she became warden? Because without him, she’d still be back in the Corrections office pushing paper and answering emails. Nobody’s happy about this, especially him. She says, but it’s her name that’s tarnished, and he says, which he will clear. He’s but a humble servant of the Almighty. He believed they had the goods and delivered what the Lord placed in his welcoming hands. His people… She says, his people? Is he referring to that useless Mason Gatlin? She should have never intervened for him. He says, Mason has performed admirably for them in the past, even though he realizes now, Mason’s usefulness may be coming to an end. As it must for all God’s emissaries.

Josslyn is having a hard time getting a mini fridge through the door, when Dex arrives and helps her. Adam knocks at the door and says, it looks like they’re neighbors again. He was moving back in when he noticed her stuff was kind of blocking the hallway. Does she need help? Dex joins them, and she says, actually, she has some help already. Adam asks how it’s going, and Dex says, he’s good. How about Adam? Adam says, not bad. He just signed up for another semester of pre-med. Dex isn’t a student here, is he?

Trina asks what brings Spencer by the gallery, and he says he got her text, and he missed her. She says, earlier this morning she was home, and she and Curtis were having a fun little disaster trying to set up the Smart Home gaming system that Marshall bought. He says, that’s absolutely horrid. He hates setting up new tech. Isn’t that what outsourcing is for? She says, that’s nice for folks who have a team of outsourcers, but unfortunately for them, they don’t, and Marshall left it sitting in their laps. But luckily, being a former P.I., Curtis has a way with stuff like that. He asks what she’s doing here. Shouldn’t she be home helping Curtis? She says she got an urgent call from Paloma’s people about her current art display here. Apparently, Ava left out a detail about this fall show. She guesses it slipped through the cracks, which is surprising to her. It’s not like Ava. She’s usually particular about details. She thinks Ava’s been a little distracted lately. He says he can only imagine why. His ex-stepmother is always up to something. She tells him, say what he wants about Ava, but she’s extremely efficient and organized. It’s highly unusual for her to drop the ball at the gallery.

Austin says he didn’t mean anything by it, but Ava says she doesn’t think so. First he tells her, Mason will come through in one way or another; then he tells her to forget he said it. Is he double-crossing her? If he’s double-crossing her, that would be a very, very big mistake. He says he’s not double-crossing her, and she says, good. Because more than anyone, he knows what she’s capable of. When she’s pushed, when she’s provoked, she’ll do almost anything. Especially for Avery. He asks if he can be honest with her about something, and she says, for his sake, he ought to be. He says he’s so sorry. He’s truly sorry that she’s here in this situation. He should never have let Mason put her here. if he could go back in time and change everything, he would. He would change everything so she wasn’t in this position. She thanks him and says, she’d like to change things too. Nikolas provoked her. He threatened her. He threatened Avery, and that’s why she did what she did, but she wishes she hadn’t. He says, Avery is just a child. Is she sure Nikolas would really hurt her?

Carly says, the last time she came to visit Drew, they both saw Austin come in carrying his medical bag, and Drew says, they think Austin is connected to Sonny’s enemy? Sonny says he knows Austin is. Austin and Mason Gatlin have been circling him, trying to catch him violating the NSA, so they can bring it back to whoever their working for. So he gave them false information. The plan was to follow them back to their boss. Drew says, and Sonny thinks whoever they’re working for is here, and Sonny says, the trail stops right here. Drew says, so Sonny thinks maybe because he’s in Pentenville, he’s got a shot at figuring out who Austin came to see that day.

Cody says, he couldn’t have rescued Sasha from Ferncliff without Sam’s help. She became his medical proxy and had him committed so he could get to her in Ferncliff. She also left that car for them to escape in after they broke out, and arranged for this cabin for them to hide in. Sasha asks why Sam would do all that. What convinced Sam that she didn’t belong in Ferncliff? Sam says, Cody did. He never wavered in his belief in Sasha. He always thought she was sane, that she never belonged in Ferncliff. And he was convinced that everything that was happening to her was all wrong. Cody says, the most he could have hoped for was for Dante to look the other way. He didn’t expect Dante to pitch in. Unless Dante’s here to arrest them.

Spencer says, when Trina believes in something, she commits herself 100% to it. It’s one of her many wonderful qualities. It’s why he’s not the least bit surprised she’s committed herself to this gallery and Ava almost by default. Trina says, by default? Ava’s been good to her and so has this gallery. He asks if that’s why she stopped working at The Chuck. It could have led to a better, more prestigious job. She says she doesn’t think working here diminishes her chances of having a successful art career. Ava lets her get her hands dirty in the earthier real art, which she loves. That’s why she chose this career, because of the real art. She doesn’t think she could have had that experience if she’d stayed at The Chuck. He says, but working at a high-end gallery can serve as a steppingstone, and could put her in a position to be dealing with, let’s just say, more notable art. She says she appreciates that, but she’s not interested in accepting a job merely to use as a steppingstone to get to something better. The most important thing to her isn’t the notability of the art, but something more meaningful. She wants to feel fulfilled and have the sense she was part of a process. It’s about personal growth to her, not just an impressive title. He says he can understand that. It’s just that working here, she really has her hands full, and it increases the odds that she’ll fall off one of these ladders. She says ,that was his fault, and he says, maybe, but if she worked at The Chuck, she’d have a whole support staff. Is he wrong? She says, outsourcers? and he says, she can call them what she wants to call them. She says, it’s just a lot. She’s starting school again. She still has to move into the dorms. She’s been trying to make Curtis feel as comfortable as possible since coming back from rehab. She’s trying not to neglect her relationship with her dad, and… She’s sorry. She just went on a whole vent of complaining. He says, she never needs to apologize for venting to him; it’s okay. That’s what he’s here for. He wants to know everything about her, and wants to participate in her life as much as he possibly can. She says, lately, it feels like that isn’t possible. They haven’t gotten any alone time together. He says, that’s exactly why he’s here. He thinks he may have fixed that.

Dex tells Adam, no, he doesn’t go to PCU. He’s just helping Joss move in. Josslyn says, they’re kind of in a rush. They’re trying to get all this stuff together before Trina comes back. Adam says he’s putting together a study group for Organic Chem. He was wondering if she wanted to join. Josslyn says she’ll think about it, and he asks if she’s gotten the book yet. It’s a really tough class. He wouldn’t recommend not having a study group. She doesn’t want to fall behind in class because she got distracted. She says, for sure. She can’t commit to anything right now until she checks out her schedule, but she’ll let him know. They’re kind of in a rush. She’s sorry. It was good to see him. She closes the door, and tells Dex, sorry about that. Dex says, he has a point, and she says, about what?

Olivia asks if Nina has seen the breakfast rush down in the Garden. It must be this great September weather bringing everybody out. Maybe they should keep the pool open until the end of the month. (That gets my vote. I love the pool.) Nina says, Olivia’s in a good mood this morning, and Olivia says, why shouldn’t she be? She really thought it was the end for Sonny. He had her worried. She thought his luck had finally run out, and look, charges dropped. He’s a free man. She guesses Nina must be as relieved as she is.

Drew says, no offense, but this place is full of Sonny’s enemies, and Sonny says he’s aware of that, but anything Drew can do to help, he’d be very grateful. Drew says, if he asks the wrong person, this could blow up in a bad way. Carly says, the most important thing is for Drew to stay safe, and he says he will. She tells him, just keep his head down and do his time, so he can get the hell out of here, and he says he’s doing his best. She says, he’s in a position to have his sentence reduced, and she doesn’t want him to do anything to mess that up.

Cyrus says he and the warden both want Sonny Corinthos off the street and out of their way, and she says, and if she’d given the Feds accurate information, Sonny would be well on his way to a life in Pentenville, locked up where he belongs. And she would have done the great state of New York a huge benefit, and it certainly wouldn’t have hurt her career. He asks if she thinks he wanted to give her wrong information, and she says she’s still wondering how it happened. The Feds booked and arrested Sonny with what seemed like an airtight case, and suddenly all charges are dropped? He says he’ll task her with finding out how and why that happened, and she says, that would be the stupidest thing she could possibly do. She is not putting herself back on the chopping block to get information about Sonny. Cyrus says, oh, is that so?

Dante says he’s not here to arrest them; he’s here to apologize to them both. He should have believed Cody. He knows better than anyone how selfless Cody can be when the chips are down. How far he’ll go to help someone. If he’d listened to Cody, he would have taken action a lot sooner. He tells Sasha, words can’t convey how he feels about what Gladys has done to her. She’s betrayed Sasha’s trust, and he’s so very sorry. Sasha asks, why would she do this? Gladys said she loved her, and they were family.

Spencer says, Turks and Caicos; he wants to take Trina. They can go to New York City first. They can have dinner and see a show and continue on to the islands afterwards. She asks if it isn’t hurricane season, and he says, it’s the best time to go; the surfing is so good. She needs this. He needs this. They both need to get away for a little while. She asks what he’s going to do about Ace and Esme, and he says he’ll have his Aunt Alexis check in on Ace once in a while. Esme isn’t really one of his concerns, and his grandmother will be back any day now. They never have any quality time alone here in Port Charles. They’re always getting interrupted by this or that. How nice would it be for them to get away for a little while and spend some time alone? Be able to focus on them and only them and their relationship. It would be nice. She says, no. She can’t go with him.

Ava tells Austin, honestly, she doesn’t know what Nikolas was capable of that night. But after losing Kiki the way she did, the way she died. Seeing her lying there like that, not moving, begging her to wake up. She couldn’t take any chances with Avery. He understands that, doesn’t he? She’s all Ava’s got left, and she’s going to protect Avery with all she’s got.

Nina tells Olivia, yes, it was incredible when Sonny was set free. She knows Olivia has a special relationship with him, they have a long history, but there must be another reason why she’s in such a good mood. Olivia says, she and Leo went to the recording studio with Ned, or Eddie, yesterday. He was so great with Leo. He was telling Leo about all the different gigs he played in the past. He got Leo involved in the music making process. It really is such a process. Nina says, it sounds like the three of them had an eventful day, and Olivia says, Eddie cut a song, and it’s amazing. It’s earthy, it’s gritty, it’s very, very moving. He talked about it as rootsy and acoustic. Eddie is such a talented musician. Nina says, she keeps calling him Eddie, not Ned.

Sonny says, it isn’t worth Drew spending an extra day in Pentenville, especially if he makes enemies of his own. Drew says he’s very comfortable assessing risk. He can handle this. Carly says, they know he can, but does he want to? It’s very dangerous. Drew says, Sonny got him out of solitary. It’s the least he can do. He’s happy to help. It sounds like whoever Austin and Mason’s boss is, is causing a lot of trouble for Sonny lately, and he wants to help. Sonny says, whoever their boss is has made a lot of trouble for many people he cares about. That seems to be escalating, and he has to deal with this one way or another, but one way Drew can help is let him know who they’re reporting to. Drew says he’ll do what he can and keep his head down. He gets up to leave, and Carly follows him. She asks him to promise to be careful, and he promises. He loves her. She says she loves him, and he leaves. She goes back to the table and tells Sonny, well, he’s doing it.

Cyrus tells the warden, Sonny Corinthos is but one step in his quest to truly turn his life around. As she knows, he recently donated his money to the Rodden Institute to End Recidivism. She says she knows; a smart and strategic move. He says, it pleased her and her friend Judge Sinclair, and it pleases him that the judge sits on the charity board of directors. She says, yes, very advantageous, and he says, but not unlike her passion project to work with former convicts. All her remarkable efforts, creating those work study programs. This has not gone unnoticed. Very strategic of her as well. And how many articles has he read in The Invader about her extraordinary leadership? The press holds her in very high regard. She says, Judge Sinclair’s decision to place her in Pentenville is a testament to just that, and he says, a decision that could be easily reversed. She asks if he’s threatening her, and he says, ye have heard that it hath been said, and eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say unto you that ye resist not evil, but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. She tells him to keep his nose clean. I wish Cyrus would use a translation other than the King James already. It’s tedious.

Sasha says, Gladys is Brando’s mother. She was with them when they lost Liam. Gladys is the only family she has. How could Gladys betray her like this? Dante says he has his own opinion about Gladys, but she’s a weak person and she put herself in a really difficult spot. Sasha asks, what kind of difficult spot? and Cody says, she played poker in a game sponsored by Selina Wu. Sasha asks how he knows that, and he says, because he played in the same games. He sits next to her on the bed and says, his job was to win for Selina, and he saw firsthand Gladys lost a lot, way more than she could repay on her own. So she used Sasha’s money. She sold Brando’s garage, and she must have started raiding Sasha’s bank accounts. Sam says, the only way Gladys could cover her debts is if she stayed in control of Sasha’s money, and Sasha says, when she tried to end the guardianship, Gladys tried to stop her. Gladys said she wasn’t ready and she was making a mistake. But it wasn’t about her at all. It was about her money.

Olivia tells Nina, the harder she pushes Eddie to be Ned, the further she pushed him away from her and his family. She had to make a decision to accept Eddie for who he really is now instead of who he used to be. And who he is, he loves music. That is his passion. He’s so good and he’s so generous sharing that part of himself with Leo. It opened up a whole world for him. And yeah, he put her in touch with a part of herself that she almost forgot existed. Nina says, she’s having a really good time with Eddie, and Olivia asks, what does that mean? Nina asks if she’s falling for Eddie Maine. Does she not necessarily want Ned back? I wouldn’t, but Olivia says she should get back downstairs. She has work to do. Nina smiles.

Josslyn tells Dex, there’s other study groups besides Adam’s. He’s just a lot sometimes. Dex says, Adam’s also pre-med like her and Adam’s going to be a doctor like her. He’s still going to be working for Sonny. They’re two very different worlds. She asks if he’s dumping her because she’s in pre-med, but he says, no. (Dammit.) She says she’d hate to think he was against higher education, but he says, trust him when he says he thinks everything about her is amazing. She says she feels the same way about him, and they kiss. Then they kiss some more, making those smacky noises I hate. She takes his shirt off, then her own, and he asks if he isn’t supposed to be helping her move in. She steps away and says, he’s right, but he says, no, she’s right, pushing her onto the bed where they start getting busy.

Spencer tells Trina, come on. This is going to be fun. This is a great way for her to decompress before her semester starts at PCU. She says she knows it would, but she doesn’t think right now is a good time to go away. Her mom and Curtis are still walking on eggshells, and she wants to be there to help. He says, totally, but she’ll be in constant contact with them. She’s only going to be a phone call away. He doesn’t think either Curtis or her mother want her to curtail her life for them. He thinks they could probably use the alone time themselves. She says, not with school starting right around the corner, and he asks why she’s letting school stand in the way of her wanting to live her life. She’s so talented, and he’s certain she can accomplish anything she wants to in life, so he really doesn’t understand why she needs to do the school thing so she can earn a piece of paper that validates her intelligence. It just doesn’t make any sense to him. Is he an idiot? How is she supposed to get a job? She says she appreciates his vote of confidence in her, but he comes from money, and he says, his ancestry might be Russian royalty, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t have to work hard. Maybe not in the traditional sense, but they did. She tells him, all she can say is that she values education, and PCU has inspired her. So she doesn’t think taking a trip right now would be the smartest thing. He says he just thought it would be nice for them to get away, and she says, he didn’t let her finish. (Get used to it.) They can still go to New York and see a show and spend time together, just the two of them.

Warden Garten says she doesn’t think she and Cyrus have anything more to say to each other right now. She presses a button, and the guard comes in. She says, he can take the prisoner back to his cell. Cyrus thanks her and says, he appreciates such a warm and supportive leader. He leaves with the guard.

Sasha cries, and Cody tells her, it’s going to be okay. He’s here. She says, he tried to tell her so many times and she refused to listen. And now what are they going to do? They’re both escaped mental patients; they’re fugitives. Dante says, they’re fugitives with friends (a new game for your tablet!), and Sam says, and there is a way out of this. With the four of them working together, they’ll figure it out.

Spencer hugs Trina, lifting her up, and says, yes. Cool. He’s going to show her his favorite restaurant; it’s right near Washington Square Park. Then he can take her to his favorite pizza parlor, his favorite bakery, and he’ll send her a list of shows. She’ll pick the one that she wants to see, or the two that she wants to see, or the three that she wants to see, and they’ll go see all of them if they need to. She says, okay, and he says, good. Yes. This is going to be fun. He’s so sick of having to steal these little moments away with her. He’s ready for them to have a little uninterrupted time with each other. They kiss, and he says he’s going to make some calls. He’ll talk to her later. He leaves, and she sits at her desk, picking up the dove and looking at it.

On the phone outside, Spencer asks, what’s the best they have? It’s a special occasion. Yes, it’s going to be a very special weekend.

Austin says he promises Ava that he’ll lean on Mason. He’ll do everything he can. But please promise him that she’ll be patient. Promise she won’t go talk to Sonny. She knows nothing good can come of that more than he does. She tells him that she meant what she said. She will go to Sonny if she doesn’t get what she was promised. She walks out.

Sonny asks if Carly is okay, and she says she knows Drew is his best shot at finding out who Austin visited here, and he needs that information to keep himself and their family safe. It’s just, she hates that it’s happening. He says, all he needs is for Drew to give him one name, and he’ll take care of the rest.

Drew approaches guard Johnson and asks how he’s been. Johnson says he can’t complain, and Drew asks how his son is doing. Johnson says, he’s doing really well. He got a summer job at a pizza place. Drew asks if he isn’t graduating from PCU this spring, and Johnson says, he is. Drew says, nice. He may be able to get him an internship at Aurora Media if that’s something he’d be interested in. Johnson asks what Drew wants in return, and Drew says he’ll get him the internship regardless, but there is some information he’d be interested in. Johnson says, that’s what he figured. What is it Drew wants to know? Drew says, nothing major. August 23rd, a doctor came here from GH, Austin Gatlin-Holt. All he needs to know is who he came into contact with. No surprise, Cyrus is lurking just around the corner, and Drew says, and who he came to see.

Tomorrow, Spencer says he has one more favor to ask Alexis; Lucy says she thinks she knows why Martin wants to leave; Anna asks what Valentin is keeping from her; and Nikolas tells Austin that he’s saying goodbye.

👬 Interesting parallel: Who knew Hunter Biden and Drew Cain would have something in common? Drew is the first thing I thought of when the news said it was rare to have a plea deal go sideways, but when it did, the judge usually throws the book at the defendant.

Southern Charm

There’s a bunch of back and forth about Austin and Taylor hooking up, along with some gossip headlines. Craig says, that’s what happens when you muddy the waters. Austin tells Madison that she’s a sloppy mess and always has been. One thing he and I can agree on. It looks like this is stuff we’ll see later.

Randy is Patricia’s new butler, but he’s no Michael. We see everyone interacting with their dogs, which will probably be the best part of this show. Craig’s house is being renovated, and Paige is staying there off and on. In Craig’s interview, he says he’s all about their relationship. As they check out what’s being done in building the pool area, Paige explains that she doesn’t get in hot tubs because of the bacteria, and Craig seems to think because it’s their bacteria, it won’t be a problem. She wants black and white patio furniture, and when he suggests purple, she says, she’ll move out. We flash back to her weeping about missing her mom on Summer House, and I don’t see this as working out unless Craig makes a move to NYC. They’re going to be apart for a while, and Craig says he can’t fly to meet her that much, but she says she didn’t ask him. Rut-roh.

Madison says blah-blah-blah about her marriage to Brett, and we flash back to her talking smack at the Reunion about Austin relating to her son. In her interview, she says, it’s the first time Hudson has had a family unit, and I think of the Coneheads. She says, they got married in Mexico, November of 2022, and the only ones in attendance were their families. She wants to have a party in Charleston for the friends. Brett seems like a stand-up guy, and in Madison’s interview, she says she’s different these days, but I don’t believe that for a second. I’m not sure how she trapped Brett. Maybe she practices voodoo on the side.

Austin is bummed because his friends are doing grown-up things. In his interview, he says, Madison inviting him to her party is surreal and weird. We flash back to her pretending she wanted to make it work, and Craig says he thinks it’s a great chess move by Madison.

Taylor and Olivia go rollerblading, because they’re both single now, and hanging out together. I’ll bet rollerblading got popular again after the Barbie movie. Zumiez actually has a yellow pair that look like Ken’s. I’m not shilling for them, just saying. We flash back to the embarrassment that was Taylor and Shep’s breakup, and Taylor says she’s still catching her breath. In Taylor’s interview, she says she was in love with Shep, but he finally told her that he wouldn’t change. It’s hard for her to understand. Taylor, meet sociopath.

Little Craig! Omg, hate Shep, love his dog. At least it seems like Shep’s responsible in that department, since Little Craig is still alive. In his interview, he says he was a little broken after the breakup and went to Australia. Austen met him there and they lived like children. In other words, like they always do. After that, he went to South Africa. He says, Taylor was on his mind several times a day. Probably when he was banging other women. Little Craig rolls around, scratching his back, and I know this will definitely be the highlight of the show. He’s concerned about Little Craig not having Taylor in his life. She has a new dog, but he doesn’t know if she’s willing to be friends.

Olivia and Taylor discuss going to Madison’s party, and how weird it would be if Austen came. We flash back to Olivia saying she wanted to be in a relationship, but Austen couldn’t get it together. In her interview, Olivia says, he asked her to give him another chance, so she did, and after a week, he said his feelings had changed. She tells Taylor that dating Austen is like going in a funhouse. You’re all excited to go. You walk in and see your distorted image, then a clown runs by. When you get out, you’re discombobulated and want to vomit. That is one of the best analogies of a bad relationship I’ve ever heard. Most of the women aren’t on my hate list, but it’s getting harder and harder to stomach the boys. Because they’re 40 and still boys.

Venita has a boyfriend named Manny, and I think she should keep him away from the others, since he seems like a decent guy. She and Madison have kissed and made up, which I know will end up being a mistake. In her interview, Venita says, having a friend that long is like having a sister. Yeah, in this case, like one of the wicked stepsisters from Cinderella. Manny is a musician, and they were friends first. She thinks he’s perfect. Hard to tell, since look who she has to compare him to. The bar ain’t that high.

Austen, Shep, and Craig go shopping for Madison’s party. The manager has to explain to Austen who Errol Flynn is, and Austen finds parallels in their lives. Austen says he’ll be damned if he overthinks this, but he already is. Shep says he wants to be friends with Taylor, but Craig says, that’s not how it works. In Craig’s interview, he says, Austen and Shep always want to be friends with their exes and tried to get him to do the same with Naomie, but it was a fail. He thinks unresolved feelings always surface. In Austen’s interview, he says, it’s been beaten into his head that he’s the failure in his relationships. We flash back, and that would be correct. He tells the others that they’re going to tread carefully at the party, and they all high-five.

Everyone glams up for the party. Is it wrong of me to hope Madison falls in her new heels? The event is being held at her friend (she has friends?) Brittany’s house, which could easily be confused for a hotel; it’s that huge. They talk to event planner Erica, who points out the details in the décor. Madison says, Patricia isn’t feeling well, and Whitney’s taking care of her, so they won’t be attending. We see a clip of Patricia ringing her bedside bell and calling for her son. The guests arrive, and Austen skulks around the outskirts before giving Madison a side hug and lying that he’s glad to meet Brett. In Austen’s interview, he says he thought Brett was going to be a Greek god, but wonders what Brett has that he doesn’t. We don’t have the time for that, and Brett looks like a younger, more handsome Matthew McConaughey, so nothing to sneeze at. In Craig’s interview, he says, it’s like a beautiful trainwreck. No one gets hurt, but things catch fire and blow up. Interesting correlation.

Venita shows up with a bag from Tiffany’s, and in Madison’s interview, she says she’s happy they squashed their beef. Not that the two are linked, but… New guy Rodrigo is there, and everyone is wearing coats outside. This surprises me, since I got the impression that it’s never cold in Charleston because everyone is constantly bitching about the heat. Shep doesn’t know how to say hello to Taylor, and Brett suggests he just do it. Madison makes a toast about Brett being her dream come true, and suggests Austen make a toast. Being the original guy he is, he says, to the happy couple, and Craig says, very profound. Taylor gifts Madison with a dildo, since she and Brett are long distance a lot of the time. In Madison’s interview, she says she thought Taylor was a good little Christian girl, and WWJD? I dunno. I don’t think He’s the one making judgements here. Shep asks Olivia how to approach Taylor, and Olivia says, Taylor is in a better headspace, but don’t stroll down Memory Lane.

Another side hug, and Shep brings up the memories anyway. Austen talks to Olivia, and from across the room, Craig determines she’s not happy. Olivia asks what Austen needs from her in this moment, so she can enjoy the day, and he says, nothing. She can’t get away fast enough. Neither can Taylor from Shep. In Shep’s interview, he says, it was intense, and he feels responsible which makes him sad. I’m sure he’ll get over it. Craig tells Brett that it’s odd the least awkward conversation of the day was him, Austen, and Madison. Taylor tells Austen, Shep only wanted to make himself feel better. In her interview, Taylor talks about how Craig sat on information and then smiled about it. Wipe the smile off your face before I wipe it off for you. Shep swears to Craig that he wasn’t a cheater, but he’s weak. It wasn’t like he invited women over.

Venita takes pics for social media, and I enjoy the food/drink porn. Craig suggests Paige and Olivia hang because Paige doesn’t have friends in Charleston. Austen has no one to talk to and wants Craig to stop talking. He says he’s about to snap, and finally taps Craig on the arm, but craig ignores him and continues to talk. Taylor says, when the breakup happened, she and Craig went their separate ways. She thought they were friends, and he laughed about Shep’s cheating. She gets loud, and an audience starts to form. Madison is like, not here, not now, and Taylor says, after the breakup, Craig didn’t talk to her. He says, Shep is his friend, and she says, maybe they can have a laugh together. The only person who gives a sh*t is Austen. He’s the only one who had her back. Shep doesn’t give a sh*t about anyone but himself. She asks, what if Craig’s girlfriend cheated on him? and he tells her that she’s embarrassing herself.

Wow. It didn’t take long for everything to degenerate into a mess.

This season, vacations awful people shouldn’t be allowed to have; Madison feels nauseous; Craig wonders why he and Paige are dating if they’re not taking the next step; one of the new guys wants to date Olivia; OH MY GOD, Shep and Taylor hook up, then argue about his cheating again; another new guy tells Shep to grow up, and fights with Austen; and ever the observer, Patricia sips champagne and surveys her domain.

🎼 Giving Them the Moonman…

MTV VMA winners.

The best and worst moments.

https://www.avclub.com/the-best-and-worst-moments-of-the-2023-mtv-vmas-1850832747

The fashion, and the first time I’ve said no to Oscar de la Renta.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/vmas-2023-best-dressed-b2410260.html

https://www.eonline.com/photos/36490/2023-mtv-vmas-riskiest-red-carpet-fashion

https://www.eonline.com/photos/36488/mtv-vmas-2023-red-carpet-fashion

🦁 Circle Of Life Moment…

Taking pups out to the ballgame.

https://paradepets.com/pet-news/simba-cam-citi-field

https://www.overtimeheroics.net/2023/09/13/watch-simba-cam-at-citi-field-showing-all-the-dogs-in-the-ballpark/

🍂 Soon To Be Falling…

Join me tomorrow for soap, tea ripped from the headlines, words to weigh, and music relevant to the day. Until then, stay safe, stay knowing when it’s time to switch gears, and stay seeking personal growth and not just an impressive title.

September 13, 2023 – Sonny Asks For Carly’s Help In Finding His Enemy, Another Amazing Vacation Wasted On Housewives, Who Is She & Imagination

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Tracy stands on the stairs listening, and says, she’d know that car anywhere. She walks to the door saying, five, four, three, two, one, and opens it just as Lucy is about to knock. She says, what a surprise, and Lucy says, is it though? Is it really a surprise? She walks in, and Tracy says, we’ll see.

Chase brings Brook the phone she left in the bathroom, and she says, checking her social media while blow-drying her hair is a bad habit. He kisses her, and she says, this is a good habit. She’s tempted to suggest they call in sick for work, but she knows he’d never consider it. He says he won’t call in sick, but maybe he can show up a little late. He kisses her again and there’s a knock at the door. It’s Maxie, who asks if Brook is here.

Ava walks into the gallery where Mason is waiting, his perpetual lollypop in his mouth. She asks what he’s doing here. The gallery isn’t open. He says, the door was unlocked, and she says, the sign says closed. She has nothing to say to him. He tells her, shut up. She set them up. The boss is pissed and it’s not good.

Sonny tells Carly that he was just playing with Donna’s favorite doll. She’s making a parade or something. Carly says she heard all about it. A celebration for when daddy gets home. Let’s just say things haven’t been good in Donna’s doll world the last few days. She asks how he explained to Donna what happened, and he says he just told her the FBI made a mistake, he had to stay with the FBI until it was cleared up, and everything’s fine now. There’s nothing to worry about. She says, they both know that’s not true.

Dante calls Anna, and says he wants her to know he hasn’t forgotten about her. He’s just waiting on confirmation about something, and once he has it, she’ll be interested in seeing it for sure. He’ll talk to her soon. Sam comes in, and he asks if she had an early class. She says she did a little yoga, yes. She feels centered. He should try it sometime. He says, maybe he will, and kisses her. He says, seeing she’s centered, maybe it’s a good time to talk about what they’re going to do about their friends, the fugitives.

Cody wakes up and sees Sasha is gone. He runs outside.

Carly gives Sonny some coffee, and says she’s relieved and grateful that the charges were dropped. He thanks her, and she says, not just because of the kids. She doesn’t want to see him suffer. He says he feels the same way, and she says she doesn’t believe for a second the FBI made a mistake. They obviously had enough evidence against him, so what happened? He says, the Feds were expecting something not exactly legal, and what they found was incredible coffee. She says, which he only receives at the warehouse, never at the pier. And he never ships coffee in the middle of the night, so there must have been a reason it was on the docks. It’s almost like he knew the FBI was going to bust him. He says he didn’t know that was going to happen, but he did lay some false breadcrumbs to feed his enemy. She says, what enemy? and he says, that’s what he’s going to find out, and he will.

Mason says, Ava made a mistake trying to play the boss, and she tells him, leave or she’ll call the cops. He’s trespassing. He says, really? She’s going to call the cops? When he has evidence she murdered her ex-husband? Don’t forget who has the body with her DNA all over it. She says, they had a deal. She did her part. He says, they know what she did. The deal was that she helped them in exchange for getting the body, but she decided to double-cross them. She says, that’s absolutely untrue, and he says, the evidence, the information Betty gave them was false. It was a set-up. That means Sonny was warned, and the only person who could have done that was her.

Tracy asks if Lucy wants to discuss the case, or does she want to make a deal. Lucy says, first she’d like information, and Tracy says she understands. There’s a thing called discovery. That’s what lawyers do. Lucy’s lawyer can contact her lawyer, and all of Lucy’s questions can be answered… in six months when the trial – if and when they go to trial – and by the way, discovery ends, she thinks, two weeks before the trial. (Huh?) Lucy says she knows that. Tracy knows she doesn’t have time to wait. She needs answers now. Tracy says she understands, but unfortunately, that’s not the way the legal system works. She’s going to have to be patient. Is there something else she can help Lucy with? This could all go away. 75/25. She’s taken the liberty of drawing up the papers. There’s just a few places to sign and she’s marked them. Lucy says, gee, thank you so much. She’s not signing anything. Tracy asks if that isn’t why she’s here, to make a deal, but Lucy says, there’s no deal. Can they just stop this? Drop the pretense. She knows Tracy doesn’t have any of the schematics on The Deceptor. Prove she’s got something. Show her what she’s got.

Brook says she was just about to head to the office, and Maxie says, that’s what she thought. Maxie’s new digs are on the way to Brook’s new digs, so she thought she’d take a chance and see if Brook was still here. Chase asks if he can offer Maxie a cup of coffee, but Maxie says she doesn’t want to hold him up. She knows how much policing he has to do with Mac as Commissioner. She knows what a demon he can be sometimes, so… Chase says, she’s right about that. He’s going to skip the lecture today, thank you very much. He tells Brook that he loves her and not to work too hard. He leaves, and Brook asks how the move went, but Maxie says she didn’t stop by to catch up. Why did Brook give The Deceptor information to Tracy?

Sam says, the best way Dante can help Cody and Sasha is to stay as ignorant as possible. Dante says, the problem is, he can’t ignore that a friend of his escaped a mental facility and took one of its patients with him, and she says, they went over this last night. He needs deniability. He says he did, and he appreciates she wants to protect him, and she says, of course (🍷) she does. She loves him and she knows he loves being a cop. She doesn’t want him to do anything to compromise that. He says he gets it. He loves her and wants to protect her too. It seems he’s not the only one who could be compromised by this whole thing. He got an update on the case, and for helping Cody, she made herself an accessory to kidnapping and assault. She says, what assault? and he says, Cody attacked Sasha’s psychiatrist, a guy named Dr. Montague. She asks if he just said Dr. Montague.

Cody finds Sasha outside, and she says, it feels so good to breathe fresh air; the smell of a forest instead of disinfectant. He says, good morning, and she says she has no idea how long she was at Ferncliff, but she remembers lying on that bed just wishing she was outside; feel the sun on her face, breathe freely. And here she is, because of him. He says, so she’s not mad at him for busting her out of there? and she says she’s never been more grateful to anyone in her life. He says, she’s welcome. Aside from being able to breathe freely, how is she really feeling? She says she’s confused. What actually happened last night?

Mac asks if there’s any update on the APB on Cody Bell and Sasha Gilmore, but the desk sergeant says, no sightings yet. Mac says, let him know when that changes, when Jordan comes in and asks for a word. They go into the interrogation room, and she says, the FBI busts Sonny Corinthos and lets him go. And meanwhile, they’ve got two escaped mental patients running around. What the hell is going on here?

Cody asks what Sasha remembers, and she says she remembers being in more pain than she’s ever felt. She remembers being terrified someone, Cody, was going to hurt her, but he didn’t. He sat with her. He helped her. He says, she had pretty severe withdrawal symptoms (BTW, do not try that at home), and she says, the doctors and nurses kept saying she was using, that she had someone slipping her drugs, but she swears she didn’t. He says he knows. He believes her. She asks why he would. Everyone knows she’s gotten clean before and relapsed. There’s a huge stigma about people slipping back into using. Why wouldn’t he think she’d gone the same way? He says, two reasons. One, she told him; and two, he knows exactly who’s drugging her. It was Dr. Montague.

Sam tells Dante that she ran into Dr. Montague, literally, when she was there for Cody’s evaluation. Look. She shows him her phone and says  she didn’t think anything of it at the time. She didn’t know he had anything to do with Sasha, and she accidentally spilled a cup of coffee on his phone. She was washing it off and a call came in from a Gladys; not a very common name. He agrees, and she says, this could be the smoking gun that proves Gladys messed with Sasha, just like Cody said. And if Dr. Montague is the psychiatrist… He says, or because he’s Sasha’s psychiatrist, Gladys called him to get a prognosis because she’s Sasha’s guardian. Sam says, there’s another thing she didn’t tell him. She mentioned something offhand about playing cards, and Montague said he had a game he played in regularly, and said there would be a spot for her. She got the feeling he was talking high stakes. Dante says, the game at The Savoy, the poker game in the back room, and she says, they both know that Gladys loves to gamble. He says, so maybe Gladys met Dr. Montague there.

Tracy says, Lucy should know better than to ask her that, and Lucy says, what she wants to know better is why. Why does Tracy actually think she owns the rights to The Deceptor? Does she even have a prototype? Does she know the word prototype? Tracy says, Lucy doesn’t understand; she won’t comment on that. Lucy says, just tell her. How did Tracy get it? Tracy says, her lawyer told her not to discuss the case, but Lucy says, there isn’t a case. All Tracy has is her attempt to steal The Deceptor through legal intimidation. She thinks this is about Tracy. Tracy wants to get revenge on her because she can’t stand her nasty, miserable life. Tracy says, tempting bait, but she won’t bite. There’s a deal on the table, and Lucy is here because she realizes this is her best and only option. So why doesn’t Lucy save them a lot of trouble, and give her what she wants, 75% of Deception.

Ava asks Mason, why would warn Sonny? She and Sonny have been arguing over their daughter since the day she was born. Mason says, so she wants to get in his good books, but she says, that’s absurd. He would wonder what kind of leverage Mason had over her, and then she would have to tell him about Nikolas’s accidental death. Then he would take Avery away from her in a heartbeat. She did exactly as she was told. She got Betty hired. She made sure Betty had open access to Sonny’s home. If Betty screwed up and got him bad information, she thinks that’s his fault for using someone incompetent. It certainly has nothing to do with her.

Sonny tells Carly, all he knows is that Dr. Gatlin-Holt and his cousin Mason work for this person, and they pressured Ava into getting information about him. She says, pressured Ava how? Do they have something on her? Are they blackmailing her? He says, that’s a need-to-know, and he doesn’t think she needs to know. She says she needs to know if he’s protecting Ava.

Tracy says, as Lucy can see, it’s quite straightforward. All she has to do is sign, and she continues working at the company, and reaps the benefits of The Deceptor and anything else Deception expends out to. Lucy takes the contract out of Tracy’s hand, and Tracy asks if Lucy came there to waste her time. Lucy rips the contract in half and says, 75/25 is off the table. She did not put her heart and soul into a company just to give it away for some measly percentage. Tracy says she does understand. After all the work Lucy put into the company, it would be difficult to give up any amount, any percentage. So if not 75/25, what would she be amenable to? Lucy says, Deception’s a whole lot more than just The Deceptor, so she guesses if – and that’s a great big fat if – Tracy came up with a similar product at the exact same time, and can prove it, maybe she can settle for 50/50. Tracy laughs, and says, Lucy is way off base. 65/35.

Brook says, it’s complicated, and Maxie says she takes that as a yes. Brook stole information and gave it to Tracy. She doesn’t know why she didn’t see this sooner. Brook left Deception because she wanted to get into music, then all of a sudden, she’s back. Lucy was under the impression that Maxie rehired Brook, when Maxie thought Lucy rehired her. But all this time, she was really working for Tracy. Brook took advantage of their friendship and Maxie’s trust, so she could steal information about their most valuable product. Brook, looking very sad, says, yes. That’s exactly what she did.

Jordan asks what Mac is doing about it, and he says, they have an APB out on the Ferncliff inmates, Cody Bell and Sasha Gilmore. She says, Sasha? But she was committed right after stabbing Cody. Is it possible he may have taken her for revenge? Mac says, it’s highly unlikely. He knows Cody. He’s convinced Cody means her no harm. She says, it sounds like he might have an idea why Cody took her. It’s been reported as a kidnapping. Mac says he doesn’t think it was a kidnapping, and Jordan says she’s learned to trust his instincts, but that doesn’t change the fact they’re fugitives and need to be found.

At the station, Agent Moss (aka the guy I thought was the US Attorney) asks to see Commissioner Scorpio, and the desk sergeant says, he’s in the interrogation room. Chase says he can show Agent Moss in, and brings him to Mac. Mac says he assumes Moss is here with information on the Sonny Corinthos case.

Sonny tells Carly, the person he’s protecting is Avery. It’s not good to have her mother be put in the middle of something shady. Carly asks what Ava did, and Sonny says, Ava came to his place looking for something, but she didn’t get it. Then they made it look like Pilar messed up, so Ava would fire her. Carly says, Pilar was a set-up, and he says, yeah. Then they pressured Ava into hiring Betty, which was their plant. She says, so Mason and Austin sent Betty to get information on him, and Ava had to go along. No wonder she was so worried about Betty. Carly wondered why she hired someone she didn’t like. Sonny says, she didn’t have a choice; he didn’t have a choice. So what he did was switch the game. Instead of Betty playing fetch with them, he had her deliver a parcel from him. She says, which was? and he says, exactly what they were looking for, but he and Brick made a few modifications. She says, he gave them false information, and he says, so Mason and Austin must’ve taken the bait back to their boss. She says, that’s why he asked her about Austin’s visit to Pentenville. So their boss, Sonny’s enemy, is inside Pentenville.

Sam tells Dante, Cody admitted he was playing poker for Selina Wu, and said that Gladys was in there and she lost big. He says, that’s convenient, considering she controls all of Sasha’s money, and she says, not to mention, she sold Brando’s garage. He asks if Sam thinks she’s really using these funds to repay debts, and Sam says she does. It certainly seems like that. Just think about it. Sasha was doing so much better. Maxie was going around telling everyone how well she handled that TV show, and Sasha was working so hard to end her conservatorship so she could have control of her own assets. He says, and if she was able to do that, she would have seen what Gladys is doing with the money, and Gladys wouldn’t want that to happen. She says, no. Gladys had to make sure Sasha stayed mentally unfit. He says, so Gladys must have met Montague at the poker game, and gotten him to help her do something to Sasha. Son of a bitch! He bangs the table with his fist.

Sasha tells Cody that Dr. Montague gave her injections. He said they were to help her get off the drugs, but she kept telling him that she wasn’t on any drugs. She never got anything from anybody. Cody says, this is really important. When she went live on that show on Home & Heart, she did great. She kept her cool under a very stressful situation. Was she on any medication at all at that time? She says, just her antidepressant. She’d been taking them for eight months, but they were prescribed by her old psychiatrist. He says, what about after that? Any other medications? She says, yes. She was taking the pills Dr. Montague gave her.

Maxie says, so Brook admits it, and she’s just going to stand there like she stole Maxie’s yogurt from the work fridge. Brook says she’s not trying to minimize what she did. She is so, so sorry, but she swears she had no idea what Tracy was going to do with that information about The Deceptor. Maxie says, Brook, better than anyone, knows what a schemer Tracy is. Did Brook think she was just too cheap to buy one, so she was going to build one for herself? Brook says, Tracy told her that she just wanted to know about it, and Maxie says, Tracy always has an agenda. Brook had to know Tracy was going to use that information against them. Brook says she was desperate. She owed Tracy big time, and this is how she collected. When Chase was kicked off the police force for defending her, she was supposed to write a letter to help him get reinstated, but she hesitated because she was too selfish. She was too scared of losing him, but she knew she had to fix it. So she went to her grandmother. She said she could pull some strings and get him a second hearing. It was like an angel came down to earth to right all of the wrongs. Well, that angel quickly turned demon when she threatened to go tell Chase unless Brook got her the information on The Deceptor. Maxie knows how much Chase hates being manipulated. Maxie says, stop. She’s heard enough. They are not in high school anymore. Brook put Maxie’s job, her livelihood, at risk because she couldn’t be honest with her boyfriend? Didn’t he break up with her once before because she lied to him? Has she learned nothing? Brook could not look sadder.

Lucy says, Tracy is absolutely impossible, and Tracy says, Lucy really doesn’t have any other options. She can let Deception slide into oblivion as the case drags on for months with appeals and delays. And of course (🍷) Lucy will have her real estate business. She thinks the Quartermaines have some swampland in Putnam County she can offload. Lucy says, 60/40, okay? That way Tracy gets to keep control – because that’s what Tracy loves, control – and she keeps a decent share, but there will be a clause that Tracy can’t remove her as CEO, and can’t take her off any of her board positions. Okay? Tracy says, through their history, there’s one thing she’s come to bank on. Lucy is a grifter. She’ll always look out for number one, but she does understand the disparity in their percentages is disconcerting. Even a tiny amount could be humiliating. She’s feeling extremely generous today. How about 51/49? That’s just a one percent difference. Lucy says, 51/49, really. Deal. She picks up her bag and says she guesses they’ll get in touch with each other to draw up that paperwork, but Tracy says, there’s one other detail. The deal is contingent on Lucy returning her 1% voting rights in ELQ.

Moss says he’d like a private talk, but Mac says, Deputy Mayor Ashford was Police Commissioner, before she took over for the mayor, and she worked for the DEA. Detective Chase is one of their finest. Anything Moss can say to him, he can say to them. Moss says, when they arrested Sonny Corinthos and seized his shipment, they were acting on information that he was illegally transporting classified weapons. The charges were dropped because there was nothing in the crates but coffee. Jordan says, it sounds like Sonny was one step ahead of them, and Moss says, he was, but that won’t always be the case.

Sonny tells Carly that he has reason to believe his enemy is inside Pentenville, but he’s not quite sure. The only connection there is between his false information that Betty stole and his arrest, is Gatlin-Holt’s trip to Pentenville. He had them both followed after Betty delivered the goods. Mason went to some working girl, and Austin went to Pentenville. Carly says, Mason sounds like a great guy (I literally lol), and Sonny says he’s thinking Austin was there to give some information to someone. And then in turn, the FBI got it. Either they’re trying to take him down, or they’re just trying to get points with the Feds. Or both. She says, so he needs to know who Austin saw during his visit at Pentenville, and he says, that’s where she can help him out. She says, really, and he says, if she’s willing.

Ava tells Mason, Sonny didn’t get where he is by being stupid. He’s more than capable of picking up on that sociopathic gleam in Betty’s eyes. Maybe Betty’s sweet act wasn’t as convincing as Mason thought it would be. Has that ever occurred to him? Maybe Sonny realized she was a plant and decided to turn the tables. She’s pretty sure that would make this his fault, wouldn’t it? For using the wrong operative. He says, not a story he wants to take back to his boss, and she says, take this back to the boss. She did her part. She just wants this to be over. She didn’t say anything to Sonny. She doesn’t intend to say anything to Sonny. Her life and the lives of the people she cares about mean too much to her. He says, we’ll be in touch, and leaves.

Dante tells Sam that he’s sorry. He’s never liked Gladys. He just didn’t trust her. She seemed all money grubbing, and she lied all the time, but he thought she was basically harmless. She was Sonny’s family, and Mike liked her. Poor Brando. He was a good guy and he had Gladys as a mother? He thought when Brando died, she cared and would want to do right by his widow, but he guesses not. Cody saw through her. (Well, he saw her at the poker game.) Sam says, Dante had no way of knowing, but he says, he’s a detective. Come on, he was blinded. Cody’s been talking about her for months, but Dante had his own stupid misgivings about Cody, and it messed up his judgement. Sam knew. She said it. Why didn’t he listen? Why did it get this far?

Sasha says, after her second session with Dr. Montague, he gave her some pills for anxiety, and Cody asks what the prescription was for. She says, he just gave her a bottle of pills and told her to take three a day, which she did. He asks if she even knew what she was taking. He’s sorry. She says, it all started then. She remembers she was feeling so impulsive, full of energy. She wanted to celebrate everything and she had no control. She couldn’t keep track of things, but she didn’t care. That’s when the shoplifting incident happened. He says, she was taking the pills the whole time? and she says, three a day. He says, Montague was drugging her long before she got sent to Ferncliff. Sasha says, why? Why would he do it?

Moss says, this goes no further than the room, and Mac says, of course (🍷). Moss says, they believe Mr. Corinthos is involved in the trafficking and sale of these restricted weapons. While they haven’t been able to prove it, this is an ongoing investigation. There are possible ties to the government and the private sectors, and they’ll continue to monitor Corinthos. Mac asks what the FBI expects from the PCPD in terms of cooperation, and Moss says, Corinthos has a son here in the department, Detective Dante Falconari. He was present at his father’s arraignment. If there’s any reason to suspect Detective Falconari is feeding his father information, or giving him any kind of assistance, they want to know about it. Lots of soap looks all around.

Lucy says, Tracy has been waiting years and years and years to spring this on her, hasn’t she? Tracy can’t stand the fact she has 1% of her family legacy. Tracy says, Lucy wormed her way into her family by taking advantage of her brother’s weakness. Lucy had an affair with him when he was married to Monica. Lucy says, so they’re going to bring this up now? Really? Monica was to blame too, because she slept with Tracy’s son Ned. Tracy says, the point is, Lucy blackmailed her into appointing her CEO. That is one of her biggest regrets. Lucy says, that is ancient, ancient history. Why in the world is she dredging that up now? Tracy says, because she is here to prevent the Quartermaine ship from running aground. Somebody has to get this family back on course, and if her son can’t do it, she has to do it. Lucy has clung to this family like a barnacle (another ha-ha from me), and it’s time they scrape off anything that doesn’t belong, and that means her. One percent voting rights in ELQ, and that is her final offer. Lucy says, nev-er, and walks out. Tracy says, ha. We’ll see.

Brook tells Maxie that she knows how this sounds and she’s not making excuses. But she loves Chase, more than she ever thought was possible. All she cared about was getting him his badge back, and when he did, when things were looking up for them, she didn’t want to ruin it. She was weak, so she gave in to Tracy’s demands. When she finally mustered up enough courage to stand up to Tracy, it was too late. She already had the information on The Deceptor. Maxie asks why Brook didn’t come to her, after everything they went through with Bailey Lou? Why didn’t Brook trust her? They could have schemed up a solution together. Instead, Brook betrayed her. Now Brook looks sad and uncomfortable.

On the phone, Tracy says, her friend just left… She thinks she’s going to fold… No. This is a perfect time to come and visit. Port Charles is beautiful in the fall.

Brook says, Maxie is right. In hindsight, Brook should have come to her. Maxie says she would have helped Brook, and Brook says she doesn’t know. She was just too ashamed, too stupid. She thought she could handle it. Maxie says, handle Tracy? and Brook says she had no idea what Tracy was planning. She could never have foreseen Sasha’s meltdown, or the fact that The Deceptor would be their only moneymaker. She could have never planned for any of that. She messed up and she’ll do everything in her power to make it right. She’ll come up with a social media campaign against Tracy, and it will go viral. They can handle this. They can make it right. Maxie says, that’s not going to happen. She’s not going to let that happen. Brook’s proven she cannot be trusted. She’s fired. Brook says, no, Maxie, please, but Maxie heads for the door. Brook says she’ll work for free. Just let her make it right. Maxie says, that ship has sailed, and walks out, closing the door behind her.

On the phone, Ava says, where the hell is Austin? His cousin was just here again, making crazy accusations. She can’t take this anymore, and she’s telling him, if Mason drags her under, Austin’s coming with her.

Carly says, is she willing to help Sonny get the answer. Is she willing to help him period. There was a time when she would have jumped in. She would have said yes immediately, but now… He says, not so much? and she asks if it’s going to endanger Drew or affect his sentence in any way. He says, no, not at all, and she says she doesn’t know. So much has happened. So much has changed between them. He says he understands, and she asks if he really does, or is he just saying that to get her to do what he wants her to do. He says he understands things have changed, but one thing hasn’t changed. She would do anything for him, and he would do anything for her. And he’s always there for her. She says she knows. And she knows he wouldn’t ask her if it wasn’t serious, and if someone is gunning for him, that means they could come after her kids, so yes, of course (🍷) she’s in. What does he need her to do? He says he’ll tell her on the way to Pentenville.

Sam asks how Dante could have known what was going on. Gladys is a snake, and she’s cunning, and she had to keep Sasha under guardianship so she could have access to Sasha’s money. That meant convincing everyone, including him, that she had Sasha’s best interest at heart. He says, the bottom line is, he should have just listened to Cody, but she says she didn’t believe Cody at first. He hasn’t exactly been 100% honest with either of them. Dante says, he hasn’t, but he said Sasha was being drugged the whole time. Even after she stabbed him, he said it wasn’t her. How long has she been on these drugs? What is she taking? Sam says she doesn’t know. They’ll figure that out. The important thing is that Cody cared enough to go into Ferncliff and get Sasha out. She thinks Cody saved Sasha’s life. He says he’s got to see Cody. He has to talk to Cody. She has to trust him enough to take him where they are.

Sasha tells Cody that she never even met Dr. Montague until he was assigned to evaluate her. What possible motive could he have for drugging her? Cody says he’s guessing Montague was being paid, and she says, by who? He says, by the person who did have a motive – her mother-in-law Gladys.

Tomorrow, Spencer tells Trina that he thinks he may have fixed that; Nina asks if Olivia doesn’t want Ned back; Josslyn asks if Dex is dumping her (if so, I called it); and Sonny asks for Drew’s help.

The Really Horrifying Housewives of Orange County

Still inflicting themselves on Mexico.

Shannon wonders if they’re having food or should they put sand on their plates, and in Fancy Pants Heather’s interview, she wonders why she thought sharing good news would be met with anything but this bullsh*t. Everyone is mad at her for something. Should she apologize to the waiter as well? She walks away from the table, and Emily says she’s pissed. Shannon tells Emily that she didn’t say anything, and in Emily’s interview, she says, she and Shannon are in a good place. They’ve had issues, but she feels they’ve worked through them. Why would they get to that point, and Shannon would talk bad about her, then lie? It doesn’t make sense. In Shannon’s interview, she says she didn’t even see Fancy Pants at BravoCon, and thinks one of Heather’s goals is leveling her relationships. Tamra hunts down Fancy Pants, who says she’s tired of people lying. Emily seems to have a crackerjack memory about anything she’s said. At the table, Emily tells the others that she asked Fancy Pants what Shannon had said, but Fancy Pants said she couldn’t tell her because it was in the vault. Shannon says, the biggest thing with John is that when they first met, they spent every day together. Now he has excuses to leave. When John has to go, it hurts her. She has childhood issues, and when they have an argument, she’s afraid he’s walking out. In Shannon’s interview, she says, everyone thinks there are greater issues going on, and it’s causing her anxiety. So she’s going to open up and set the record straight. Emily says, Shannon shouldn’t talk if she doesn’t want to, but she needs an outlet. She asks about John not wanting Shannon to discuss their relationship, and Shannon says she told him, it’s his rule, not hers. In her interview, Emily says she thinks it’s great that Shannon is opening up, but she feels it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Shannon says, John’s an avoider and she’s a communicator. Sometimes it doesn’t mesh, so sometimes she talks to them. Sha and John both have plenty to do, and she feels like he doesn’t care. Fancy Pants tells Tamra that she’s at her tipping point. She’s held to different standards, and can’t do or say anything right. Emily says she heard Shannon claimed to have juicy stuff about Jenn’s relationship, and Shannon admits she did say that. In Gina’s interview, she says, Shannon pretends to be a good person, but Jenn and Tamra finally seem to be getting along, and she wants to dig up dirt. Shannon tells them that she heard there was more stuff to come out. Tamra said there was so much more. In Jenn’s interview, she says she spoke with the girl Ryan slept with, and she’d said Tamra was digging for information. In Tamra’s interview, she says, the girl Ryan dated sent her texts that happened while he was in a relationship with Jenn. Part of her wants to protect Jenn. She knows Jenn plays dumb and it’s frustrating. Tamra comes back, and says, Fancy Pants was hoping to celebrate the sale of the house with them, and Emily says, Fancy Pants just called her a liar and an a-hole. Heather brings in gift boxes that say something like From Fiesta to Siesta, and they have a bunch of Mexican themed gifts inside. As she hands one to Emily, Emily says, but she’s an a-hole. Fancy Pants says, they’ll dive into that later. Oh goody. Something to look forward to. In her interview, Emily says she doesn’t want gifts. She wants Fancy Pants to be easier to be friends with. Good luck with that. In Fancy Pants’ interview, she says she is who she is, and likes to bring a trip gift, even if they don’t deserve it. They decide to go to bed, and Shannon asks for a skinny margarita to go.

In the morning, they get ready for an ATV excursion, and make calls to their families. Fancy Pants tells Terry that everyone looked blank when she told them about the house, which is bullsh*t. The only blank was on Fancy Pants’ face when they reamed her out for not telling them before they found out in the press. Terry says, it was mean, but forget it and have fun. Fancy Pants says, every time the group is together, it comes down to her, and she’s not tolerating it. If it happens again, she’s out. Wow. This chick is not only a whiner, she really doesn’t see herself. Tamra joins the others for breakfast, and tells them that she asked if Fancy Pants wanted to eat, but she said she had food. She doesn’t feel Fancy Pants means some of the things she says. It’s just who she is. Shannon says, the things that happened between her and Fancy Pants weren’t happenstance. She’s been talking about Shannon’s relationship. She acts like she’s above everyone, but it’s just her being an a-hole. Gina and Emily are the only ones left at the table when Fancy Pants finally graces the table with her presence. Emily says, if Fancy Pants felt she was being a jerk, she apologizes sincerely. In her interview, Fancy Pants says, an apology is fantastic, but there’s a pattern. We flash back to other times Emily has apologized to Fancy Pants, and in her interview, Emily says, all she can do is say she’s sorry, and she’ll probably do it again. The difference here is, at least Emily does apologize. Fancy Pants gives excuses. Fancy Pants suggests they take a restart. She’d been dying to tell them about the house. In Gina’s interview, she says, it’s insulting to her, but maybe Fancy Pants isn’t used to someone having her back. Fancy Pants says she’s not being dismissive or unkind, but she’s done. She does value Gina and Emily’s friendship, and thinks they’re good. Honestly, my friendships have never once been this complicated.

In Tamra’s interview, she says she set up an excursion where they’ll drive through the jungle on ATVs, then dive into the water. She’s been there before, but she’ll try anything twice. Guides Eddie and Alvaro go through a few instructions, and they head out. It looks like fun, but I’m sure the day will be ruined somehow. In Gina’s interview, she says, Shannon looks like Jennifer Coolidge on a vespa in White Lotus. They get to the water, and it’s 36 feet down. When they ask what’s in there, Eddie says, cameras and watches. Emily goes first, from the highest point, and ends up with a nose bleed. In Fancy Pants’ interview, she says, there’s not enough champagne to make her jump in. In Emily’s interview, she says she’ll do anything once as long as doesn’t result in reconstructive surgery. Tamra makes the jump, and Gina tells Fancy Pants to give her artifacts to her children. In her interview, Gina says she was so afraid of water, she wouldn’t even take baths for a while. We flash back to a few times that she’s freaked out in the water, and she says, her life is flashing before her and it’s too short. She jumps from the lowest platform, which is about as high as the public pool high diving board where I grew up, and they applaud.

Gina calls Travis, who’s at the food court, since it’s the only place that makes all six kids happy. They get ready for dinner, and in Tamra’s interview, she says, Jenn was a soccer mom, and now she drips in fake designer clothes. She’s wearing a real Mugler. Vicki shows up at Shannon and Tamra’s room, and there’s screaming. So much screaming. In Tamra’s interview, she says she invited Vicki, but Vicki wasn’t sure she could make it. To have the Tres Amigas back again is everything. In Shannon’s interview, she says, her best memories have Vicki and Tamra in them. Some of them are blurry, but that’s what girlfriends are for. They do their Amigas dance and drink a shot. The rest of the group arrives at the restaurant for dinner before they do, and Emily says, there’s one extra chair and it’s creeping her out. The Amigas finally arrive, and Vicki says she doesn’t want to be left out. In Gina’s interview, she says, Vicki made it clear how she feels about her and Emily, but it’s not worth bringing it up. Let’s just whoop it up. In Emily’s interview, she says, Vicki likes to talk about them a lot. She’s clearly super fan. We see some tabloid headlines where Vicki trash talked them. In Vicki’s interview, she says, the group needs to liven it up. Emily brings up Fancy Pants calling her Snuffleupagus, and we see a clip from earlier with Emily saying she had to get her look together, and Heather saying she looks like Snuffleupagus… in a good way. In her interview, Emily says, Fancy Pants thinks she says mean things, but Fancy Pants says things that could be construed as mean. Snuffleupagus is a big, huge, furry Muppet. The resort has arranged for them to have a private showing of Cirque du Soliel Joyà, and they’re thrilled with the performance. It is pretty cool. Someone gave me Cirque tickets once, and I enjoyed it – the hologram stuff was amazing – but it probably isn’t something I’d normally pay to see. The women get their PJs on and go to the Amigas’ room for more drinking. Tamra passes out bathing suits that have 3D body graphics on them. They play Truth or Dare for a hot minute, then somehow, Vicki starts talking about Jenn’s relationship, even though she doesn’t know Ryan’s name.

Vicki tells Jenn that she thinks Jenn is in the same situation she was, and the man she’s with might not be the right person. She wishes she knew then what she knows now. In Gina’s interview, she says she had high hopes for Vicki, but Vicki travels with her spoon to stir sh*t up. Gina says she thinks Vicki is saying Jenn should trust her gut, but Taylor says she thinks Jenn is doing that. In her interview, Gina says, Vicki doesn’t know Jenn or Ryan, but she knows Tamra. Clearly she’s been hearing things. In Vicki’s interview, a producer asks who she heard it from, and Vicki says, who do they think? Telephone, tell a Tamra. That reminds me of my grandfather, who used to say, telephone, telegraph, tell Marie (my grandmother). Later, Gina, Emily, and Fancy Pants gather, and discuss how Jenn had no reaction and never does; she shuts down. In her interview, Gina says she thinks Jenn needs to stand up for herself. No one checks in with Jenn, but she’s going to. Emily says, Vicki didn’t even know Ryan’s name, and Fancy Pants wonders why Vicki is talking about Jenn’s relationship. In the Amigas room, they manage to start a fire with one of the candles, but it’s quickly extinguished in an ice bucket. You can dress them up…  

The next morning, yikes, the clean-up. Tamra wonders why it’s so bright, and gets into bed with Vicki. Another thing I never did with any of my girlfriends. They all do their family calls, and go to a beach club where they have a private cabana. They’re wearing their suits, and Taylor says, Shannon got teary wondering how she was going to feel included when she’s not willing to be in a swimsuit. We see a clip of Shannon saying she doesn’t want to be in a suit, and in her interview, Shannon says she feels like everyone knows her being thin, and she’ll be more objectified. Emily says she wishes she could help Shannon get to the point where she could embrace who she is, and in her interview, she says she thinks John is critical of Shannon. She thinks he makes Shannon feel bad, commenting on her looks and weight. It’s terrible. The Amigas show up, Shannon in the suit.

In Shannon’s interview, she says, the last time she was with the group in a bathing suit she was 20 pounds lighter. Her weight yoyos, and when she’s not in the happiest place, it can be read on her body. We flash back to her going back to the gym when she was heavier. Aerobics instructor Miguel joins them to lead a water aerobics class, and in Emily’s interview, she says, if it’s going to go this long, she needs a drink and a croissant. She needs some huevos rancheros. In Gina’s interview, she says, Miguel thought they were training for the f***ing Olympics. Afterwards, Emily brings up Fancy Pants comparing her to Snuffleupagus, and Fancy Pants says she wasn’t thrilled with Emily saying she looked like a dolphin trainer when they did the Slip N Slide thing. In their various interviews, the women speculate over what Snuffleupagus is, and Shannon says, he’s super hairy and big. A dolphin trainer is cute. Emily tells Fancy Pants that she could have interpreted it as negative, but she thought Fancy Pants was being funny. The point is, Emily is being funny too. In her interview, Gina says, no one likes being compared to a hairy, large animal, and in Emily’s interview, she says, with Fancy Pants, it’s always a double standard. She does no wrong. She’s just being Heather, but Emily is an a-hole and a jerk. Fancy Pants says, if Emily was offended, she’s so sorry. They sit down to eat, and a container of chicken fingers is passed around. Somebody says, it looks like a d*ck pic, and Taylor reminds them of Vicky saying, Steve doesn’t like to have his weewee touched. We flash back to that, and I just shake my head. Gina asks Jenn how she’s feeling about Vicki’s comment, and Jenn says she hasn’t been with the group long. Vicki gripes about being fired, and Jenn says, at first, she thought Vicki was talking about her own relationships. Since they’d never met before, when Vicki said she got the info from their mutual friend group, she was trying to figure out who their mutual friend was. Ever so helpful, Tamra says, it’s her, and Jenn asks why Tamra is always calling her out. It’s malicious and mean. Tamra insists she’s not malicious or mean and I nearly choke on my coffee. Tamra says, Alex – the girl Ryan slept with when he and Jenn were on a break – reached out to her. Jenn says she didn’t know Alex, and Tamra asks if Jenn never talked to her. Jenn says, this is a baited question. Why doesn’t Tamra just say what she f***ing wants to say? Alex told her that Tamra was the one who reached out, and asked her to send everything. If you need me to be relevant, good for f***ing you.

Tamra says she didn’t ask for the information, but Ryan was sleeping with Alex while he was dating Jenn. He sent her a text while he and Jenn were at a concert in San Diego. Jenn says she’s seen it, and Tamra asks why she’s protecting him. In Jenn’s interview, she says she knew all this and forgave Ryan because she loves him. She’s not protecting him, but why talk about it? It’s painful and it sucked, but he owned up to what he did. She asks what Tamra wants from her, and Tamra says she doesn’t want Jenn hurt. Jenn says, so Tamra is busying herself in her pain? and Tamra says, Jenn never shows any emotion. Jenn says, because it’s easier, and in her interview, she says she brings everything in. She gets quiet, processes it, and thinks about it. Tamra says, Jenn ruined her whole family. She’s not the only person Ryan f***ed at her gym. Everybody knows Ryan’s a player, even Jenn’s mother-in-law, who works out at the same gym. Gina says, Jenn knows and chooses to be with him, and in Fancy Pants’ interview, she says she feels bad for Jenn. She doesn’t know Tamra’s endgame, but doesn’t feel it’s friendship. Tamra says she doesn’t like Ryan with Jenn, and did the same thing with Vicki. We flash back to that, and Vicki says, they have to learn for themselves. Hey, stop that. Vicki has no business being the voice of reason. Tamra says, Jenn should have learned her lesson, but didn’t. Don’t lie to my face like your fake Gucci. In Jenn’s interview, she says, don’t tell her that she ruined her family. That’s not the way a friend talks and acts. She can take the hard conversations, but that’s not the way a friend asks. Jenn leaves the table, and Tamra screeches at her to be f***ing smart.  

Ugh. Tamra has two volumes, and they’re both annoying.

Next time, hang-gliding; Vicki tells Jenn that she should have made her marriage work; and more screeching.

👠 Maybe a Spoiler…

Her connection to Port Charles.

🌞 Non-Rain Dancing…

Come back tomorrow for soap, a little Charm, and VMA talk. Until then, stay safe, stay letting that old lady ahead of you in line, and stay doing anything once, as long as it doesn’t result in reconstructive surgery.