What I Watched Today
(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)
General Hospital
Peter tumbles down the stairs, and lies at the bottom on the landing. Blood pools around his head. Someone runs down behind him, and stands on the steps. We see the fake passports for Peter and Maxie on the floor next to him. A hospital employee runs up the other stairs, and checks the pulse in his neck.
Earlier. On the hospital roof, Peter looks at the fake passports. He looks up, and we see a helicopter. His phone rings, and he says, yeah… It’s too late? For what he’s paying them, they should be where he wants, when he wants… He doesn’t care. Hurry. He has to get the hell out of there. Finn says, he’s not going anywhere, and Peter tells Finn, stay out of his way. His daughter’s out there. Finn says, and his son is dying downstairs. Give him what he needs to save his son.
Valentin comes into the hospital, and asks if Elizabeth has seen Anna. Elizabeth says Anna is in Maxie’s room on the 4th floor. Valentin asks if Maxie had her baby, but Elizabeth says she hasn’t seen Maxie’s baby. He asks if Maxie is all right, and she says, physically, Maxie is fine, no thanks to him. He says, I beg your pardon? and she says, he looked the other way, so did Anna. They both knew what Peter was capable of, yet he and Anna still unleashed him on the rest of them.
Anna asks Maxie if something happened to her baby. Maxie says, thanks to Peter, her daughter is gone.
Brook tells Louise, she’s happy now. Look at them. Louise is only a few hours old, and already in her first hotel room. A 9.3 guest rating; she could do worse. She’s really real. She always knew Louise was real, but she seems so much more impressive now that she’s there. They’ve got a long road ahead of them.
Willow answers the gatehouse door to Michael, who says he wanted to see how she was doing. She says she tried to rest, but she still feels guilty. Michael comes inside, and she says, tonight, when Chase sent them home, all she could think about is how she wanted to be with Michael.
On the phone, Laura says, Cyrus is looking to keep a hostage. Here’s her offer. Let Portia and Trina go, and take her instead. Cyrus says, he’ll trade Trina for her, but the good doctor stays. Laura says, he releases both of them, and then she comes in. That’s her offer; think it over.
Outside, Doc asks Laura if she was bluffing, but she says she meant every word. He says she can’t turn herself over to that man. He’ll kill her. She says she knows he’s concerned, and he says he was called there to negotiate a hostage situation. He can’t do his job effectively if his wife is offering herself up as one of the hostages. She says it makes sense because she has a connection to Cyrus, and he says, that appears to be severed. She says, not completely. If she can use that connection, he’ll let Trina and Portia go free. He says, or they let the police do their job. Or let him do his, and negotiate, which is better than risking the mayor’s life. Jordan says she agrees; it’s too risky. She can’t let Laura go in there. Laura says, with all due respect, Jordan can’t stop her either.
Anna asks what Maxie is telling her, when Mac comes in. He tells Maxie that he’s sorry. He’s going to do everything he can to protect her, and get his new granddaughter back. She says she knows he will. She didn’t have a chance to check Peter’s confession before she sent it; did it go through okay? He says, clear as a bell, and she asks if it’s enough to lock Peter up. He says she’s amazing. He doesn’t know where she found the wherewithal to get Peter to confess, not to mention the presence of mind to record it. She says she did what she had to do. Just promise her that he’s not going to get away with it this time. Mac says he thinks they’ve got Peter. Besides the confession, Gladys Corbin named him as Franco’s killer. They’ve got an APB out, and they’re doing a floor by floor search of the entire hospital. He’s on his way to security right now to check the footage. Is she going to be okay? She says, as okay as she can be under the circumstances. He asks if Anna will stay with Maxie, and Anna says, of course (🍷). Maxie says, please just find Peter, and Mac leaves. Anna asks how Maxie got Peter to confess, and Maxie says she hired a nurse to help with her pregnancy. Unfortunately, Peter replaced that nurse with an imposter to kidnap her and induce labor. The imposter double-crossed him, and took off with their child. Anna says, that’s awful, but is Maxie sure it wasn’t another trick? Is she sure this woman didn’t hand off the baby to Peter? Maxie says, trust her. Peter has no idea where their daughter is.
Brook tells Louise, this part is a little tricky. They can’t just walk into the Q mansion. That would be chaos, not to mention the lecture she’d get from Valentin, which from his perspective will be completely justified. Valentin is going to take one look at Louise, and fall madly in love with her. He’s going to give Brook back the ELQ stock. That is what we call collateral benefits. The most important thing is, he’s going to take care of Louise like nobody’s business. He’s going to protect her. First things first, they have to get her home, which means she has to call someone she trusts enough to lie to.
Valentin says Elizabeth is right about everything she just said. He gave Peter far too much leash. She’s suffered enormously, and he’s truly, truly sorry. She says, apparently, Gladys Corbin just told the police it was Peter who killed Franco, not Jason. Any thoughts on that? He says just that he’s sorry, but he has to find Anna to warn her, because Peter is far more dangerous when he’s cornered. She says she’s sure she is, excuses herself, and jets.
Peter says he’s sorry Chase is unwell, and Finn says, Peter poisoned him. He knows Peter tried to poison him, and the toxin got delivered to Chase instead. Peter says Finn has been reading too many spy novels, but Finn says they’re talking about his son’s life. Peter’s been holding the antidote over Anna’s head so she’ll fall into line, threatening to withhold it if she doesn’t do what Peter says. Peter says it does sound like something Anna would make up, and that Finn would believe. Peter’s phone dings, and he sees a text from the helicopter pilot, saying, I can’t land. He starts to walk away, but Finn grabs his arm, and says, if he wants to play games with Anna and the WSB, go ahead. He’s not going to let Chase die. Peter says, if Chase dies, blame Anna.
Portia tells Cyrus to keep her; just let Trina go. Trina says, no. She’s not leaving Portia alone with that psycho. Cyrus tells them, shut up, and Portia tells him to point the gun away from her daughter. He tells her that she has no say in who comes or goes. She has no say in anything. Understood? Portia says, fine, and Cyrus goes to the window to look out. Portia says, if Trina gets the chance, she wants her to run. Trina says, no, but Portia says, just do it, okay?
Taggert launches himself toward the house, and two officers grab him. Jordan tells them to stand down, and tells Taggert to stand down too. Taggert says, that son of a bitch has Trina and Portia in there. Curtis says, Taggert isn’t going to help anything, and Taggert pushes past the police tape, but Curtis tells him to listen to Jordan.
Inside, Cyrus wonders, what’s going on out there? He grabs Trina, and Portia screams at him to get his hands off her daughter. Everyone outside hears her.
Peter tells Finn, Anna deceived and betrayed them both, and Finn let her. He’s not going to do that. Doesn’t Finn see? There have to be consequences. Finn says, not for Chase; he has nothing to do with this. Peter says, Finn is right. It should have been him in the hospital fighting for his life. What can he say? He missed. (Okay, I have to admit, I laugh.) Finn says, this isn’t about Anna anymore, but Peter says, on the contrary. It’s absolutely about Anna. The rules were very clear. She was only to get the antidote if she didn’t disclose his involvement. She broke the rules. Finn says, she broke the rules to save Chase’s life, but Peter says, no, to save his life with this – he shows Finn a vial – she had to follow the rules. Now if Finn is done wasting his time… He starts to walk away, and Finn asks where he thinks he’s going. Peter says he’s going to find his daughter, and launches the vial over the side of the roof. Finn says, no! and Peter says, consequences. He didn’t sentence Chase to death; Anna did. Peter walks away, and after a beat, Finn follows him.
The phone rings and Cyrus tells Portia to answer it. Portia tells Jordan to get her people back, and Jordan asks if she and Trina are all right. Portia says they’re fine, and Cyrus says, fine for now, unless Taggert decides to play hero. Jordan says, don’t worry. Marcus understands what’s at stake. Cyrus says, good. Now get his sister back on the phone. She’s the only one who appears to understand the situation. Jordan says, the mayor has stepped away to deal with the press, and Cyrus says, get her back now. He tells Portia, hang up.
Jordan tells Taggert, another move like that, and she’ll have him locked up. Does he understand her? If he wants to stay, stay out of her way. Wait. She tells the officers to get Taggert away from the area. If he tries to rush the house again, cuff him to a squad car. They lead Taggert away, and Curtis tells Jordan that he’s going to check on Laura. A SWAT guy tells Jordan that everything is in place. They have the house surrounded, and will breach at her signal. Curtis tells Jordan that Doc insisted Laura wear a bulletproof vest, and Jordan says, there’s no talking her out of this, is there? Curtis says she could cuff Laura to a squad car with Taggert, and she says, fine. If Laura insists on going in there, they need to use her relationship with Cyrus to their advantage.
Michael tells Willow that he feels bad for Chase, but he’s not going to feel bad for loving her. She says she loves him too, but they agreed this wouldn’t be a good idea. He says he changed his mind. They did their best for Chase, but being together tonight isn’t going to hurt him. They’re about to kiss, when Michael’s phone rings, and he ignores it, but Willow says, what if it’s the hospital? He answers, and says, what’s up?… Oh my God, what?
Finn follows Peter. As Peter opens the door, Finn grabs him, and throws him down the stairs. And I mean throws. Peter lies at the bottom of the stairs on the landing, blood pooling around his head, the fake passports next to him on the floor. Elizabeth runs up the stairs. She checks the pulse in Peter’s neck, and asks if he can hear her. Finn comes down the stairs, and says, is he…?
Laura tells Doc that her daughter is lying in a hospital, and may never open her eyes again because of that man. She couldn’t live with herself if she let that happen to another child, or to another mother. She’s sorry if that’s not what he wanted her to say, and he says, it isn’t, but that’s who she is. Right now, he hates that he loves that about her. She thanks him for understanding, and thanks him for loving her. He says, his pleasure… always. Jordan joins them, and says, Cyrus agreed to the trade. Laura says, both Trina and Portia are coming out in exchange for her, and Jordan says she wants to stress that Laura doesn’t have to go through with this. She has a SWAT team in place. Laura says she knows that, but thinks they can all agree, this is the best way forward. When Portia and Trina come out, and she goes in, she wants Jordan to take whatever action she believes is most effective. Jordan says she won’t let Laura go in unprepared.
Portia says, Cyrus is bleeding. It’s an infection waiting to happen. Let her change his bandage. Can Trina get her some fresh gauze? Cyrus asks why Portia can’t get it, and she says it’s easier to work on him if he’s not holding a human shield. He lets go of Trina, and Portia says she has gauze in her bag. Portia tells Cyrus to sit down, and he says he’s watching Trina. He tells Portia, he always wanted to have a kid, but she says, children require sacrifice. Parents need to think about them first; what’s best for them, not you. He asks what she’s implying, and she says she’s not surprised he doesn’t have any.
Anna says she’s so sorry, and Maxie asks, why? It’s not her fault. Anna says, it sickens her; the thought of Maxie’s baby out there with some stranger. Maxie cries, and says she just keeps thinking, it’s just good she’s not with Peter. Anna says, that much is true, and Maxie says, she’s realized, the only thing worse than being Peter’s enemy, is being loved by him.
Brook makes up the bed, and asks if Louise is lonely. All that time she spent cuddled up inside her mama. She can’t imagine how much her mama is missing her right now. She never thought she’d say this – she never got along with Louise’s mama – but she’s one strong lady. So strong in fact, and she loves Louise so much, she gave Louise to her. Just for now, until her daddy goes up the river. Can she say penitentiary? Not yet? Don’t worry, she’ll get the hang of it. In the meantime, her job is to keep Louise safe, which is exactly what she’s going to do.
Jordan says she’ll be monitoring Laura the entire time she’s inside, and Laura says, great, but Jordan is going to give her time, right? She wants time to talk Cyrus down, and get him to turn himself in. Jordan asks if Laura believes that’s a possibility, and Laura says, possible, yes, but likely? No, but she has to try. Jordan says her priority is to get Laura out alive. She’ll give Laura time, but not much. And they need a signal. Just a word. Something that won’t make Cyrus suspicious. When they hear it, she’ll signal the SWAT team to breach. Laura says, how about his mother’s name, Florence? and Jordan says, okay, that works. Curtis says, please just don’t say it by accident, and Laura says she’ll be very careful. Doc says, please do. Jordan says, let’s do this, and Doc hugs Laura, saying, be careful, be careful, be careful.
The phone rings, and Portia hands it to Cyrus, who says, Laura? Doc says it’s him, and Cyrus says, his erstwhile brother-in-law. Thanks for reaching out, but he’s not interested in Doc’s services. Doc says he’s not calling as a psychiatrist or a negotiator. He’s calling as Laura’s husband. Cyrus asks if Doc talked Laura out of coming in, or is he going to try and talk Cyrus out of trading Portia and Trina’s lives for his sister’s? Doc says he was unable to persuade Laura not to come in, so he asked Jordan to let him talk them through the exchange. Given they each have as much to lose. Cyrus laughs, and says, they both know that’s not true, but Doc guesses that’s a matter of perspective. Either way, Cyrus needs to get ready. Laura is approaching the house. Cyrus asks how he knows he’s not going to be shot the moment he opens the door, and Doc says, because his wife will be directly in front of Cyrus. Cyrus motions Portia and Train to go to the door, and Portia opens it. Cyrus puts Trina in front of him.
Elizabeth tells Finn that she’s sorry. She’s not getting anything; no pulse, no breath. He’s gone. Finn sits on the stairs, his head in his hands, and says, oh no. He hurries to Peter, and checks Peter’s wrist, saying, come on. He sits back down, and says he killed the one person who can save Chase’s life.
Mac sees Anna outside Maxie’s room, and asks, how is she? Anna says she’s all right, but she wanted some time alone. Mac heads for Maxie’s room, and Valentin comes out of the elevator.
Maxie asks if Mac found Peter, and Mac says, not yet. They’re still searching.
Valentin says, Maxie had her baby? and Anna says, she did, but something happened. Her baby is missing.
Finn says, the police are looking for Peter. They have to tell someone. Elizabeth asks, why? and Finn says, because they have to? She says, Peter hurt a lot of people. He killed Franco; he deserves to rot. He says, they can’t leave him, but she says, they’ll find him soon. They’re probably looking right now, so they have to go. Finn says he can’t, and she asks, why not? He says he did this. He threw Peter down the stairs, and killed him. Peter threw the antidote off the roof, and he lost it. She says if he tells the police what happened, there will be an investigation. He’ll lose precious time he needs to save Chase. Worse, he could go to prison, and Violet will lose another parent. He says, they can’t leave Peter there, and she picks up the passports. She says, these are passports with fake names. Maxie is Jennifer Brady. Does he think Maxie knows about this? Does he think Maxie consented to this? Peter was planning on taking Maxie someplace against her will. She won’t let Finn go to prison for killing a man who deserved to die. Finn says, the antidote is gone. Peter said, if Chase dies, it’s Anna’s fault, but it turns out, it’s going to be his. She says, it’s Peter’s fault, and no one else’s. He poisoned Chase and withheld treatment. Finn is Chase’s best chance for survival, but he can’t save Chase from behind bars. Finn says, they can’t leave him there.
There’s a knock at Brook’s door, and she tells Louise, it’s show time, sweetie. Michael comes in with Willow, and she says she didn’t know he was bringing a plus-one. He says he got the call when he was at the gatehouse, and Brook says, the more, the merrier. She can’t believe she thought she could drive herself home. She can barely be on her feet. Willow says, of course (🍷). She just had a baby; she’s beautiful. Brook says, she is. Ten fingers and ten toes. She’s really here. Michael asks, what happened? He thought she was visiting a friend. Brook says, that was the plan. While she was driving, she started getting contractions. Before she knew it, her water broke. She called her friend Cecilia, who, thank God, knew a doula in the area. After that, things were moving like a speeding train. She came there, then the doula came, then the baby came, then housekeeping came to change the sheets because… well, they get it. Anyway, mommy and baby are there safe and sound. Willow says, it must have been terrifying, and Brook says, it was something. Willow goes over to Louise, and tells Michael, look at her, and Michael says, hey you. Does she have a name? Brook says, Bailey. Baily Lois Quartermaine. He says, BLQ II, and Brook says, it has a nice ring to it, doncha think? Willow says, it’s perfect. Welcome to the world. She knows Bailey’s mama is so glad she’s there. Brook says, she sure is. She just wants to get her baby home, safe and sound. Michael says, that’s what they’ll do after they stop at GH, but Brook says, they’re fine. Michael says he’ll take her home once she and the baby have been looked at.
Laura tells Cyrus, she’s there; he can let them go. Portia says, let Trina go first, but Laura tells Portia that Trina will be right behind her. Go now. Portia walks out, and Laura tells Trina, it’s okay. They’re going to switch places. She’s going to step between Trina and Cyrus, and when she does, Cyrus will let her go, and she’s going to run to her parents. Do it on three. One… She moves toward Cyrus. Two… She steps in between them. Three… run. Trina takes off, and runs to Portia, who holds her. Laura goes inside, and Cyrus says, welcome. Laura says she’s glad she’s there, and he says, if she’s truly there as his sister, she’ll treat him as her brother, not a criminal. She says, okay. Tell her how to do that. He says, take off the vest.
Laura removes the vest, and says, okay, vest off. She’s here as his sister. Cyrus says, she was the one who was so eager to join him. He’s guessing she has a particular conversation in mind. She says she does. She’s here because of his mother. She’s such a sweet woman. She knows this isn’t what his mother would have wanted for him. He laughs, and says, this is her plea? The woman who can barely tolerate being in the same room with him wouldn’t want this?
Jordan tells Doc, time to call in; make Cyrus believe they’re worried. He says, as if they’re not, and calls. Cyrus’s phone rings, and Laura says, he’s not going to answer? He says, they can wait. He’d rather hear more of her theories about his mother, who she’s met once. Laura says she just knows a mother’s love. She doesn’t think it’s in his mother’s nature to cut him out of her heart completely. He says, not everyone is her. The world is filled with terrible mothers. She says, if his mother’s so terrible, why does he care what she thinks? and he yells, because she’s his mother. She’s not terrible, she just disapproves of his choices. Laura says she thinks if his mother didn’t care at all, this… He says, this wouldn’t bother her? Okay, they have time to kill. Say he believes her. How would she suggest he go about opening his mother’s heart? She says, be the person his mother wants him to be, longs for him to be. Somewhere deep down inside is the little child she lost. Bring him back.
Curtis says, Laura is good, and Doc says, she is. Jordan asks if Doc thinks it will work, and he says, they’ll know soon enough.
Trina says Taggert came to get her; he wasn’t going to let Cyrus hurt her. Taggert says, not in a million years, and hugs her. Portia tells Curtis, she keeps seeing Cyrus holding the gun on Trina. She should have let him bleed out on her rug. Then she feels bad for thinking that, and she can’t stop shaking. Curtis says he gets that, and she says she thought he might. He says, the drama takes a long time to process. If she wants to talk, he wants her to know he’s here for her. Taggert thanks Curtis for talking him down; Portia and Trina mean the world to him. Curtis says, trust him. He gets it.
Cyrus tells Laura that she’s more his sister than she knows, and she says, how’s that? He says, she instinctively knows how to find a person’s weakness, then surgically drill down, and turn it into an asset. She won’t admit it, but she’s cruel. What else would drive her to wound him so? She says he’s so used to fighting with people, he can’t tell when someone is trying to help him. She doesn’t want to wound him. She cries, and says, she’s trying to save his life.
Anna tells Valentin, Maxie got Peter to confess to hiring the nurse who ultimately stole Maxie’s baby. Valentin suspects they’ve underestimated Maxie, and Anna says, she is a brave woman, but she’s in so much shock right now. She’s relieved the baby isn’t with Peter, but the potential outcome of the situation hasn’t gotten to her yet. She doesn’t know when it will.
On the phone, Mac says, search the whole building. He tells Maxie, sorry, and she says, they didn’t find Peter? He says, not yet, but when they do, Peter will give them the kidnapper’s real name.
Anna tells Valentin that she has to find Finn.
Finn tells Elizabeth he’s not sure about this, but she says, the police know Peter is on the run. All they have to do is let them think he got away. No one will ever know he’s dead. Finn looks down, and sees Anna at the reception desk. He comes down with Elizabeth, and Anna says, it’s about Peter. He had Maxie’s baby kidnapped. The woman that he hired to kidnap Maxie and deliver her baby, double-crossed him and took off with the child. He didn’t show up there with the antidote either. Elizabeth asks if they have any idea where he is, and Anna says, he disappeared, which is what she suspected he’d do. She tells Finn that she’s sorry, and Elizabeth says, it was a mistake to depend on Peter. The best thing for Chase, is to find an actual cure, and that’s what they’re going to do. Anna says, for what it’s worth (🍷), they have her word. As long as Peter is out there, she won’t stop looking for him.
Willow brings Brook into the hospital with the baby, and Brook says, Michael didn’t have to drop them off and park the car. She’s perfectly fine to sit there by herself. She sits down, and Willow says, it’s just an excuse to be around the baby. Brook says she can’t blame Willow for that. Willow leaves to find someone to help, and Maxie puts on her robe. She goes to the window, and Brook holds Louise up, so Maxie can see her.
Doc says he doesn’t like this. They need to get Cyrus back on the line. Curtis says, with Doc calling every few minutes, Cyrus won’t know that they can hear him. He’ll think he has the upper hand. Doc says, he does have the upper hand. His tone is starting to shift; he’s becoming more unstable. Jordan says they need to go in, and Curtis says, with anyone else, maybe. Doc says, but not with his wife? Curtis says he realizes he doesn’t know Laura the way Doc does, but he and Laura have been in some dangerous situations. She’s always cool. If it gets too dangerous, she’ll use the code word.
Laura tells Cyrus, help her save his life. Answer the phone, and tell them she’s okay. He asks why they’d trust him, and she says because he let Trina and Portia go; that’s good. It bought him time, but that time is running out. He says, if that’s true, it won’t end well for her, and she says, the only way it will end well, is if they both walk out together. He says, then what? He goes to prison, and she walks away. She steps back into her life; the life she had before he entered it. He’ll be back in Pentenville, and Martin, maybe she’ll accept him or maybe she’ll reject him completely. He doesn’t really care. She asks, then why bring him up? and he says, no matter what she thinks, Martin is his family; like his mother, and like her, and family matters to him. He cries, and she says, then let her save his life. He says, incarceration is not a life. He won’t throw away everything he’s achieved, everything he’s built, just so she can have him locked back up in solitary. He won’t be an afterthought or a bad memory.
Jordan tells her team to get in position, and wait for her signal.
Cyrus tells Laura, it’s simple. Either he walks out a free man, or neither one of them is getting out alive.
Tomorrow, Finn says Peter won’t bother Maxie again, Valentin meets (not) his baby, Cyrus says whatever happens to him happens to Laura too, and Carly asks Jason if he thinks she screwed up something.
Million Dollar Listing New York
Ryan was looking at a property in Brooklyn from developer Avi Fisher, who he’s had an ongoing business relationship with for a while now. Ryan said it was the most luxurious project in Brooklyn, and with 138 units, his potential commission was $8 million. Altogether, the property was 22,000 square feet, and 300 feet high. After showing Ryan the automatic valet garage – which was impressive, but I wondered what you did when you wanted your car back – Ari took Ryan to the 13th floor penthouse. I’d thought buildings pretended not to have 13th floors, but I guess builders aren’t superstitious anymore. In Ryan’s interview, he said, everything people went to Manhattan for, was now in Brooklyn. Their next stop was the rooftop deck, that had 360° views, which were fantastic. Ari said they’d bought the air rights, and in his interview, Ryan said this was done to keep views unobstructed, and they’d probably spent millions just on air. While Ryan thought this was a sure partnership, Ari said he wanted Ryan’s opinion, but at the end of the day, the company would do what was right for them.
With assistant Kemba and team member Josh helping him, Tyler had the open house for the 2nd floor apartment that was across from a police and fire station. It had been on the market for a year with no nibbles, when Tyler took over. Owner Robert had taken Tyler’s advice and, in addition to dropping the price to $2.1 million, spent $70 in staging. In Tyler’s interview, he said if he couldn’t get it sold, he was going to look like an a-hole. Being on the 2nd floor alone made it challenging, so Tyler rolled with the police/fire station issue by hiring gorgeous male models dressed as cops and firefighters. He said it captured the idea of safety and being prepared, but was mostly for distraction. He was bringing the outside, inside. He’d been hearing more about covid, and people were getting anxious, which was making him anxious. A broker called the models a walking calendar shoot, and Tyler decided that celebrating the UES and firemen had been a good idea. He’d also pointed out the soundproof, $10K each, windows. KJ showed up, and in his interview, Tyler said he felt uncomfortable. The last time she’d come to one of his opens, she took the opportunity to steal his business. KJ said she was selling another apartment on the 3rd floor, and wanted to get the vibe.
March 14, 2020. KJ said covid was starting to be on everyone’s mind. She met with her friend Stephanie, one of her European jet-set group, at Stephanie’s apartment. Stephanie said the apartment had been a passion project, but it was time to move; they needed more room. Stephanie had added a floor onto the building, bought the roof and air rights, and constructed a 1300 square foot penthouse. The penthouse had a glass NanaWall, a folding glass door that took up the entire wall, and led out to a sky terrace. The master closet was humongous, with sliding shelves, and clothes hanging behind clothes. KJ thought it was modern, but European. There were odd angles because of some rules about airflow from the Department of Buildings, since no one wanted a penthouse to blow off the roof. Stephanie wanted $3 million, but KJ said $2.895 million would get more people in the door. Not that Stephanie still wouldn’t make a huge profit.
Steve wanted to get more listings in the building where he lived. His end goal was to make the SoHo apartment his family’s forever home. His open for the Baxter Street apartment – the one that touched four different neighborhoods – had been packed and insane, but Steve was worried covid was going to affect his sales. A broker called saying the apartment was great, but the lobby was lacking, and Steve explained it was going to be renovated. I was surprised that he hadn’t made that clear to everyone who went to the open, since it was an obvious issue. He told the broker that he’d send renderings, and in his interview, he said he felt like he’d cracked the code. He also felt that if it didn’t get sold now, it wasn’t going to happen.
March 16, 2020. Ryan met with broker Barbara to show the gigantic townhouse ,but her client had canceled. In Ryan’s interview, he said, the NBA had canceled, Tom Hanks had covid, and restaurants were closing. Some people claimed the virus would hit them hard, but some people said it was just the flu. He wanted to be cautious, but didn’t want to stop life. He showed Barbara around the 11,000 square foot, 5 bedroom, 12 bath mansion townhouse, with a 2000 square foot master bedroom, housing a 6 foot in diameter soaking tub. While I’m at it, there was a two-story open chef’s (whatever that means) kitchen, and an enclosed dining terrace that had walls of piping where an ivy system (as Ryan put it) could be grown. There was a fitness center, an endless pool, a sauna, and steam room. Barbara said her clients would want to see it for themselves, and Ryan said he’d be happy to get them hazmat suits. After she left, Ryan called the office, but found out from assistant Jordan that the other two showings had canceled. Jordan said people were canceling by minute, and thought Ryan should go home and be with his family like everyone else. They could figure out the rest later.
March 17, 2020. Tyler got three offers on the 2nd floor apartment; one for $2 million, one for the asking price of $2.150 million, and one for $2.175 million, all cash. He’d met with broker Danielle who said her client was a single mom who wasn’t going to be interested in getting into a bidding war, ending Tyler’s fantasy about that. They discussed how unbelievable it would be for NYC to shut down, and Tyler said he couldn’t see it. In Tyler’s interview, he said, when you told a broker that you had other bidders in a down market, they thought you were playing a game. His gut told him to go with the all cash offer and wrap it up, especially with the virus looming. He called Robert, who agreed to go with it, and Tyler could smell his commission of $65,250. He told Danielle it was a deal, but she said her buyer had just called, and got cold feet after speaking to her finance guy, who said she shouldn’t go over asking price. Tyler said it would have been nice to know before he called the owner, and Danielle said, these things happened, and she was just kidding. They had a deal. In his interview, Tyler said, how dare she take his gay ass on an emotional roller coaster ride?
March 18, 2020. KJ said the virus had started to hit home. She had one kid whose school had closed. That meant it was a big deal. She headed for an apartment building on West 95th Street, which she said was an affordable luxury building. You could get a 2 bedroom for the same price as a 1 bedroom condo, and she was taking the smaller properties because she wanted a more diverse portfolio. She’d been helping to refresh and sell apartments in the 200 unit building since 2017. She met with the seller’s team, who seemed pretty antsy about sanitizing and social distancing before it was even fashionable. KJ checked out the 949 square foot apartment, and in her interview, she said that she loved being involved in the staging part of the process. If the apartment wasn’t big, they needed to stage to maximize space. Sometimes developers took her staging advice, and sometimes not, but they’d been agreeable in the past. The seller said KJ had sold 13 out of 22 apartments, and they had 13 they needed to move quickly. KJ suggested a price of $1.595 million, with her potential commission being $490K and change. She found out that her other kid’s school had been suspended for two weeks, then Stefano texted, saying the market was cleaned out. As KJ jetted from the building, a producer asked what the text was about, and she told them it was the school, leaving out the market part. She seemed close to tears, and said she just wanted to be home, and be with her kids. She thought this was going to affect everything deeply. Boy, we didn’t know the half of it then. What was interesting was, it was like I was feeling it as they were experiencing it. It was kind of weird.
March 19, 2020. Steve spoke to David, the owner of Baxter Street, and said he was hoping for more showings, and to bring David an offer soon. David said he was now working from home, and thinking of taking the apartment off the market. He had a reappreciation for the environment now, and couldn’t see living somewhere else. Steve asked if there was no way David would reconsider, but David said he couldn’t; no way. In Steve’s interview, he said it was his first client to have their work affected. He didn’t know if it was an overreaction, but he had to be sensitive to what was going on. He told David, as a broker, he should give David a bunch of reasons why he should sell it, but he was sympathetic to the situation.
March 20, 2020. Fredrik called his office in NYC, and said he was coming out, but his assistant Ellis said that offices were shutting down. They were no longer allowed in the office building. He thought Fredrik should stay in L.A. with Derek and the kids. Besides, flights were being canceled. They were worried about people backing out of deals because people were leaving NYC. In Fredrik’s interview, he said it was impossible to shut down NYC. He had 80 agents in 5 markets. This was something he’d seen in movies, but it usually involved vampires or zombies. He told Ellis to keep checking on flights.
3 hours later. Ryan said, non-essential businesses were being told to shut down. NYC was falling apart. There were stay-at-home orders for non-essential workers. WTF was going on? Things they’d thought wouldn’t happen, were happening. Shutting down NYC was impossible. Things happened in the world that were bad, but this was new. It wasn’t something that happened in the USA. He called Jordan, and said to tell the team to do what they wanted. He thought maybe they should take the listings off-market temporarily.
Next time, brokers in quarantine, phase-two reopening, and applauding essential workers.
🏰 They slid right into Ryan’s Renovation, where Ryan had gotten an 8000 square foot townhouse in Brooklyn for $7.6 million. He said, it was fine as is, but they didn’t want fine, and his small renovation turned into a full gut of the house. They started with September 2019, day 143 of the renovation. Construction manager David had taken a two-family house, and made it into one, putting in a staircase. They’d also made provision for Emelia’s mom Despina. In her interview, Emilia said that Ryan couldn’t live without her mom, but her mom came with her dad, her sister, her brother, and their people. You didn’t just get one; you got more. No surprise, the property was beautiful, and I was especially taken with the 26’ closet. That’s longer than my living room. Emilia said she and Ryan had different decorating styles. She tended to go for super moody. Ryan said he didn’t really have a particular choice, but he knew what sold, and buyers liked it bright.
Ryan moaned about the budget, saying there was always something wrong. He’d thought the renovation would run around $1.5 million, but they kept coming across roadblocks, like needing a steel beam reinforcement if they wanted to put in an elevator. He’d been off by $1.1 million, plus their June completion date had already been moved to August.
Ryan’s mom came to visit for Zena’s first birthday party. Emilia said there were going to be 65 people, and in Ryan’s interview, he said his family wasn’t super flashy or loud; not like the Greeks. They were conservative, and if they could have kept the same car for the rest of their lives, they would. He appropriated that quality in business, which made him cost effective and efficient, but he only had one life. He said the house was a never-ending renovation that might kill him.
I’m not sure what to say about Zena’s birthday party. I don’t think I’ve been to an adult party that elaborate, except for a wedding. Although I’ve never seen a ballpit at a wedding, let alone a white and gold one. The cake actually looked like a wedding cake, with a gold cherub playing a harp on top. You can’t tell me that was for a one-year-old who probably would have preferred something like SpongeBob. Ryan found out about another unexpected expense, and said, if one more bad thing happened, he was going to lose it.
Next time, Ryan is nervous to show the townhouse to Emilia’s dad, a house blessing, and Ryan is tempted with a $12 million offer.
👋 Hello, I Must Be Going…
Saving the tea for tomorrow, but tonight, stay safe, stay unbreakable, and stay not throwing elaborate parties for one year olds. They won’t remember it, so at least admit it’s for you.
What I Watched - TV With Theresa 