Tag Archives: Heather Locklear

April 26, 2024 – Sasha Gets Two Job Offers, Extra Soap, Melrose Fix, Salty Talk, Charming Cast, JoJo’s Take, Extra Fallout, World News, More Messi, A Joke, V Quotes, A Joke & 2031

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

At the MetroCourt, Carly hugs Sasha, saying, she hasn’t seen Sasha in forever. She asks if Sasha is alone or waiting for someone, and Sasha says she’s waiting for Nina, but Nina seems to have gotten hung up. Carly says she knows how busy Crimson can get. She hopes Sasha isn’t waiting too long. Sasha says, no worries. The longer Nina takes, the longer she has to look for a new place. Carly asks if she’s moving, and Sasha says her rent is too high. She really needs to downsize. Carly says she heard Sasha left Deception. She’s sorry she didn’t text Sasha about it. Not such a good friend, huh? Sasha says, it’s fine. She’s doing great. She sits at the bar, and Carly says, really? She knows how much Sasha put into that company. Sasha says, with all the changes that were happening, it was time to go. She’s really glad she did. Carly says, the appearance on Home & Heart? and Sasha says, a one-time thing. She doesn’t miss the job at all. She just still hasn’t figured out what to do next. Carly says, since she’s looking, would she be interested in working here at the MetroCourt?

Tracy walks into the nook where Leo is snacking and asks Leo why he’s putting that processed garbage into his body. He says he likes it and he’s hungry. He didn’t eat lunch. She says, why not? It’s not like him to forget his lunch. It’s not like him to forget anything. He says he gave it away, and she asks, why? He says, it was a peanut butter sandwich, and she says she thought he liked those. He says he did, but it’s all Yuri ever makes. He’s tired of them. Olivia comes in and asks Leo if he’s ready to go. She has to pick up his friend Teddy and take them to the aquarium pronto. He says he’ll get his backpack, and runs off. Olivia grabs a piece of whatever Leo was eating and says she’s so starving. She didn’t get a chance to eat. Tracy says, do tell, and Olivia says she realizes that dinners have been a little hit or miss lately, but if she makes a couple of lasagnas today, it should last for the next couple of dinners. Tracy says, no, and Olivia says, Tracy doesn’t like her lasagna? Tracy says she loves Olivia’s lasagna. Everybody here loves her lasagna, but this situation is madness. Olivia is running herself ragged at the hotel and she’s condemning everyone in this house to life in leftover manor. Clearly, it is time to hire a cook. Olivia says, bite your tongue.

Walking into the apartment, Gregory says he told Finn that he was fine, and Finn tells him that he keeps saying that. Gregory says his doctor agrees. Last night’s little episode… Finn says, a temporary paralysis? And Gregory says, temporary, yes. He’s made a full recovery. Is Violet here? He doesn’t want to argue in front of her. Finn says, no. She’s still at school. They’re not arguing. He’s just looking out for Gregory. Does he want to lie down? Gregory says, the couch is fine, and don’t worry. He’ll take it easy for the rest of the day. Isn’t Finn needed at the hospital? Finn sits next to him and says he thinks they’ve come to a point where Gregory shouldn’t be left alone for long periods of time. Gregory asks, what exactly is he saying? and Finn says he thinks they should get Gregory an in-home caregiver. Just in case anything like last night ever happens again. (I’d like one of those and I’m not even sick.)

Molly goes to Alexis’s office and asks if she’s got a minute. Alexis says, for her, always. Isn’t she supposed to be in court? Molly says, court’s in recess for lunch, and holds up a to-go bag, asking if Alexis is interested. Alexis says she doesn’t know. It depends. What’s she got? Molly says, turkey club with avocado, and Alexis says, yes, taking the bag. Not that Molly needs an ulterior motive to see her mommy… Molly says she needs Alexis’s help. Alexis says she knew it. Legal advice? Molly says, Kristina, and Alexis says, ugh.

On her phone at the gallery, Laura says she’ll be in soon, and tells Ava, sorry about that. City business. Ava says, of course (🍷). She certainly doesn’t want to keep Laura from her mayor duties. Laura says, so she gathered, because Ava never answered her question, and Ava says, which was? Laura asks, how does she like living with Sonny? when Sonny walks in. He asks if he heard his name, and Laura says, yes. Ava asks, what’s up? and he says he needs their help, both of them. Laura says, with what? and Sonny says he wants to commission one of Ava’s artists to create a piece so he can donate it – he asks Laura if she’s ready for this – to the city. Laura says, what makes him think the city would be interested in that?

Olivia says she appreciates Tracy’s perspective. She realizes she’s been a little overbooked lately. Tracy says, a little? and Olivia says she can feed her family. Tracy says, Olivia needs to face facts. She is spreading herself too thin. She’s reduced her son to eating Snackaroos and peanut butter a la Yuri. Olivia says, Carly’s back at the MetroCourt… and Tracy says she’s missing the point. The Quartermaine family has always had a cook. They need one. Olivia says, Tracy is trying to kick her out of her own kitchen, and Tracy says, it’s Monica’s kitchen. Alan gave it to her, and Olivia is not staff. She’s a Quartermaine. She lives here; she doesn’t work here. And while Tracy admires her concerted effort, she can’t be responsible for feeding this family. Tracy is calling an agency and getting referrals. Olivia says, no! She’ll agree to a cook, but only if she hires the cook.

Carly says she’s co-owner of the MetroCourt again, and Sasha asks, how’d that happen? Carly says, Nina sold her half, and Sasha says, congratulations. Carly thanks her, and Sasha says she’s really happy for Carly. She’s just caught off-guard. Nina never said anything about selling. Carly says she thinks it happened pretty quickly. So does that mean Sasha will consider working for her? Sasha says, of course (🍷) she’ll consider it. She really appreciates the offer. Carly says, but it’s not what she’s looking for, is it? and Sasha says she doesn’t know. She’s trying to look around and see what feels right. Carly says she’s been there, and Sasha says, but you know what does feel right? Carly back here at the MetroCourt. Carly laughs and says, yes, and Sasha says, and Nina back at Crimson. Carly says, better there than here, yes. She’s going to take menus to a customer. If Sasha needs anything, let her know. She’s happy to help. Sasha thanks her and says she will. And she will definitely keep this place in mind. Carly leaves and Sasha sends a text to Nina: Where are you?

Molly tells Alexis, Josslyn and Krissy had another blow up. And this time Josslyn had some very specific things to say about Sonny. Alexis says, Kristina has great big feelings about her father. He’s her hero. Nobody knows that better than she does. Molly says she thinks that’s really why Kristina was upset. Because deep down she knows the things Josslyn was saying were true. They talked, and she was calmer by the time she left, but when TJ found out she’d come over so late and how wound up she’d gotten, now he’s worried that all this stress is going to hurt their baby. Alexis asks what Molly said, and Molly tells her that she tried to defend Kristina’s feelings. It is upsetting – she can’t even imagine – but there are other things to consider. The stress can’t be good for Kristina or the baby. It certainly isn’t good for TJ. Alexis says, or Molly, and Molly says, it’s gotten to the point where prosecuting criminals is how she relaxes. Alexis says, been there, and Molly says, so she was hoping Alexis would talk to Kristina.

Finn says, there are caregivers out there who can keep a low profile, but Gregory says, there should be a babysitter when he’s alone with Violet. For Violet, not for him. Finn says, what if Violet hadn’t been here last night? What if she hadn’t getting him his ventilator? Gregory says he knew something was wrong and asked Violet to get the ventilator for him. If he’d been alone, he would have called 911. Finn says, what if paralysis had hit and he was unable to dial? and Gregory says, fortunately, he’s not quite there yet. Finn says, not this time. What about the next time? Because they both know it will happen again. And the time after that, and the time after that. Gregory says, they don’t need to think about the time after that yet. He just needs to be ready for the next time and he will be. He promises. He starts to leave, but Finn says, that’s not good enough.

Laura says she knows they’re in Ava’s gallery, but can she have a moment alone with Sonny? Ava says, by all means, and leaves, but she listens from around the corner. Sonny says, it’s just you and me. What’s on your mind?

Finn says, Gregory can’t see his point of view, but maybe he can see Violet’s. He’s never seen her more scared than what she was last night. Think about that. Put himself in her shoes. Watching her grandfather collapse, running to get his ventilator, watching him lie on the sofa unable to move. What does he think that did to her? Gregory asks if Violet is afraid to be alone with him now, but Finn says, no. She probably never will be. She loves Gregory and wants to spend all the time with him that she possibly can. What if things had been worse? Gregory says, they weren’t, and Finn says, not this time. But what about next time? What happens if he starts to aspirate or collapse or convulse or pass out completely? Knowing Violet, she’d probably try to save him, and if she couldn’t, she’d probably blame herself. Gregory says he would never allow that to happen, and Finn says, at the risk of being devil’s advocate, how would he stop it? They have a responsibility to make Violet feel safe in her own home, right? Gregory says, that’s emotional blackmail, and Finn says he knows. It’s also reality. It’s the reality they have to accept. The bottom line is, Gregory needs help, and when he’s not here, Gregory needs a caregiver. Period. Gregory says, or what? and Finn leaves the apartment.

Sasha reads a text from Nina: Sorry! Be right there. Olivia sees Sasha and asks if she’s got a second. Sasha says she does. What’s up? Olivia says, first of all, she wants to thank Sasha for saving her neck the other night with the shepherd’s pie. It was absolutely delicious. Dante won’t stop talking about it, and frankly, she’s a little bit jealous. Sasha says she’s happy to give Olivia the recipe. It’s one of those dishes that, once you make it a couple of times, you can start to play around with it and add your own touches. Olivia says she does want the recipe. She can’t wait to make it. And that leads her to what she actually wants to talk to Sasha about. Ever since the last cook left at the Quartermaines, she’s been doing all the cooking. And when she gets very busy, which does happen sometimes, the family is left to fend for themselves. So she’s come to accept… It’s been pointed out to her that it’s time for the Quartermaines to hire a new chef. Fend for themselves means different things to different people. For Leo and Monica, it means Yuri makes eggs for breakfast and peanut butter sandwiches for lunch.

Nina walks into the restaurant and asks Carly if she can have a moment. Carly says, that depends. What’s it about?

Olivia says she’s got to find someone she can work with. She won’t go back… She cannot go back to the days when the Quartermaines were banned from the kitchen. Before Cook 3 left, she doesn’t think Tracy knew where the kitchen was. Sasha laughs and says, that tracks. Olivia says she loves cooking for her family. She actually finds it very therapeutic almost. Sasha says she feels the same way, and Olivia says, there are people who find joy in life because of the labor intensity of her lasagna. Sasha says, cooking to her has always been peaceful, grounding. Maybe it’s because she cooked with her grandmother. The times she spent in the kitchen with her is definitely what she missed the most about her. Olivia says, Sasha really loved her, and Sasha says she still does. Olivia says, and Sasha loves cooking through her, huh? and Sasha says she guesses she does. Olivia says, and she’s good at it. So what does she say?

Alexis tells Molly, women have earthquake hormones during pregnancy. They live through it. Babies ride through it. Molly says she knows that intellectually, it’s just… Alexis says she knows Molly is worried. She knows Molly is terrified. Molly says, very much, and Alexis says, on the bright side, she knows how thrilled her sister is to do this for her, and Kristina is oddly thrilled about the ups and downs of the pregnancy. Molly says she’s so grateful to Kristina for doing this, and she loves how excited Kristina is about it. Alexis says, but there’s something more, so what is it? Besides Josslyn. Molly says she just wishes TJ could relax a little. Kristina’s emotions go to 11 over Sonny, then TJ’s go to 11 over Kristina. Alexis says she can imagine TJ’s 11 is a lot different than her sister’s, and Molly says, oh yeah. Because he’s always been so even keeled… whatever that means. Alexis says she thinks it has something to do with boats… Never mind. Go on. Molly says, so when he’s this upset, it doesn’t look like a lot, but if you know him… Alexis says, it’s sizeable, and Molly says, and when he’s upset, she gets upset. Then she starts to think maybe this is all her fault, because TJ has spent years and years listening to her side of her disagreements and arguments wit her sister. So maybe because of that TJ doesn’t trust Kristina.

Laura asks, what’s behind this latest burst of philanthropy? and Sonny says, his kids. Port Charles has always been their home. If they visit city hall and they see something beautiful he donated, then they can feel as proud of the city as he does. Laura says, and proud of him? What if one day his little girls find out he nearly beat a man to death with his bare hands? Does he think it’s all going to be okay because he donated art? He wonders why she’d ask him that. They’ve been friends for how many years? Is she going to turn on him?

Molly says she doesn’t think TJ thinks Kristina is a bad person, not that she would ever do anything to intentionally harm the baby, and Alexis says, of course (🍷) not. Molly says, but she is who she is, and he is who he is, and the two of them are emotional opposites. Alexis says, that they are, and Moly says she and TJ are just so excited and nervous to be parents, and they’re treating every bump in the road like it’s this huge mountain to overcome, but there are bound to be bumps. Alexis says, oh, there are and there will be, and Molly says, and Kristina has every right to be worried about her father, but she doesn’t know how Kristina is going to handle it if things get worse for Sonny. Alexis asks what he did now, and Molly makes a zipping motion across her lips. She asks if Alexis will just check in with Kristina, and Alexis asks if she has to. Molly says, please, and Alexis says, okay. Molly thanks her and says she has to get back to work. She tells Alexis that she loves her, Alexis says she loves Molly too, and they hug.

Gregory opens the door to Tracy and says he sees Finn called in reinforcements. She says, not this time. Should he have? Gregory asks if he’s expected to believe Tracy isn’t here to check on him, and Tracy says, that’s a ridiculous question. Of course (🍷) she’s here to check on him. That’s what friends do. Is he trying to pick a fight with her? He says, no. He’s sorry. He saw his doctor today. She asks what he said, and Gregory tells her that the doctor said he’s back to what passes for normal for him these days. She says she’s no expert, but that sounds like good news. He says, it is, but it’s not good enough for his son. Finn is insisting that he hires an in-home caregiver to monitor him. She says, that sounds sensible to her, but he says, it’s not sensible; it’s overreacting. And it’s not going to happen.

Sasha asks if Olivia wants her to help interview potential cooks, but Olivia says, no. She wants Sasha to be the new cook. Sasha says, her? and Olivia says, yes. Sasha says, that’s her second job offer today. Olivia says, what? and Sasha says, never mind. Olivia says, here’s what she needs. She needs someone to do breakfast, lunches, including school lunches for the endless parade of kids going through that house, and dinners on weeknights. She’ll do dinners on weekends and any other time she wants, but she promises to give Sasha a proper heads up. She knows cooking for the Quartermaines isn’t the same as cooking for herself, but she promises everyone will be very patient with Sasha while she gets used to the job. So what does she think? She knows it’s a lot to take in. Sasha says, it is. She never thought she would end up in a kitchen again. Olivia says, again?

Nina says, there’s an electrical problem in her office, and Carly says, really? They can’t have that. What kind of an electrical problem? Nina says, they’ve been experiencing random surges, and Carly says, has she? That’s terrible. Nina says, and it’s been happening more and more frequently, and Carly says, funny. That never used to happen since the emergency maintenance crew was ordered for no apparent reason. (So much for Carly saying she didn’t want to hurt Nina anymore.) Nina says, the reason was flooding, and Carly says, yet nothing was wet. But Nina is having an electrical issue, so she’s going to hire the contractors Nina used since she liked their workmanship so much. Nina says, great. As long as the problem is addressed. And one more thing. Jason may have bought the MetroCourt back for Carly, but the person she should really be thanking is Ava.

Laura says she doesn’t see how trying to tell Sonny the truth means she’s turned against him, and he says, okay, fine. She wants the truth? She tells him that she’s just saying that’s the least he owes his kids, and he asks if she tells her kids the truth about everything. She says, the important things, she really tries, and he tells her, let’s say Donna and Avery come to him one day and they say, dad, why’d you beat that guy up? He’s going to say that he lost his temper. He had his reasons, but he regrets his actions. Is that okay? She says, it’s just that she hasn’t seen any evidence of that regret, and he says, they both know Cyrus is not a victim. Laura says she knows what Cyrus is capable of, and Sonny says, that’s the thing. He doesn’t think she does. Cyrus belongs in prison until he meets his Maker. She asks if he really thinks he’s in a position to judge who deserves to be behind bars and who doesn’t, and he asks, since when does she care about Cyrus? He’s been her brother for what, five minutes? She says, it’s because of what Sonny did to him, and Sonny says he and Laura are family. They’re blood. They’re connected through Spencer and Rocco. She says she knows that’s true, but that has nothing to do with this. He says he doesn’t even know what they’re talking about, and she says, what they’re talking about is a lifetime of crime and violence that she’s looked past time and time again. And she can’t do it anymore. She just can’t. Okay? And she can’t turn a blind eye anymore to his business, the things that he’s done, the crime, the people he’s hurt… the people he’s killed. Ava continues to listen, and Laura says, putting a wing on the hospital and donating art to the city doesn’t just make all of that go away. They still happened. They’re still there. They matter. It doesn’t just disappear because he did his daily good deed. (What’s bothering me about this storyline is, aside from nearly everyone turning on Sonny without even giving him a heads up, he’s not behaving normally. Even his physical movements aren’t the usual. How come no one is noticing?)

Carly asks what Ava has to do with Jason buying the MetroCourt, and Nina says she didn’t accept the offer right away. She talked it over with Ava first. Ava led her to believe Sonny would like it if she sold the MetroCourt to his best friend. Carly says, Ava sandbagged Nina. Ava was standing right there when Sonny called Jason a traitor and threw them both out of the penthouse. Nina says she figured it out. After the deal was done. Too late to change her mind. Carly says, it’s a pattern with Ava. She uses people until they’re no longer useful. That’s what she did with Carly’s son. In the end, all Ava cares about is getting what she wants. Nina says, in Ava’s defense, not everyone has a Jason to get her what she wants (I wish I did <heaving Jason sigh>), like losing a hotel fair and square. So much for Carly earning the MetroCourt back on her own.

Finn stops by Alexis’s office and asks if it’s a bad time. She says she hopes so. If not, she’ll have nothing to report. He says he’s sorry to bother her at work. He was on his way to a meeting and he just… She asks, what’s going on? and he says his father had a seizure last night. She says, no, and he says, it resulted in temporary paralysis. He’s okay. Alexis tells him to sit, and he says, when he walked in and saw him lying there, unable to move, and Violet beside him, terrified, not knowing what was going on… Alexis asks if she’s okay, and he says he thinks seeing her grandfather collapse… and after lying there, she had to run and get his ventilator. He thinks it’s something she’ll never forget, but right now she’s as good as can be expected. She says, how is Gregory? and he says, his ALS is progressing rapidly, but his dad… He gets it. His dad wants to be independent. He wants to make up for all those risks he never got to take in life. Jumping out of airplanes and whatever it is that makes him feel alive, but… He talked to Gregory today, and he told Gregory that he thinks they need to get some sort of in-home help for when he’s not there, and his dad flat-out refused and they had this big argument. Alexis says she’s sorry. She’s not shocked, but she is sorry. He says him too. He gets it and he’s trying to do everything he can to support him, but this time he’s going to have to put his daughter first.

Gregory tells Tracy, the day is coming when he’ll be completely helpless, and he’ll need people taking care of his every need and every bodily function, watching over him all the time, every single moment, but he’s not there yet. She says, he’s not far from it, and he says, thank you. Why is it such a sin for him to hold on to what little autonomy he can for as long as he can? She says, it‘s not, and he says, she’s being very agreeable, and he finds it suspect. She laughs and says, he has every right to hold on to his autonomy for as long as he possibly can. He says, thank you? and she says, just as Finn has every right to have a safe emotional environment for his daughter. He can’t risk Violet finding Gregory if he’s unable to move. Or worse. He says, she’s not telling him anything Finn hasn’t already told him already, and she says, then she assumes Finn’s already asked him the obvious question. He says, what question is that? and she says, what is more important to him, his pride or his granddaughter’s well-being?

Sonny asks Laura what he’s supposed to do. Confess to everything he’s been accused of? She says, that depends. How many of the things he’s accused of are true? He says he’s done far less than Cyrus, and she says, but Cyrus’s crimes don’t absolve his. Sonny says, Cyrus held her at gunpoint and he’s the bad guy? and she says she’s sorry. She thinks there are two bad guys. He says he does everything he can to protect his business, his family, and everybody he cares about, and that includes her. Does she know why? She says, why? and he says, so the bad guys don’t come after her. (He doesn’t even look good. He has giant circles under his eyes.) She says, being a good man when you’re not committing a crime, doesn’t absolve him from the times he does commit a crime. And being really good at covering up his tracks doesn’t make him less guilty. He rubs his forehead, and she says, at some point he has to be held accountable. He says, by who? and she says, think of his children, okay? His little girls, Donna and Avery. What’s going to happen when they’re old enough to figure out what their father does for a living? And they will. He’s not going to be able to keep that from them. What is he going to say? He says he’s going to do what he always does. He’s going to do everything in his power to protect them. She says she knows he will, but who’s going to protect them from him?

Sasha says she worked as a line cook and a part-time chef for a few summers in the Hamptons, and Olivia says, it was meant to be. Sasha says she was never the head chef. She was the substitute sous chef when the real chef was out. Olivia says, she worked in a busy restaurant. Cooking for the Quartermaines is going to be a piece of cake. An overly ornate five-tier pain in the butt piece of cake, but still, it’s a piece of cake. Sasha says, this is really flattering, but is Olivia sure she wants to offer her a job based on one shepherd’s pie? Olivia says, she loves to cook. She’s a great cook. They need a cook. Oliva says, it’s a match made in heaven. Or an opening in the universe, depending on your spiritual beliefs. Not to mention the fact that Cody shows up for dinner several nights a week. She’s sure he wouldn’t mind having Sasha around.

Finn asks Alexis to tell him if he’s wrong. Tell him that he shouldn’t just give into his father and give him everything he wants. She says she can’t tell him that, and he says he wants to give him everything he wants. Go parasailing. Go get shot out of a cannon. Go out in space and see the earth from orbit. Do all the things. He’ll do them with his dad, but he doesn’t think his dad can do those things right now, so shouldn’t he give in and give him this one thing? Alexis says, maybe. It’s certainly worth trying to talk to him again, but she doesn’t know that he’s going to end up with different results. He says, she’s right. He’s going to go back and talk to him. She says she thought he was going to a meeting, but he says he can do that later. She says, when the oxygen mask drops from a plane, what do you do? and he says, you put your mask on first, but this… She says, this is the same thing. This is as challenging as it gets. And in order for him to navigate through this, he’s going to have to take care of himself, which means taking care of his sobriety. He says he knows what she’s saying. He gets it. But in this moment, he just feels so selfish. She says, then be selfish. Can his dad wait for an hour for him to go to a meeting? He says he’s not sure, and she says, what do the doctors think? He says, probably. He doesn’t know. She says she understands that his father needs to hold on to his autonomy for as long as he can, but she also knows there’s nothing more important to him than Violet.

Gregory tells Tracy that he never wants Violet to be afraid the way she was last night. He was scared too. When something like that happens, you never know when it’s going to end, if ever. But when he was trying to stay calm, the worst part was knowing he couldn’t comfort his granddaughter. She asks how he thinks Violet felt, not being able to comfort him, and he says he understands what she’s saying, but she and Finn need to understand what he’s saying. She says, okay. There is another solution. He says, great. He’s all ears. She says, first, he has to decide what’s most important to him. If it is in fact spending the time he has left with Finn and Violet here in their home, then he has to abide by Finn’s wishes. But if his independence is his top priority, then he simply moved in to an assisted living facility – Turning Woods is supposed to be really nice – and he can have Violet visit him there.

Laura says she didn’t intend for them to have this conversation here today, and she mean for it to go like this either. She hopes Sonny will take some of this to heart. Please. Just think about it. Just think about doing the right thing. He doesn’t say anything, and she says, at any rate, the City of Port Charles will not be accepting his donation of art. Not while she’s the mayor. She walks out, and Ava walks in, since she didn’t have far to go. She asks, what happened to Laura?

Alexis tells Finn to take the time and go to his meeting to give his dad some time to think things through. When Finn talks to him again, tell him that he and Chase and Violet are worried about him and want someone to take care of him when Finn can’t be there. And she thinks sooner rather than later, he will see Finn’s wisdom. Finn says, here’s hoping, and she says, and whether he does or not, he can’t take care of his family until he takes care of himself first. He says, that’s good advice, and she says she’s good. in fact, she’s so good, she’s going to follow her own advice. Would he like company at his meeting? He says he’d love it.

Gregory says, she’s good, and Tracy says he’s going to have to narrow that down a little bit. He says, the art of persuasion, and she says, oh, that. He says, obviously if he has to choose between Turning Woods and here, even with a caregiver, of course (🍷) he chooses here. She says, that’s not persuasion, that’s just common sense. And by the way, if she were in his shoes, she’d be handling this much, much worse. She wouldn’t sit for it. She wouldn’t stay. She’d run away to the far corners of the earth where her family couldn’t find her to help her, to care for her. And no matter how miserable and lonely she got, she’d still have her dignity and her freedom, and have no one to share it with. But luckily, you my friend, are so much smarter than I am. He says, she’s the smartest woman he knows.

Sasha tells Olivia that she can’t say it isn’t tempting. She left Deception because she wasn’t satisfied there anymore. She wanted something completely different from what she was doing, and working as a chef at the Quartermaines would definitely be different. Olivia says she doesn’t want to pressure Sasha, and Sasha says, of course (🍷) not. Olivia says, but she would be remiss in not telling Sasha that it’s a live-in position, which means she’d get free room and board in a beautiful mansion with all meals included. Sasha says, so she’d get to eat what she makes, but Olivia says, better. Sasha gets to eat what she makes. And get paid for it. Come on. What does she say? Sasha tells her, she says, that’s exactly what she needs right now.

Carly says, other than fixing the electrical issues Nina brought on herself, is there anything else she can do for Nina? (I’m all about their outfits today. Kudos to wardrobe.) Nina says she might as well just tell Carly. She signed the divorce papers. She and Sonny are no longer married. But Ava is closer to him than ever. From one ex-wife to another, she doesn’t think Ava is good for Sonny. In fact, she thinks Ava could be toxic for him. Carly says she doesn’t agree with Nina on much, but she does agree with her there.

Sonny tells Ava that Laura didn’t want his gift to the city, and she says she was surprised by Laura’s reaction at first, but she thought he could talk her into it. Public art benefits everybody. He says he guesses not when it comes from the wrong person, and she asks, since when is he the wrong person? He’s been unfailingly generous to the City of Port Charles. There are wings in the hospital and playgrounds in the park because of him. He says, it doesn’t matter to Laura. She can’t get past what he did to Cyrus. She asks if Laura knows that Cyrus provoked him. That he orchestrated his own beating? It wasn’t Sonny’s fault. He says, Laura thinks it was. He owned up to it, and now she wants to punish him. He’s been good to Laura for so many years, and he thought she was loyal to him, but he guesses not.

On Monday, Michael asks, what’s with this mystery meeting; Nikolas asks if Ava is in love with Sonny; Valentin says, Anna is not going to be a problem; and Anna tells Jason that he’s putting this entire investigation at risk.

🧴 No Suds Left Behind…

IMO, the best of the Nikolases.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/adam-huss-returns-to-general-hospital-2

A confirmation of yesterday’s news from a different source. Mostly the same info, but I thought it was weird how he looks like Jim Parsons in the photo.

https://ew.com/nicholas-alexander-chavez-not-returning-to-general-hospital-8639347

He’s got the all-clear on his health report card.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/ghs-cameron-mathison-shares-a-cancer-update

I’d rather see him back on GH, but I’ll take it. It’s good to see him back in the game.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/jack-wagner-on-joining-the-new-melrose-place

🏄 Speaking Of That Place…

Rebooting her rep.

🧂 Needs More Salt…

It is kind of disappointing. On all fronts.

Cringe, but what do they expect from this one?

It’s all good. Until next time.

I actually thought they made a pretty good couple.

🍹 Bless Their Hearts…

This was a little short on info, but where Craig will land is anybody’s guess.

🩰 Dance Like Everyone’s Watching…

The Reunion scuttlebutt as seen through JoJo’s eyes.

https://www.etonline.com/dance-moms-the-reunion-jojo-siwa-defends-abby-lee-millers-behavior-to-co-stars-223989

https://www.etonline.com/dance-moms-the-reunion-jojo-siwa-defends-abby-lee-millers-behavior-to-co-stars-223989

🌁 Falling Further…

I’m obsessed with this show. The attention to detail was just amazing.

https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/fallout-worldbuilding-production-designer-costume-designer-interview

The soundtrack was impressive as well.

https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/ramin-djawadi-interview-fallout-house-of-the-dragon-iron-man

This makes me want to play the game. So far, I’ve been strong.

https://www.inverse.com/gaming/fallout-amazon-characters-stupd

🐎 You Too Can Dress Like Delores…

Looks like the future of Westworld is up in the air, but you can own a piece of it.

https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/westworld-auction-season-5-canceled

🐕 Milking His 15 Minutes…

This good boy is not giving up his seat that easy.

https://people.com/all-about-messi-oscars-dog-anatomy-of-a-fall-8607453

🦉 Quotes of the Week

The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life. Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof. – Richard David Bach

Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts. – Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Winners do things losers don’t want to do.Dr. Phil McGraw

Sometimes you have to do what you don’t want to do to maintain the life you’ve created. – Judge Lynn Toler, explaining to a man why he has to work to feed his children (sigh)

To be really great in little things, to be truly noble and heroic in the insipid details of everyday life, is a virtue so rare as to be worthy of canonization. – Harriet Beecher Stowe

I won’t undertake war until I have tried all the arts and means of peace. – François Rabelais

If you just go with the flow, no matter what weird things happen along the way, you always end up exactly where you belong. – Tom Upton

She is the apple that goes in the pig’s mouth. – Marie Calvet (Julia Ormond), Mad Men

A lifetime isn’t forever, so take the first chance, don’t wait for the second one! Because sometimes, there aren’t second chances! And if it turns out to be a mistake? So what! This is life! A whole bunch of mistakes! But if you never get a second chance at something you didn’t take a first chance at? That’s true failure. – C. JoyBell C.

Golden rule, motherf***er. – Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell), Fallout

🐼 Leaving Them Laughing

A panda walked into a café and ordered a sandwich. He ate it and then pulled a gun out and shot the waiter. The panda then plunked a badly punctuated wildlife manual onto the table. Look me up, he growled as he walked out the door. The wounded waiter opened the book to the entry for panda. It read, Panda: Large, black and white bear-like mammal native to China. Eats, shoots & leaves.

🌸 Shine On Pink Moon…

In the next two days, do one thing you’ve never done before. Then join me on Monday really Tuesday for soap and a new chef on Deck. Until then, stay safe, stay never reaching past someone without saying excuse me, and stay putting on your own oxygen mask first.

April 17, 2024 – Brook Has the Money Talk With Chase, Sudsy Stuff, This Week’s Top, An Exit, A Date Or Not, Melrose Return, OctoWonder & Day

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Laura says she hopes she’s not interrupting anything, but Anna says she could use the break. You’d think protecting a community wouldn’t require so much paperwork. Laura says, try getting the right colored trash cans to the right address. You’ll be buried under paperwork for weeks. She was just about to meet someone, but she wanted to talk to Anna first. Anna asks, what’s on her mind? and Laura says, justice. She thinks she and Anna have been standing in the way of it for too long.

As they put away chairs after a meeting, Finn says he and Alexis are in the room at the same time. She asks if he missed her chair stacking abilities, and he says, still not good. He hasn’t seen her. Has she been hitting another meeting or… She says she could give him a million reasons why, but it all boils down to other things taking precedence, and he says, it happens. She says she knows people slack off from time to time, but if she continues to do it this way for this long, she may risk everything.

Aiden tells Violet, dinner has arrived, as he walks into Finn’s apartment with Elizabeth and Jake. Violet says, good. She didn’t feel like cooking. Elizabeth says she’s glad they could help. How is she? Violet says, good, and Elizabeth asks Gregory, how’s his day? He says he’s fine, and she says, Finn’s not home? He says, not yet. The babysitter just left. Violet asks what they’re having for dinner, and Elizabeth says, they’re having turkey burgers, fries, and salad. And her dad better hurry up or he’s going to miss out. Aiden says, they’ll have fries if it’s okay for him to use the air fryer, and Gregory says, of course (🍷) it is. Just make sure to tell Finn how much he loves it. It’ll make his day. Elizabeth tells the boys to unload the stuff in the kitchen and get started, and Gregory tells them to help themselves to anything in there. Violet suggests she show them where everything is, and Gregory says, good thinking. Violet follows the boys, and Elizabeth asks if Gregory is okay with a turkey burger. He says, if she’s asking him if he’ll be able to hold it, or will he fumble it all over himself and the table and the floor, her guess is as good as his. She says she was asking him if he was in the mood for it, and he says, sorry. A burger sounds great. She says, and for the record, if he holds it, drops it, or wears it, it’s still going to taste really good. He asks, what’s going on with Jake? and she says, ugh. He says, never mind. He thinks he knows.

Chase comes out wearing an apron and carrying some plates, and Brook says, the smells coming out of that kitchen are driving her nuts. She can’t wait to dig into this very green… He says, chicken. He was very free with the spinach. He went with their honeymoon theme – chicken Florentine. He sets the plates down, says, Italy, and pulls out her chair. She sits and wonders how she got so lucky. First him, now this. He says he’s made dinner before. It’s not that big of a deal. He opens a bottle of wine, and she says she loves him for doing this. She loves all the extra work he did in the kitchen to make this happen. She loves him for selling his truck, but hates the fact that he doesn’t have it anymore.

Chase says, the truck was just a silly guy thing. He had no idea she was so attached to it. She says she’s attached to him, and he loved that truck, but he says, no. He loves her. Besides – he takes the apron off and sits down – it’s not like he needs the truck to haul lumber or bales of hay or anything like that. She tells him, whatever you say, and he asks if she has a picture in her mind of her standing in the truck bed, holding a Just Married sign, with tin cans hanging from the bumper. She says she does now. She would have loved that. Though at the moment, she would much love Lucy Coe dangling from that bumper. He says he saw what happened on Home & Heart. He’s sorry the video launch of Deception’s new cream was so problematic. She says, if Sasha hadn’t shown up when she did, they’d still be hearing about the trials and triumphs of Lucy Coe, and he says, Sasha’s pretty great. Brook says, because she’s gracious and charming, and she made it clear the viewers that they should buy Deception’s new cream. Lucy made it clear to the viewers that she needs therapy. He says, it got a little better when Scott got there. He at least mentioned the cream. She says, the Home & Heart new product launch was supposed to be another step in Deception’s financial rebound, and he says he’s on track to get a raise at the PCPD’s next fiscal year. She says, he’s on track? He should just get it right now. No one’s better at their job than he is and he works harder than almost anyone. He says, if he does get the raise – they clink glasses – he thinks that they should invest the money in some property, build a little forest getaway, and maybe that truck will come in handy. She says, he realizes they don’t have to wait, right? They could buy five new trucks, five forest getaways… They could probably buy five forests. He asks if they need to have the money talk again, as in, her family has all the money, and he has a decent government salary. She says, they probably should, but first, she just needs to take a couple of bites of this gorgeous, green chicken to fortify herself.

Alexis says she doesn’t know if Gregory told Finn, but she’s so sorry. She’s not going to be able to make Chase’s wedding. He says he’s sorry to hear that. Did she get a better offer? She says she got a different offer. Diane has made it her mission to get her disbarment fixed. He says, good news, and she says, shocking news. She would not have thought after all this time… She thought the chances of them wanting to review her disbarment highly improbable. He says, it became not so improbable, and she says, it became real. She has a hearing with the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan the day after Chase’s wedding, but she has to be there 24 hours in advance. He says he’s sure Chase and Brook will be disappointed, but they’ll be thrilled by the reason. She says, getting a hearing does say the court feels there’s sufficient grounds to take a second look. He says, if anybody deserves a second chance… but she says she doesn’t know about that. He asks why she says that, and she says, maybe she got the justice she deserved the first time when the court smacked her down. He says, the court smacked her down, but she’s doing a pretty good job of it herself, and she says she knows she didn’t support perjury and she didn’t perjure herself, but she did lie to the medical board, and she was under oath. So when the disciplinary committee took action, she didn’t think it was appropriate to contest it. He says he gets it. She needed to punish herself. If we don’t think we’re worth saving, we don’t even try.

Laura says she doesn’t think she or Anna were consciously trying to impede the pursuit of justice. She’s just saying that she knows she’s guilty of not seeing clearly what was right in front of her. She’s sorry. This has been weighing on her for a long time. Anna says she thinks Laura is going to have to be a bit more specific, and Laura says she’s talking about her friendship with Sonny. Anna says she knows he and Laura have a history, and Laura says, Luke and Sonny were friends. The club Luke owned was originally owned by Sonny. Anna says, Paradise Lounge, and Laura says, yeah. Anna says, such an ironic name in retrospect, and Laura tells her, to say it was a disreputable place would be a compliment. Eventually, they just shut it down, and then Luke and Sonny turned that space into Luke’s blues club. They really bonded over that. They became very close, and since then, Sonny has done a lot of things to help a lot of people that she loves. Anna says, he did for Robin. He was there for her daughter in ways she couldn’t be. Laura says, he’s done a lot of good. He really has, especially for the hospital. And the thing is, she really believed they had a bond. Anna says she did too. He listened to her when that double-agent thing came out. She considered him a friend, albeit an unconventional one. Laura says, considered. Past tense? Anna says, an individual walked through this door into her office and told her flat out that Sonny ordered him to kill someone, and Laura says, Sonny ordered a hit. She guesses she knew in theory what Sonny did for a living, but she guesses she didn’t allow herself to think about what it meant in practice. Anna says, he’s charming and generous and has decent impulses, no question. But charm has no moral weight and impulses aren’t character. Laura says she feels so ashamed that it took her so long to wake up and see him for everything that he is. Anna says, every time, she felt they shared this understanding of darkness that no one else shared. She didn’t allow herself to play out what that was, what that actually meant. Laura says her friendship with Sonny was never a secret. She’s just here to say, if Anna ever felt inclined to go easy on Sonny because of her, don’t. (Come on. These two aren’t stupid and they’ve been around the block and back. They knew Sonny was a mob boss, but thought all he did was import coffee?)

Laura says she realizes now that Sonny has a very dark side, one that he can keep hidden from most people, but she got a chance to see what that side was capable of when she saw her brother lying in that hospital bed, and she realized that Sonny is a violent and dangerous time bomb that could go off whenever he decides it’s necessary. Anna says, that sounds about right, and Laura says she knows Cyrus has done the same, probably a lot worse, but Cyrus is not as skilled as Sonny at not getting caught. Anna says, he’s not a generous philanthropist that has woven himself into the very fabric of the city for the past few years, and Laura says she’s still struggling with what Sonny is capable of doing. That he could do what he did to her brother with just his bare hands. Anna says, and in church. She talked to Cyrus, and he said he would not testify against Sonny. There were no other witnesses, and she knew that Sonny would lie about whatever charges she filed against him. Laura says, and as they’re learning, Sonny is really good at lying, and Anna agrees. Laura says she thinks she’ll be going. So if the opportunity presents itself for Anna to pursue this case… Anna says she’ll be ready. Laura can count on it. Laura thanks her and leaves.

Chase says, his wine guy had several choices to pair with tonight’s dinner, but he chose the pinot grigio because it’s Italian, and Brook says, like the chicken. He says, and the woman he loves, and she says she loves him too. And she loves this wine. She thinks she’s had enough of it to have the money conversation. So she and Tracy talked… He says, let him get a pen, and she says, for what? He says, so he can sign the prenup that Tracy drew up and they can get back to the wine, but she says, drink the wine. There is no prenup. He says, it’s fine. He thought about it and he’s fine with signing it. And he wants her to feel safe. She says she does feel safe, and he says he does too. Which is why he’s fine with saying that nothing is ever going to happen to their marriage. Which means this prenup means nothing. So they’ll put it in a drawer and pull it out in 50 years, and they’ll see how much his signature changed. She laughs and says, they both know his signature changes depending on his mood. Remember when his team lost and he had to sign the pizza delivery guy’s receipt? The pen almost went through his hand. There is no prenup. He got another bottle, didn’t he? He says, how about this? If for some reason their marriage falls apart, then he walks away with nothing more than he brought to the marriage. She says she appreciates the offer, and he says, but she’s not going to take it. Because according to Brook’s teachings, you never accept the first offer. She says she couldn’t be prouder. Their marriage isn’t going to fail. She knows it and he knows it. So the conversation they should be having isn’t about what happens when they split up. It’s about what happens when they don’t.

Finn says, good thing Diane is in Alexis’s corner, because it doesn’t sound like Alexis is, and Alexis says she’s just being cautious. She does have a history. He says, history is in the past. It’s done. She says her apologies to him and Mr. Faulkner, but the past is not dead. The past’s not even in the past. It’s right here. And that side of her that’s capable of doing horrible things or self-sabotaging may be in the backseat right now, but it’s always around there, lurking somewhere. He says, they’ve talked about this. They’re wired the same way. That’s what makes them always focus on the negative things first and the good things come in tenth place, but that doesn’t mean they’re to be ignored. Some really wonderful things have come out of her past. She says, her girls. Best thing that ever happened to her. Nothing else even comes close. She refers to them as little Roombas because they’re always wandering here and there and everywhere, but eventually, they always get back on track and come back to mom. He says, she must have done a lot of things right to have three daughters as great as the ones she has. She says, other than her girls, she feels like the most good she’s ever done in the world has been through her legal career. Because she’s been able, in some very small way, to move the needle of justice forward. She wants to do that again. She wants to feel good like that. He says, yes. And if the court case goes the way it should, she will. She says, so she just needs to not get in her own way and stay sober. And they both know if she loses this case, she’ll want a drink to console herself and if she wins it, she’ll want to celebrate. He says, life doesn’t make it easy, does it? and she says, Molly is already worried about her. If she slips up again, her girls may be done with her. He says, she’s not going to let that happen, and she says she’s here. And she’s going to be here tomorrow and the next day and the next day and the next day. And if she’s not here and he’s here, he better call her out on it. He says, okay. He’s watching his dad die slowly before his eyes. And after treating his dad poorly most of his life, he has a few months to make up for it. So he’ll be there for her if she promises the same for him. They shake hands, and she says, always my friend. She hugs him, and he thanks her.

Violet and Aiden come out of the kitchen, and Elizabeth asks, how’s it going in there? Aiden says, all good, and Violet says, it would be great if Aiden could make the cheese fries instead of regular ones. Gregory says he’s all for it if it’s okay with Aiden’s mom, and Elizabeth asks if they think she’d say no to cheese fries. Is his brother helping? Aiden says, he was, but now he’s on his phone, and Elizabeth says, just yell if they need anything. They go back into the kitchen, and Gregory says, it’s none of his business, but he’s guessing that the tension level has risen a few notches in her house since Jake’s father came back in the picture. She says, yeah. Actually, she was hoping to talk to him about this. She knows there was a time when Finn rejected him, and even though their situations are completely different, there’s a form of that happening with Jake. He doesn’t want to talk about Jason. He doesn’t want to acknowledge his name. He’s so, so angry. Obviously, Gregory didn’t just up and leave his kid without any notice whatsoever, so she doesn’t know. Maybe he doesn’t have any advice to offer. He says, it sounds like Jake’s not the only one who’s angry, and she says, no, he’s not, but he is the one most crippled by it. He says, sometimes he thinks anger is just our way of punishing ourselves when the one we really want to hurt is someone we love and can’t let go of. He can’t tell her how much he loved Finn’s mom. Watching her die was the worst thing that ever happened to him. Worse than waking up now each morning, wondering what ALS has stolen from him. But then he met Jackie. She was so young and vibrant, she made him feel alive again. Maybe it was a rebound. They loved each other and he wanted to be in love again so badly. It didn’t feel wrong to him. It didn’t feel like he was being unfaithful to his late wife. She says, but that’s how Finn saw it, and he says, that’s the way Finn had to see it. Otherwise, he would be being disloyal to his mother. The anger that Finn channeled his way… But like anything that hot and intense, it had to eventually exhaust itself and it did. And what remained is a loving father/son relationship that she sees now. So maybe Jake just needs to let his anger burn itself out so he can get to his own now.

Alexis says, Finn knows if there’s anything he or his father want or need, she’ll be there, and he thanks her. She says she just wants to let him know that she saw Gregory recently and he didn’t look very good. Finn says he knows. And like her, he’s struggling to hang on to his sobriety. When he reflects on his past, he was not a good son. His dad did nothing but good, and he treated him very badly. Alexis says, he’s changed. He’s made amends. He’s not the same person anymore. He says, yeah, but that person knows where he lives. Now his dad has turned inward. Gregory won’t let Finn go to any of his doctor’s appointments with him and won’t let Finn see any of his test results. All he does is give Finn these glowing reports about how well he’s doing, and all Finn has to do is take one look at him to know he’s lying. She says, being a doctor and his son, he picked the wrong guy to try and bluff, and Finn says, he’s holding himself together by sheer force of will so he can make it to Chase’s wedding. She says, it means a lot to him, and he says, it does. It’s going to, right? Chase is the good son. He’s the one who wronged his dad. He turned it around in his head to make himself right. It takes a lot of time and energy to convince yourself everyone else is the problem, but not you. She says she knows the syndrome, and he says he stays up at night thinking of all the time he lost his family, the lost days that became lost years. He doesn’t sleep much anymore. She says, nobody can punish us like we can, and he says, his dad was devoted to his mom. He was there for her. She died so young. Finn was just angry. He was angry at everyone. But when his dad met Jackie and she helped him move on and be happy, he found a way to punish his dad for it. Sleeping with her before the wedding, before their wedding. What kind of son does that? (I’m glad he mentioned this. When Gregory didn’t, I started to wonder if I’d made it up. I guess he felt it wasn’t his place to tell Elizabeth.)

Brook tells Chase that her mother kept them away from the Quartermaine money. She knew it was there, but she had a pretty good career as a music manager. The Quartermaine money wasn’t always a gift. He asks if Ned was around, and she says, enough. She’s pretty sure he paid child support. It’s not like she ever felt she didn’t have two parents. And her grandparents, her aunts and uncles, her cousins, all the people who might have been cousins, they were always around. He says, so that’s why the guest list for their wedding was so long, and she says, and she only invited the ones she likes. Some of her relatives had a house. Some of them had one gifted to them in a will, but none of them were rich. They were comfortable in Bensonhurst. He says his upbringing was probably quieter than hers, but they were pretty middle class too, and she says she wants that kind of life for their kids. A life full of love that makes them feel safe. She knows there are going to be bumps along the way, but they will be surrounded by family who will take them by the hand and help them. He asks if she doesn’t think there will be members of the family who will want to take their hand and put a bunch of money in it, and she says, there definitely will be. He knows her family. That’s going to happen, but there’s two of them and they can send them off. It’ll be a little tricky to have a normal life, especially in Port Charles, but it’s not impossible. He takes her hands and says, if they’re together, nothing is impossible, and she says, there you go. She thinks what granny was really after with that prenup wasn’t about protecting her trust or her inheritances from him; it was about protecting them from what the insanity of that kind of money can bring. He tells her that he never thought he’d say this, but he thinks Tracy has the right idea.

Chase hands Brook her glass of wine and says, here’s what he thinks, and he thinks Tracy would agree. They’re young, they’re healthy, they have careers that they love, and between them, they’re comfortable. She says she’s with him so far, and he says, they take the interest from her trust fund and any other funds she has and put them into a savings account for their kids. It’ll be for education… and shoes. She says, exactly what kind of shoes is he thinking? It sounds good. He says, it will be a safety net if anything comes up, and she says, like a shoe emergency. He says, a medical emergency. Or if they want to help out a loved one. And he’s sure there’s charities they’d like to support. She says she likes the sound of it, and he says, the only thing he cares about their kids inheriting is the good stuff they bring to their lives. Honesty, compassion, a strong work ethic. She says, he brings so much more than that. Granny told her that no one would want to live off their spouse’s money, which is a really weird thing for her to say, considering all the guys in her life did just that. He says he never understood her taste in men, but he understands where she’s coming from. He always wants to feel like he can serve and protect this family. See what he did there? She says she did, and he says he thinks he brings value to their marriage. He can sing. She says, yeah, he can, and he says he can cook. She says she can attest to that, and he says he can catch the bad guys. Some might even say, it’s her dollars against his collars. She tells him that she’d never say that, and they kiss.

Laura goes into the Bistro and says, she asked them to meet and keeps them waiting. She’s so sorry. Cyrus says he’s always happy to wait for his sister, and he used the time to try and figure out the reason behind her unprecedented invitation. She asks what he came up with, but he says, nothing. He decided to be grateful just to spend some time with her. She says she’s glad they’re doing this then. He’s looking well. He thanks her and says he’s feeling good. He’s getting stronger every day. He tries to look at his time at GH as just an extended spa stay. She says, he’s joking, but what happened to him in that church was no joke. He says, it’s in the past, but she says she’s been thinking about it an awful lot lately, and if he chose not to press charges against Sonny because of her, because of her friendship with him, she wants him to reconsider. He deserves justice. She doesn’t want to be the reason he doesn’t get it.

Detective Brennan says, Anna wanted to see him? and she says she wanted to know the status of Dex Heller’s application to the academy. He says, Heller aced the written exam. He’s got a physical and job standard test next. He’s got to say, the guy looks army ready. He can’t imagine there would be a problem with either one. She says, that’s great. Sounds very promising. He says, they don’t get candidates of this caliber very often, and when they do, the academy grabs them. She thanks him for the update, and he says, if he could be honest, he thinks though, in this case, they should consider passing on it.

Violet says, ladies and gentlemen, dinner is served, when Finn walks in. He hugs Violet, and Gregory says, your timing is impeccable, sir. Finn says, sir. He likes it. Jake says he hopes they made enough fries, but Finn says, don’t worry. He’ll just eat Jake’s. Aiden says, there’s another basket ready to go. His air fryer is amazing. Finn says he knows. He keeps telling people and they say he’s crazy. Gregory, Aiden, and Violet head for the kitchen, and Finn asks how Jake’s day was. Jake says, no complaints. How about him? Finn says, no complaints, and Jake says, they’re living the dream. Jake follows the others, and Finn apologizes to Elizabeth for being late. She kisses him and he says he had a meeting and he stayed behind for a little bit and talked to Alexis. She asks if everything is okay, and he says, just checking in with each other. How’s his dad doing? She says, he’s just the sweetest person. If it wasn’t for Finn, she’d be halfway in love with him already. Finn says he better not be late for dinner again, and they go to the kitchen.

Cyrus says, Laura isn’t the reason Sonny escaped justice for his assault. He is. She asks what he means, and he says, Nina Reeves came to see him when he was in the hospital. The Lord works in mysterious ways. Tell him, does she think people like Nina Reeves and the Quartermaines become phenomenally wealthy without breaking the law, or are they just phenomenally good at not getting caught? She says, if she had to take a guess, she’d think that over the generations it’s probably a bit of both. He says, Nina used some of that generational wealth to walk in and buy him a radio spot for his Scripture based show. She asks if that was in exchange for him not pressing charges against Sonny, and he says, yeah and he agreed. She says, now she knows how he got on the radio, and he laughs. He says, it’s over now. He got sick of hearing his own voice and some of his listeners told him they thought he sounded phony when he quoted the Bible. He was terribly offended until he listened to himself. She says, was it bad? and he says he has no standing and no business telling anybody how to live their life. He thinks that came through. He has a lot of work to do on himself, and it’s probably best he takes care of that before he presumes to shepherd a flock. She says, he seems different, at least more thoughtful, and he says he prays that he is. She says, now that he’s taken Nina Reeves payoff, would he consider pressing charges against Sonny?

Brook says she can’t believe how nervous she was talking money with Chase, and he says, she’ll get better with practice. Besides, he thinks they’re going to be having that talk every few years. She asks if he thinks they’ll change their minds, decide they want to buy all the trucks, and he says he’s pretty confident in saying no to that, but money changes. Banks close, markets crash, opportunities come up that weren’t there before. She says, they’ll cross those bridges when they get to them, and maybe they’ll buy them if they want to, but for now, they’re good. He says, she was nervous about having the money talk because of his fragile male ego, wasn’t she? Because if the shoe was on the other foot and he had the millions, he doesn’t think she’d like living off his money either. She says, probably not, and he says, that’s all he needed to hear. She says, he should have told her sooner; she would have said it sooner. He asks if they can be done with this money is a ruinous burden talk, and she says, yes, yes, a thousand times yes. He says he wants her to give him one practical good thing that money brings them, and she says orthodonture. Their kids are going to have beautiful teeth. He laughs.

Anna asks why Brennan thinks they should pass on Heller. He just said Dex was extremely qualified. He says, there’s some things the intake test can’t catch, and she says, for example? He says, Heller made a wrong turn in his life and he’s trying to make up for it, and she says, Brennan thinks Dex is trying to make up for the time he spent working for Corinthos. He says, yes, and penance is the wrong motivation for becoming a cop. When there’s a guy with a gun holed up somewhere, the cops who have something to atone for are the ones who run in too soon too fast. A lot of times, they don’t come out. She says, got it, and thanks him for the update and insight. He says, no problem, and leaves.

Cyrus says he doesn’t know if reinstating charges against Sonny would serve justice or not, and Laura says she saw him when he was lying in that hospital bed. He was unconscious, but that man could have killed him with his bare hands. He says, but he didn’t, thank the good Lord, and she says, yes, thank God, but she heard that Sonny wasn’t able to use his hand for more than a week. Cyrus says, but he was responsible for the circumstances that made his beating happen, and she asks what he means. He says, by dishonest means, he came to know certain things about Nina. And he followed Sonny into that church knowing full well how his ill begotten knowledge would hurt him, and he haunted Sonny with it. He knew the pain would make him crazy and it did. She says, so he goaded Sonny into a rage, and he says, yes. And he knew, even as his own blood was flowing down his face, he had won. With every blow, he had more leverage over Sonny, and it disgusts him. Everything he’s ever done involving Sonny disgusts him. It’s been so long, he doesn’t even know what it was he wanted from Sonny to begin with. But that night, it had to do with revenge. She thanks him for admitting all that to her, and says, but he still didn’t deserve to be beaten like that. He says, maybe he didn’t, but maybe he did. Maybe it would be good for Sonny to go away for a while. He doesn’t know. She says, well, she does, and he says, then he’ll let himself be guided by her, but she says, no. She can’t tell him what to do here. He has to decide this for himself. He says, what an irony. The one time he didn’t ask for it, he holds Sonny’s fate in his hands.

Tomorrow, Finn tells Dante that Chase’s bachelor party went sideways, and he doesn’t know what to do; Cyrus goes to see Anna; Michael tells Josslyn that they should keep an eye on that guy; John says, it’s time he finally gave Carly something in return; and Lois says, it wouldn’t be complete without Sonny.

🧼 All the Soap News Fit To Print…

I was surprised that this was the most difficult scene for him, since Jason got socked with a lot of surprises.

Grandpa Carmine has RSVP’d yes.

New gigs for three.

She deserves it, and she’s absolutely gorgeous.

🔪 Tonight In Chefs…

A Supper Club sounds amazing. I love this site’s blow-by-blow recaps.

💎 Because We Can’t Have Nice Things…

Is Bravo kidding? She was just coming into her own, and part of the trio of reason – Garcelle, Sutton, and Crystal. They never know a good thing when they have it and hang on to the bad things for far too long. She will be missed.

https://ew.com/crystal-kung-minkoff-exits-rhobh-after-3-seasons-8634000

🗽 No Boy Toy Here…

He looks too much like the Count. Methinks the Countess wants one a little younger too. And possibly more French.

No judgement on the age difference. I have zero against that whichever way it goes. But they literally look like a father and daughter when next to each other, especially when he’s holding her hand. I blame it on Mary Kate dressing like she’s 12.

💅🏼 Reviving Their Place…

It’s good to see Heather Locklear sharpening her claws again.

https://people.com/melrose-place-revival-in-the-works-with-heather-locklear-laura-leighton-daphne-zuniga-8629989

🐙 Just Marvelous…

After seeing so many videos of them doing things like playing with divers, I won’t eat octopus (or eel) anymore. Again, no judgement. You do you. I don’t think I could ever give up a tasty burger.

https://people.com/paul-rudd-marvels-at-mimic-octopus-8630194

🪣 Fighting Fire With Water…

Join me tomorrow for more soap and amusement. Until then, stay safe, stay turning obstacles into opportunities, and stay not wasting time and energy convincing yourself everyone else is the problem, but not you. It’s probably you.

September 16, 2020 – Mike Begins His Transition, Butterflies, So Far, Good Riddance Season 10, a Little More, Jimmy Speaks & Gonna Swing

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

Jason asks Carly how Mike is. She says, his breathing is rough, and they’re giving him morphine. He asks if Sonny is with Mike, and she says, he won’t leave Mike’s side.

Michael sits outside at Turning Woods, and Willow comes by. She says she was on her way inside, and saw him sitting. She thought he could use some company, but if he’d rather be alone… He says that’s the last thing wants, and asks her to sit. She says, before he asks, Wiley is at home. She gave him his dinner and bath, and when she left, he was playing toy cars with the nanny. He didn’t even notice her leaving. He says she’s amazing, and she says so is he. He tells her, his mom and dad are looking after Mike, and she says she knows it’s not easy waiting. He says his dad is usually so strong, and now he’s losing his father. He honestly wishes… She says, what? but he says, nothing. She says, tell her. Nothing he could say would ever make her think less of him. He says he wishes this was over.

Sonny tells Mike that he wishes he knew how to make it easier. He knows Mike is ready. One of the last things he said to Sonny was that he’s ready. Stella comes to the door, and asks, how’s Mike? Sonny says, the same, and she says she just talked to Mike’s caregiver Dr. Knox. It’s good they’re giving Mike morphine; it’s the right thing to do. Sonny asks if she doesn’t think it’s extreme, but she says it’s standard. It will prevent Mike from gasping for air or feeling pain as his body shuts down. He asks if  that’s what’s causing Mike’s low blood pressure, and she says, it’s part of the process. She also saw that he was getting anti-anxiety medication. It will keep him from panicking. Believe her, his father is very comfortable right now. He thanks her, and says Mike seems to be holding on, waiting for something. Stella says, knowing Mike, she’s not surprised. She thinks the thing he’s waiting for is permission to let go. I’m not so sure, since Sonny already gave him that.

Michael tells Willow, he knows it’s terrible to want his grandfather gone, and for it to be over. She says he wants Mike to stop hurting; there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. He says his dad hasn’t left Mike’s side, saying it’s all the time he’s going to get. Waiting and watching every breath. He wants his dad’s pain to be over too.

Jason hopes it’s helping Mike for Sonny to be with him, and Carly says she knows it’s helping Sonny to be there. Some people say it’s magical thinking, believing a loved one at the end of life can feel the presence and take comfort in those around them, but she thinks it’s think true. Josslyn arrives, and says, so does she. Carly asks why Josslyn didn’t tell her that she was coming back. Josslyn says she made Tony drive her. She feels like she should be close. She thinks her grandpa knows more than they realize. He heard everything she said this afternoon, and even gave her a thumbs up. Jason says, sounds like Mike, and Josslyn says, she feels even now some part of him is still the person they love. She and Carly hug.

Stella tells Sonny, at the end of life, patients often straddle this world and the next. Telling Mike how much they’ll miss him and the outpouring of love is a good thing. In his mind’s eye, he’s transitioning to what’s waiting for him after he takes his last breath. He’s torn between staying there with his loved ones and going to that magical place where he’ll see all the people he loved and lost, and where he’ll be whole again, and where something bigger than any of us could ever know waits. Sonny says she sounds convinced it’s true, and she says she’s heard too many stories and testimonies, and believes it’s God’s honest truth. Sonny wonders what the doctors think, and she says, it depends on the doctor. Some call it sensory changes and illusions, but that’s the practical side talking. Sonny says, science, and Stella says she likes to think from the spiritual perspective, which is that Mike is ready to take his journey to the other side. He needs Sonny to let him go, and make his peace. Has he done that yet?

Sonny says he appreciates everything Stella has done, and Stella says, but he needs time with his dad. He says he knew she’d understand. Before she leaves, she’ll give him some tips on how to make Mike more comfortable. She tells Mike that she’s there. She was there this morning, and talked about his sharp hat. They’re going to make him more comfortable. She lowers the lights, saying, he doesn’t need that bright light in his face. She tells him that Felix will be by to take the gear off him, and asks Sonny to put on some nice music, which he does. She says, this will help him feel better too, and picks up a cup. She tells Sonny when his lips get dry, dab some water on them. Sonny does that, and she says that should make Mike feel better. She asks Mike if he’s doing okay; is he cold? Sonny says Mike’s hands are freezing, and she says, that’s expected. Mike’s body is shutting down. The blood is all going to his heart to keep it beating, so his extremities get cold. She gives Sonny a blanket, saying, it will make Mike feel better. Sonny puts the blanket over Mike.

Willow tells Michael that she thinks his dad is lucky, or maybe the word is blessed. He has a chance to say goodbye, knowing Mike has all this love to take with him when he passes on to the other side. He asks if she really believes that, and she says, absolutely. She also believes those Mike loved who have passed on will be waiting. She can’t think of anything better. He says, that’s a good way to look at it, and thanks her. She says, for what? and he says, for being there and letting him vent. He knows it’s not what she signed up for. They got married for Wiley, not so she could take care of him. She says, if that’s what he thinks, forget it. That’s not how marriage works.

Stella tells Mike, Sonny is there, and going to stay with him. If he needs anything, let Sonny know. It’s been an honor knowing him, and calling him her friend. Do what he needs to do. It’s going to be one of those times that will stay in both their hearts forever. God bless him. She hugs Sonny, and he thanks her, going back to sit next to Mike’s bed. Sonny tells Mike, Stella is something else. She’s the most practical down to earth woman he’s known. She has  a woo-woo vibe about the afterlife, but who knows?

Josslyn asks how Mike is, and Carly says, he was peaceful when she was there. Jason asks if he should check on Sonny, and Carly says, he would love that, and it might help him. Josslyn asks what about Carly? and Carly says she’s okay. She’s sad – she’s going to miss Mike – but it’s hard watching Sonny go through this. It’s going to be hard on him, but she’s glad he and Mike are going through it together. There was a lot of anger between them a long time ago. If Mike had died while they were still estranged, it would have broken Sonny’s heart. Now he gets to be by Mike’s side, and tell Mike how much he loves him, and that’s a gift. Truly a gift.

Sonny tells Mike, Stella said he needs to know that Sonny has made peace with his passing, but they both know that’s not it. Mike needs to hear and know they’ve made peace with what went wrong when he was a kid. Mike couldn’t help himself, but Sonny’s mom and him couldn’t understand. Gambling is an addiction. Now he knows how much Mike struggled. He’s a good man, who fell victim to something he couldn’t help. There’s no need for regret anymore. He forgave Mike a long time ago. He just wants Mike to go in peace. He’ll also go with love.

Willow tells Michael, she needs to be clear. When they got married, taking care of each other was part of the deal. When one is hurting, the other tries to help. He’s already done that for her, so of course (🍷), she wants to do that for him. They got married for Wiley’s sake, but he was her friend before that. They agreed when they took their vows, to share their lives with Wiley, which means sharing a life together. Got it? He says he does. He tells her that he should get back and be with his family. Willow is part of that family now, and she’s coming with him.

Jason watches Sonny with Mike, but doesn’t go in the room. In the hallway, Carly asks if he went in, and he says, no. Sonny is with Mike, and he didn’t want to intrude. She feels the same way. She wants to help, but Sonny has to do it on his own, and find a way to let go of Mike. Jason says Sonny has the courage to face reality and accept it, no matter how bad it hurts. When the time comes, he’ll do the right thing. He always does.

Josslyn works at a jigsaw puzzle, when Michael comes in with Willow. She and Michael hug, and he asks when she got there. She says, a little while ago. Jason is there too. He says, they’re all together; good. She asks how he’s holding up, and he says, better, thanks to Willow. He was starting to brood, and she gave him a talking to. Josslyn says, good for her, and Willow says, he’s exaggerating. Michael says he’s not, and Josslyn asks what Willow said. Willow tells her, the people Mike loves are waiting and happy to be with him. That was her experience with her own father. She never said goodbye, but she knows he’s in a better place, watching over her. Josslyn asks how she can be sure.

Sonny says, it’s not like he wants Mike to die. He did drag Mike to New York City for a drug trial, which probably wouldn’t have worked anyway. That’s how desperate he wanted Mike back. When Mike stopped eating, he wanted to shove a feeding tube down Mike’s throat, and would have kept him on machines, but that wasn’t right. He tells Mike, Stella says there’s somewhere much better out there for him, and he believes Mike feels the same way. Mike clears his throat, and Sonny says, hey, dad. When he was a kid, mom forced him to confess, so he went to church, and Mike was coming out of the confessional. He sat down, and they saw him pray. Mike didn’t know they were in the back, and they saw the guilt and pain on his face, even though he’d just confessed and wiped his soul clean. Sonny suddenly says, why didn’t he think of that before?

Carly tells Jason, she had the best dream. She was talking to Mike, and he was kind and loving, like a father. She’s never going to know that man again because of this damn disease. Sonny comes out, and Jason asks if there’s something he can do. Sonny says he needs both their help to do something for his dad.

Willow says she never told anyone before, but when she was giving birth to her baby, she felt her father’s presence so strongly. She knew he was there with her, and he told her she’d be all right, to stay strong; she was strong. She felt it so strongly. It was real. Josslyn says she gets that. She felt that with Oscar. In the past year, she’s thought about it a lot, and now with her grandpa. They knew the end was coming. Willow says, Oscar had her and her love; it made it easier for him. Josslyn says, one time, she and Oscar were looking at the stars, and Oscar said he’d be a part of them; part of the universe. It’s how he’d live on. Willow says, amazing, and Josslyn says, she thinks about it when she sees the sky on a clear night. She waves, and says hi, and tells him how much she misses him. Michael takes Josslyn’s hand, but she says, she’s fine. She really wishes there was some more immediate way to know Oscar was around. Brando walks in, and asks if she sees butterflies. It’s a sign a loved one is near, and watching over you. He heard about Mike, and came to pay his respects. He hopes it’s okay. Michael says, he’s their cousin, which means he’s family. He asks Brando to join them.

Michael asks if Brando is okay, and Brando says he’s getting back to normal. Josslyn asks, what happened? He looks like he got hit by a bus. Brando says, working in a garage and not being careful, let’s just say bad things can happen. Josslyn asks if Dev knows, but Brando says he hasn’t told him. Mike is more important. Sonny sent him a text. He asks if it’s true Mike doesn’t have much longer. Michael says, yeah, and Brando says he’s sorry. In Bridgeport, Mike was always around and would stop by. One time he came by when Brando and his mom had been fighting about something stupid. She’d sent him to his room, which he’d thought was totally unfair at the time. Mike saw him stuffing clothes into a bag; he was determined to run away. Mike said he could take off from his mom, but he’d take his anger with him, and whatever problems he had. He’d never get rid of them until he tackled them head on. Mike had a sad smile on his face, and said he’d run away himself, and was still dealing with his problems. Brando says he thinks about Mike’s words all the time. That’s why he’s still there. He’s getting to know his family, and putting down roots. Josslyn asks if Mike is the one who told him about the butterflies, and what they mean. What does it have to do with the afterlife? Carly comes in, and Josslyn asks how her grandpa is. Carly says, the same, and thanks Brando for being there. He says he doesn’t want to intrude, but she says, it means a lot to Sonny and Mike. She tells Michael and Josslyn that their father has come up with the idea to hopefully make Mike more comfortable and peaceful, and she’d like them to be a part of it.

Sonny tells Mike, they’re bringing someone there to help him. There’s a knock at the door, and Father Reyes joins them. He tells Sonny that he conducts mass there on Saturdays, and Mike usually showed up, although sometimes Mike called him Father Quinn. Sonny says that was the name of their parish priest in Brooklyn, and Father Reyes says he figured it was something like that. Sonny says it’s near the end, and he’d love to get a blessing for Mike. Father Reyes says he’d be honored. He puts a crucifix on Mike’s chest, and anoints parts of Mike’s body with oil. He asks that Mike be pardoned for the sins he’d committed by sight… by hearing… by smelling… by tasting… by touching… and by walking. He puts his hand on the Bible, and asks that Mike be forgiven all sins, and that God set Mike above all, choosing to see him face to face, with no division between him and God forever. He puts Mike’s hand on the Bible, and asks that he may be wrapped up in God’s love, and found deep in his everlasting wings, carried and kept safe and cherished. May the healing power of Christ breathe across his being now. He prays the Lord’s Prayer, and Carly, Sonny, Josslyn, and Michael pray with him. He blesses Mike, and they all make the sign of the cross.

In the waiting area, Michael wonders if this is the last time he’ll see his grandfather alive. Josslyn asks if what Mike has done is really gone, and how they know the afterlife is true? Stella says they just have to seek faith, because if there was nothing after death… Willow says, the alternative is too grim to think about. Brando says he was messed up after he came back from Iraq. Seeing his buddies gone. It seemed pointless, and he became self-destructive. Josslyn asks, what changed? and he says, he realized he wanted to live.

Carly thanks Father Reyes. The priest tells her that Mike had said how proud he was of them. He’s sure it’s a comfort that they’re with him.

Sonny says he’s been thinking about Morgan, and Jason says, him too. Sonny says, too bad Mike never got a chance to know Morgan before he died. Maybe Morgan is waiting for him. Sonny laughs, and Jason says he thinks Morgan is. Sonny says he wants to believe it. It makes it a lot easier, but at least Mike had the chance to see Dante, and have a good time. Dante is gone too; another loss. He asks if Jason thinks that’s why Mike doesn’t want to leave. He doesn’t want Sonny to have another loss. Jason says, maybe. Or maybe it’s something else. Sonny says, like what? and Jason says, if Sonny wants to take a break, he can stay there, but Sonny wants to stay. Mike might need him. He wonders what Jason isn’t telling him, but Jason says, it’s nothing. Sonny will figure it out. Jason goes over to Mike, and tells him, just do what he needs to do, okay? He’s there for Sonny. He leaves, and Sonny sits down. He says, all right, dad. He doesn’t have to feel bad or be afraid. There are people who want to see him, and he needs to see them. He doesn’t have to worry about Sonny; he’s not a little boy anymore. He believes Mike knows what’s going on, and says, listen, dad. Remember when he was a little boy, and Mike and his mom were fighting? They thought he was asleep, but he wasn’t. He heard them fighting the night Mike left. Mike was walking out, and his mom said he couldn’t walk out unless he said goodbye to Sonny, and he didn’t. Sonny starts to cry, and says Mike left, and his mom didn’t give Mike another chance. She divorced him, but it’s okay. Sonny understands now. He knows Mike loved him. He thinks maybe too much.

Tomorrow, Olivia says Winston won’t know what hit his casino, Alexis asks if Diane thinks she’s going to relapse, and Mike says, I know you.

Oscar’s exit was good, but this is phenomenal. I have no idea how these actors got through this without bawling their eyes out every second. Anyone who thinks soaps don’t deserve the same respect any other programming does, is out of their damn mind.

🦋 About Those Butterflies…

I wish they’d finished that conversation.

https://butterflywebsite.com/DISCOVER/bfliesandrainbows.cfm

✨ IRL…

Soap roll call of the dead for the year so far.

https://soaps.sheknows.com/gallery/soap-opera-actors-passed-away-2020/

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

We jump right in. Andy asks, what’s the worst thing Denise has said about Teddi? and Denise says she told Teddi to her face; she’s a sh*t stirrer. Teddi says Denise told Brandi that she said worse things. Denise says, according to who? Brandi? and Erika says, according to Denise. We flash back to Denise’s interview, where she did say that. D’oh! Although I’m sure whatever it was, it was warranted. Teddi is a poser, follower, and sh*t stirrer. Denise says Teddi is the daughter of a famous father, and the fact that she’d bring up gossip at a group dinner is really sh*tty. We flash back to Teddi saying she won’t torture Denise anymore, when really, she was just getting started. LisaR says, Brandi brought it up on camera, and Denise tells her to be quiet. Like this has ever been an option for LisaR. LisaR says she won’t be quiet, and she won’t be sorry. Denise says, stop. Brandi wasn’t at the dinner, but Teddi was. LisaR says it was already out the in the world, which is like the 50th time she’s used that expression. Denise says Brandi talked about a lot of them, and Teddi says, if Denise had no relationship with Brandi, how does she know what Brandi said? Denise says when she and Brandi met through their mutual agent, Brandi had diarrhea of the mouth, but she never repeated any of it. There’s more babbling about this, and Denise says Brandi called and asked out of the blue if she could come with her and Aaron to Kyle’s event. Aaron said, no effing way, as we all would, and Denise says, Aaron doesn’t like Brandi. She’s a train wreck, and not stable; she drinks a lot. This actually does sound like Brandi, since she’s continually tried to worm her way into places she’s not wanted. I would feel bad for her if she wasn’t so detestable. Andy asks when was the last time Denise saw Brandi, and Denise says when Brandi asked her to do the podcast. Aaron was there, and met her. Andy says Brandi was so specific, even about the hotel room, and we flash back to Brandi saying, blah-blah-blah poor me. Denise says Brandi knocked on the door, and she let Brandi in while she was getting her stuff. Aaron was there the whole time, and they don’t have an open marriage. If they did, she would say so. Kyle says it would be easier and better if she said it was between her and Brandi, and she didn’t want to talk about it. She hasn’t been honest. That was a pattern, and then she stopped showing up. Denise says, it was between them based on what Brandi claimed. Everyone starts babbling at once, and Andy says, one at a time.

Making a new paragraph, and inserting my opinion. For argument’s sake, even if Denise had said what Kyle just suggested, there’s no way they would have left her alone. They would have said nothing is private since she’s on a reality show, and LisaR would have screeched about owning it. Denise says she had a fever and she was sick, when she FaceTimed with Dorit and Garcelle. Kyle says Denise said she was coming to her housewarming, but turned her phone off. Be honest. Like any one of them knows what that is. Denise says she owned up with Garcelle. What’s it to Kyle? <snort> Sutton says she didn’t know Denise at all 2018, heard a rumor one person removed from Brandi. Either Brandi is lying (hello? has she been paying attention?) or Denise is. LisaR talks, but all I hear is, wah-wah-wah, like Charlie Brown’s teacher. Dorit suggests she let Sutton finish, but apparently Sutton thinks better of it, and says she is finished. Andy asks if Denise didn’t say the texts were made up or engineered, and Denise says her text thread is very different. LisaR pulls out this humongous stack of papers, and says she has a print out. Garcelle says, wow, and LisaR asks if Denise wants to go through it. Denise tells her to be careful, although no one else seems to care a whole lot. They’re probably bored with this sh*t, and want to move on to talking about Fendi or Fenty or whatever. LisaR asks if Denise is threatening her, and Denise says she’s telling the truth. If LisaR wants to play this game, she’ll do it. LisaR asks again if Denise is threatening her, and Kyle says she thinks it’s a promise. Huh? I have no idea what that means, but I want to see these texts. Denise says she’s willing to show they don’t match up, but is LisaR willing to let her show texts between the two of them? At least she’s asking. LisaR suddenly refuses to own it, saying, those are private. Denise says it’s about her, and all of them. I WANT TO SEE!!! LisaR says she’s being muzzled. Something else I’d love to see. She says Denise sent a cease and desist letter. Her lawyer threatened Bravo, telling them to cease production. Denise says she sent one to Brandi, hoping to make her tell the truth. LisaR asks if a cease and desist (which I’m already tired of typing) is to make someone tell the truth or to silence them. Erika says it means, quit it. Kyle says she’s been there, and it was hurtful to her family. She says something about LVP that I don’t catch, and I’m sure was just bullsh*t anyway. Andy asks if LisaR doesn’t feel there are things that are off limits, and LisaR says she dealt with it. She certainly did, and we flash back to her going ballistic, smashing a wine glass on the table and screaming, don’t touch the husband, when Kim asked, what about the husband? in Amsterdam. (#WhatDidHarryDo) LisaR says she faced Kim then, and faced her at the reunion. Of course she did, it’s screen time. She’d never walk away with the camera rolling. Although she did get her bunny thrown back at her for her trouble. She says she didn’t run, and Garcelle says, not everyone deals with things the same way. Why does she care? LisaR says they’va been having to deal with it for the last six months. Um… Only because they insisted on dealing with it. Andy tells her, let’s say something did happen, and maybe Denise would be trying to protect her family and marriage. What would LisaR say? LisaR thinks if a good friend came to her and said they needed help, she’d do it. Garcelle says, all she did was attack Denise, when they’d been friends for 20 years. LisaR insists she wasn’t attacking, and Kyle says, moving forward means having honest relationships. She doesn’t care what someone did. Andy says, Kyle is saying the way to move forward is to be honest, but Denise is saying the truth is that she didn’t sleep with Brandi. Denise says they’re not accepting that, so she doesn’t know where they go from here. Kyle says she doesn’t want to see anyone feel bad, and I choke on the vanilla wafers I just shoved in my mouth. She says they’ve all gone through difficult times in their lives, but things like this have repercussions. Andy asks what it looks like for Denise moving forward, and she says, sometimes the women don’t accept honesty. They think she’s lying, and that’s what’s hurtful. Andy wants to take a break, and I want to knock LisaR’s chair out from under her.

Sutton says Garcelle’s boobs make hers look sad, and Garcelle says she like to keep it real. She uses tape. Andy welcomes us back, even though, once again, we’re not the ones who went anywhere. He says, from go-go cage to the Broadway stage, Erika pulled back the curtain to new layers in her life that we’ve never seen before. We flash back to her nostalgic trip to Shakers, and her getting Roxie in Chicago. Viewer Tabatha from Arkansas says it was great that Erika did what she needed to survive, and asks if she was ever propositioned. Erika says she was, but never took them up on it. Another viewer points out that LisaR said her daughters would never work in a strip club, but they pose half-nude. What’s the difference? LisaR guesses there is no difference, and Erika says, more money. Andy says he saw her in Chicago, and was amazed at how packed the house was, and they were there for her. Erika says it was a surreal moment she’ll take to her grave. Andy says Janet Jackson and Marc Jacobs were there, and asks what Tom thought. She says he wasn’t able to come. He was going to be there the last week, but Covid happened. I try like hell not to think, karma is a bitch. Andy says Garcelle called LisaR out for stealing Erika’s thunder, and Garcelle says, she felt it was Erika’s time to shine, and she it was repetitive (as is everything with Lisa Own It Rinna), and LisaR says she went to see Erika, but Garcelle didn’t. Garcelle says it had nothing to do with not supporting Erika; don’t even try it. Erika knows Garcelle was there for her. Just because she didn’t go to New York, doesn’t mean she wasn’t supportive.  Erika says she didn’t feel that LisaR was stealing her shine or butting in. She relied on LisaR, and asked questions. It was a big project for her, and she was glad to have someone at her fingertips who had done it. She thanks LisaR, and thanks everyone who showed up. They’d finished shooting, and left their lives and families, and traveled to NYC. Whoa. Wait. Why did we see it on camera if they weren’t shooting? Was that a mirage? She says the left their lives and families, and traveled. It made her cry. She thanks Sutton for chartering the plane. It might sound corny, but she thanks them for being on the journey (ugh) with her. Teddi says Garcelle and Denise kept saying they should lift each other up and not be petty, but they weren’t there when no cameras were rolling. Garcelle asks if Denise wants to go first, and Denise says she wasn’t invited until the night before when Sutton realized she wasn’t on the list for the plane. She didn’t even know they were going. Andy asks if at the time she was suing them, and she says she wasn’t suing anybody. She sent a cease and desist (gritting my teeth) to Brandi, and a letter to Bravo asking if they would remove the footage. She sent nothing to any cast member, and that’s the extent of it. Garcelle says she constantly texted Erika about how proud she was of her, and asking how rehearsals were going. She’s deathly afraid of small planes. When she was a model, a lot of scary things happened. LisaR says Teddi and Dorit flew commercial, and Garcelle says just because she couldn’t make it doesn’t mean she’s not supportive. Sutton says, good point, and LisaR demands to know why Garcelle wasn’t there, since the plane wasn’t small. Garcelle says she had to work, and she had the kids. Her husband wouldn’t change the schedule, and she had prior commitments to fulfill. Erika says so it wasn’t the plane, and Garcelle says, that’s the truth, and she’s sticking to it. I stuff another cookie in my mouth because I hate LisaR’s stupid effing face-making so much. She’s a disgusting human being – if I’d even call her human. She’s like a mean blow-up doll.

Speaking of which, Jane from Mississippi asks if it’s true that The Bold and the Beautiful is using blow-up dolls and spouses for love scenes. Denise says, if anything is closer than eight feet, they use a mannequin to step in, and the other actor is off-camera. We see a clip of her talking to a mannequin, and she says she’s doing her first love scene with her husband tomorrow. Andy bets the rehearsal process is intense, and she says, well, you know. He asks if Aaron was defending Denise or mansplaining at Kyle’s barbecue, and we revisit him telling Teddi there’s no issue and they’re being ridiculous. We flash back to Teddi’s interview where she asked if he thought it was sexy when he put women down, and called him an a-hole. We see clips from the shoe party where Denise made the mistake of leaving him alone with the women, and Erika accused him of talking down to them. We also see Denise apologizing for him, and also saying in her interview that, after what they did to her in Rome, fat chance they’d get an apology from him. Andy says they invited Aaron to the reunion, but he didn’t want to come, and Denise says no one else’s husband is there, and it would have been a no win situation. Andy says, when PK came, he and Erika talked through what happened, and their relationship is good now. Erika says they squashed their beef, and we flash back to that. Dorit says it didn’t happen overnight, but they were able to start from scratch. Andy asks how Denise feels about how Aaron spoke to the women, but she doesn’t think it was offensive. He liked the women, she thinks he was trying to diffuse the situation. She should have brought him to the bathroom with her. Erika says when Denise left, she thought, at least Denise wouldn’t whisk him away, and Denise says don’t ask her husband questions if they don’t want him involved. Erika says they did want him involved. I’m just confused. They’ve gone on and on about how he basically shouldn’t talk to women like he would a man, so they want everyone to behave honestly except him? And I could swear in Rome, they said he shouldn’t have gotten involved. These idiots need to make up their minds. Andy asks what their reaction is to Denise not wanting Aaron around them, and Erika says, he’s a grown man, which Kyle parrots. Erika says, they’re six women, not six Mike Tysons. Give her a break. Andy asks why Aaron hasn’t apologized, and she says he hasn’t even seen them. Teddi says he had the opportunity, but doubled down. She was uncomfortable with the way he spoke to them and to Denise. Viewer Rachel from Santa Monica says she rewound and watched Aaron and Denise leaving the barbecue four times to catch what Aaron said to Denise. We watch the clip with subtitles, and he says he’s going to crush her hand. At the time, I’d actually thought he said she was crushing his hand. Denise says he didn’t even know what he’d said either until she played it for him, and then he told her that he didn’t know why he said that since he’s afraid of her. Andy asks why he’s afraid of her, and she has to explain that he was joking. Sutton says she has zero tolerance for that, and Garcelle says she saw it on social media and was worried. Omg. I honestly don’t think it was a real threat. It’s like none of them has ever said something like, I’m going to kill you.

Andy says, with these women, glam isn’t a fashion statement, it’s a competition. Black rompers and ragamuffins need not apply. We flash back, and normally I enjoy the fashion stuff, but msot of them are disgusting me tonight, and I just want this to be over. Garcelle asks if Sutton knows who Fenty is now, and she says, hell yes. A new collection just came out. Andy asks if Sutton got a lot of crap for that, and Sutton says she didn’t want to leave the house. Dorit shows off the back of her head, which is a conglomeration of braids. Andy outs Kyle spending $10K in Rome when she was on probation, and she tells him, thanks for putting that on blast. She admits to being just as excited to shop at Home Goods as Fendi in Rome. Switching gears, Andy says LisaR and Denise have been friends for years, and this was the ultimate test. If they were giving grades, their friendship would get an FU. We flash back to Denise talking to LisaR about having been friends for 28-30 years, and in her interview saying she’s starting to feel betrayed; maybe they’re not as good of friends as she thought. We see LisaR saying, own it, own it, own it, and this fake bitch crying about how she should have warned Denise, and that Denise would have done that for her. Denise looks sad, and LisaR makes stupid-ass faces. Andy says they both claimed the other had changed, and asks Denise how LisaR has changed. She says she needs to eat something before she answers, and I completely identify, since I need to eat something before I hear it. Like my feelings. LisaR says she’d like to know the answer, but Denise disappears. LisaR makes a stupid face, and everyone babbles about Denise walking off, when she probably just went to get her bag of vanilla wafers.

Denise comes back, and says she has to go to work in the morning, and has 48 pages. LisaR says if she’s unhappy, don’t do the show. Just do B&B. Denise says she’s not unhappy. She enjoyed doing the show, and getting know the women. Andy says Denise had told them LisaR was someone she trusted to go to for advice, and asks how she feels now. Denise says, very different. LisaR turned on her while on the show. LisaR lies, saying she doesn’t turn on people, but Denise hasn’t been open and honest. Denise says she’s an open book, and of all people, LisaR should know that. LisaR gripes about all the times Denise has run, and Denise says, not cool. We see her leaving several events, but I don’t see any reason why anyone should stick around if they’re being abused. Viewer Maya from Spokane wonders why LisaR didn’t just pull Denise aside, instead of calling her a hypocrite about the kids. LisaR says Denise talked about hookers so many times, and Denise says, one time she talked about inviting one in for Thanksgiving. She was wearing sweats, and it’s not like she was dressed for the street. Her mother would have done the same thing. Shame on LisaR, when she was just telling the woman to come in for a square meal. Kyle says they were on a group trip together, so it was an open conversation in the group. They keep saying this is a reality show, but in reality, no one says everything to everybody in a group.

Andy wants to finish, and so do I. He says the turning point was not being honest, and LisaR says, when she sees a year and a half worth of text messages, and Denise says she’s only seen Brandi three times, she can’t reconcile it. Denise says, moving forward, she should remember those words, and LisaR asks if Denise is threatening her again, because she’s gone completely insane. Denise says, no, but LisaR has told her a lot of stuff about Brandi. LisaR says she doesn’t like Brandi, and Denise asks if Brandi knows that. LisaR says she’s been nice to Brandi lately because Brandi is just trying to get back on the show tell her side. Denise says so much has been said about her family, and her kids are at an age when they hear stuff. How would LisaR feel? LisaR says she would get on the phone and say, stop it, f***er. Denise says, Brandi isn’t a friend, or even a cast member. If it was one of them, she would have, but she barely knows her. Andy says if LisaR was allowed to do it over, would she have given Denise a heads up? LisaR says she wouldn’t have had Denise come on the show, like she does the hiring. Denise rolls her eyes, and Garcelle says, damn. Andy says they’d agreed to try and work on it, but has the stress of the show airing and social media come between them? LisaR says they haven’t spoken or texted in six months. He wonders if they can go back to being friends, and LisaR says, like Denise was friends with Heather Locklear. Denise says Heather wasn’t her friend; she was friends with Denise’s ex-husband. LisaR is grasping at straws. LisaR says, maybe, and Andy says he doesn’t understand the reference. LisaR says Denise is insinuating she’s a bad friend. Denise says she isn’t, and Andy what’s to know what’s up with the Heather Locklear thing. He’s kind of interested. Denise says LisaR is being low. Not owning it in the least, LisaR says, google it. So I do. See below. Andy says Dorit defended Denise, and Dorit says, everything that’s happening hurts her. She’s grown to have a friendship with LisaR and Denise. She respects Denise and doesn’t like to see them go at it. She doesn’t like to see a 20 year friendship gone like that. She cares about them, and it’s hard. She wonders if, with time, they can find their way past it. She cares about both of them. Andy talks about how LisaR was so excited about Denise coming on the show, and said everybody would love her. Denise asks, what changed? No one says anything, and Andy asks where they go from here. LisaR says she doesn’t know, and Denise shrugs. Andy says they’ll leave it there, and Denise dabs at her eyes.

It’s time for Sutton to say goodbye, and she thanks them for having her. Andy says, it’s an unforgettable way to end a momentous season, and asks what went through Denise’s mind. She laughs, saying she came there to resolve things, but feels like that some of them didn’t want to do that. He asks if she’s going to move forward, and be friends again. She says, with some of them, and he asks Garcelle what surprised her the most. She says that the show wasn’t scripted. She came in open-hearted; ready to play and make new friends. She’s optimistic about the future. He asks how it was for Teddi being pregnant, and she says it was like being the narrator, being really present. It was harder, but good things happened. He asks for Erika’s takeaway, and she says, it was a great year. She had a lifetime achievement in Chicago, and feels good. She hates discord and conflict, but sh*t happens. If you’re willing, you can have a friendship. Andy says there have been years that ended in a bad way, but amazing friendships developed. He asks LisaR what she’d change about the season, and she says, nothing. She’s a truth teller. If she needs to say it, she’s going to say it, whether she’s known someone two or twenty years. He asks about her friendship with Denise, and she says it’s not where she’d like it to be. She’s sad about that, and it’s too bad they’re where they are. In the six years she’s been on the show, she’s been through it. She and Dorit moved forward. Dorit gave her a chance, and she’s grateful. Andy says, Kyle has been on the show ten years; how does she think they can move forward? She says, being honest and open, maybe one on one conversations. You have to be honest and open (omg, is that tattooed on her?) enough to give it a chance. She doesn’t think anything is irreparable. If I were Denise, I would never be friends with LisaR again for sure. It’s one thing siding with what you know to be true, but this showing up with a stack of texts from someone who’s a known liar (sorry, dumbass Kyle, but Brandi is) is ridiculous. Kyle says she’s glad she and Garcelle got to know each other. Andy says Dorit has been in the middle of drama, and she says she’s had issues with some of the women, but they’re good friends now. As bad as it gets, she thinks you can truly move on from something if both parties want to.

Andy tells them to raise a glass to season 10. It’s the first time Teddi has been able to drink. Dorit tells us that she has Gucci ice cubes in a Gucci glass. Um… maybe she used a Gucci ice cube tray, but I think the actual ice is courtesy of the city of Beverly Hills or wherever her sink is. She toasts, may the only pain in your life be champagne, and Kyle says, to moving forward and healing, even though nobody asked her. Andy says he can’t wait to see them in person, but at least there will be no L.A. traffic waiting.

Next time, RHOBH Secrets Revealed. This is code for crap they either couldn’t squeeze into the show, or that wasn’t worth airing.

💎 Extra Diamond Drama…

What happened with Heather.

https://people.com/tv/rhobh-season-10-finale-what-happened-between-denise-richards-and-heather-locklear/

Teddi’s All In program sounds deeply disturbing.

https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/09/10028744/all-in-by-teddi-mellencamp-diet-business-scam-twitter

📺 The New Emmy…

Jimmy Kimmel gives you the skinny.

https://abc.com/shows/emmy-awards/video/most-recent/vdka20111302?cid=email_ABC_20200913

🍸 One Two Three…

Another late night. Pretty soon, I won’t need to drink to swing from a chandelier. Hopefully, you’re soundly sleeping as I type this, but when you wake, stay safe, stay original, and stay looking for butterflies.