What I Watched Today
(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)
General Hospital
Britt asks Maxie to just tell her. Is her mom okay? Did she contact Maxie? Maxie says, sorry. She didn’t mean to mislead Britt. She hasn’t actually heard from Obrecht. Britt tells her, but she just said… when there’s a knock at he door. Maxie lets Scotty in, and he sees Britt. He asks if this is about Obrecht, and Maxie says she spoke with Nina, and has some information on Obrecht’s disappearance.
Josslyn is at the gym when her phone rings. Cameron asks if she’s busy, and she says, kind of. She’s at the gym; volleyball practice got cancelled. He asks when she’s going to be done, and she says, about an hour. Why? He says he’s at Charlie’s with Trina right now, and she wants to run a theory by Josslyn. Josslyn says she wants to finish her workout. Can it wait an hour?
Spencer asks Nikolas if Doc left, and Nikolas says, just now. He asks where Esme is, and Spencer says, Esme left for kickboxing, and mentioned something about going to an interior design boutique afterward. She wants to redecorate her room. Nikolas says, Esme is full of ideas, and Spencer says, Esme is all about creativity, and thinking outside the box. Nikolas says Spencer chose to miss all that to hang out with his father? and Spencer says, the lesser of two evils.
Jason asks if Carly is okay, and she says, Sonny’s back, and she’s beyond grateful he’s alive. Jason says, him too, and she says, but beneath all that joy, she keeps wondering, what happens next?
Sonny visits his own grave, and turns around to find Nina standing behind him, holding a white rose. He asks if she’s stalking him, and she says, no. She was taking this to her brother’s gravesite. She saw someone there, and wasn’t sure if it was him. He says, she didn’t recognize the wardrobe? and she says, partly, but she didn’t know he’d be up and around so soon. He left the clinic against medical advice. How’s he doing? Is he feeling any aftereffects from that smoke? He says she doesn’t get to do that, and she says, do what? He says, act like she gives a damn. This is the gravesite where his family grieved because of her. Don’t think for a second that he’ll ever forget that.
Maxie tells Britt and Scotty, it turns out Peter was tracking her when she went to Texas, and followed her when she went to visit Nina in Nixon Falls. When Maxie left, he pressured Nina to help him find Louise. When she refused, he tried to kill her. Britt asks if Nina’s okay, and Maxie says, no thanks to Peter. He tied up Nina and her friend, and set the building on fire. Scotty says, for cryin’ out loud, what does this have to do with Liesl? and Maxie says, Peter told Nina, Liesl had been handled. He asks what they means; he killed her? Britt says, maybe that’s what he wants everybody to think. Handled could mean anything. Typical Peter doublespeak. Besides, he’s on the run, looking for Louise. Why take the time to get to her mother? Maxie says she was just about to get to that part.
Victor walks into Obrecht’s room, and she says, it’s been days. She’s going stir crazy in this room. His staff barely looks her in the eye, just nodding and smiling. He says he warned them not to fraternize. He can’t have her charming his people into doing her bidding, the way she did that poor fool Kirk in Geneva. She says she didn’t charm Dr. Kirk; she survived him. Where has he been? He says he wanted to give her time to adjust to her new reality, and she says, all he’s done is give Scotty and Britt time to find her. He says, why would they be looking for a dead woman?
Nikolas and Spencer play chess, and Nikolas says he’s glad Esme is making the room her own. He wants her to feel comfortable there. Spencer says, Esme is comfortable wherever she goes, and Nikolas says, that’s an admirable trait. He’s glad to get to know more about the girl who’s captured his son’s heart. Spencer says, Esme is the coolest. She’s beautiful and smart, she tells it like it is. He never connected with anyone the way he’s connected with Esme. Nikolas says, Esme sounds very special. It’s good to have someone like that in your corner. Spencer says, Esme’s the best.
Cameron tells Trina that Josslyn’s at the gym, and asks if she can hang out a while she finishes up. Trina says she can, and he gives her the phone. Trina tells Josslyn, bottom line, Esme’s up to something, and she’s dragging Spencer along with her. Esme walks into the gym and waves to Josslyn, and Josslyn says she’ll be right there. Esme tells Josslyn, hi, and asks if she’s there for kickboxing class. Josslyn says, actually, she was on her way out. Enjoy the class. Esme says, wait. Josslyn can’t leave.
Sonny asks if Nina likes his headstone. His family wanted to leave him a marker even though they didn’t find his body. They wanted a place where they could grieve. Of course (🍷) he’s one state away, thinking, where’s the family who cares so much about him? They’re not looking for him. She says he has every right to be angry with her, and he says, she’s damn right he does. She knew about this, and he was just going on with his life. She could have stopped it months ago, but she didn’t. She says she knows it’s not enough to say it, but she’s so sorry for the pain she’s caused him. He says, him? What about his family? His kids? Avery knew who he was, but Donna didn’t recognize him. He was like a stranger to her. Nina claims she feels bad about what she did to him, but not one word about his wife Carly.
Jason asks Carly how it went after he left, and she says, good. Sonny stayed up practically all night with the kids. She went up to bed to give them some time alone, and Sonny slept in the guest room. She had Sonny’s clothes brought down from the attic, and he put on one of his suits this morning. It was really great to see him looking like himself. Jason says he bets it was, and she says, what about him? Where did he go? He says, home, to his apartment, and she says, he hasn’t lived there in a while. He says, she and the kids needed him there. They don’t anymore.
Trina asks if Cameron didn’t say there were surveillance cameras in the parking garage. Maybe she can get her mom to get security to let her look at the footage, to see if Esme was anywhere near Ava’s car that night. Cameron says he’s going to be honest. He thinks involving her mom is a bad idea. Remember the trouble he nearly got his mom in when he accessed hospital records using her password? She says she gets where he’s coming from. They’re back to trapping Esme and Spencer into confessing they’re the stalkers. He says he doesn’t think that’s the right way either, and she says, he sure is coming up with a lot of obstacles. How about solutions? He says he’s sorry, but he personally thinks the best option is being straightforward. Maybe if the three of them talked to Spencer… She says, she already tried confronting Esme and Spencer, and it was a disaster. Think about it. If they were guilty, why admit to it? Cameron has a history with Spencer. Is he the confessing type? He says, no. Spencer’s fallback is always deny, deny, deny. She says, okay then. They have to be as devious as Esme and Spencer. They have to lay a trap for them.
Josslyn says, she can’t leave? Why not? Esme says she has the feeling Josslyn is avoiding her, but Josslyn says, no. She needs to be somewhere. Esme says she thought this would be a good opportunity for them to spend some time together… hang out. Spence told her what a good friend Josslyn has been to him. Anyone important to him is important to her. Josslyn says, it sounds like things are getting pretty serious, and Esme says, definitely. Did Josslyn know they just moved into Windymere? Josslyn says she thinks Spencer mentioned it, but things have been so crazy since Sonny came back. Esme says, wait, what? Sonny Corinthos, Spencer’s uncle? She thought he was dead. Josslyn says, it turns out he’s not. She’s sorry. She has to change. People are waiting for her. Esme says, no worries. They’ll be plenty of time to get together. She’ll be around.
Nikolas says he was surprised when Spencer introduced him to Esme, and Spencer says, it was a night of surprises. Nikolas says, starting with the party Spencer hadn’t cleared with him, and Spencer says, and ending with Nikolas terrorizing him and his guests. Nikolas says, he hopes Spencer found a way to forgive him for thinking he was Ava’s stalker, and Spencer says, they’ve already hit the reset button on that, haven’t they? Nikolas says he knows how difficult it can be to let go. Forgiveness doesn’t come easy to us Cassadines… Check.
Sonny says, Nina stole months of his life to get back at Carly, but she says, that’s not what it was about. He says, then why? and she says, because Carly was trying to take Wiley away from her; Carly was trying to erase her from his life. He says, so Nina wanted to erase him from Carly’s life. She wanted to punish Carly, and make her pay. She was talking about her grandson’s other grandmother and how unfair it was… She says, everything she said was true. She just wants to be in Wiley’s life. He even told her to fight for Wiley. He says, he did not say that; that was Mike. Mike doesn’t exist; he’s a phantom. His name on the back of his father’s watch. He clung to that, to Phyllis, to Lenny, and… She says, and to her. She didn’t think she’d find him in Nixon Falls. She didn’t expect to keep him a secret, certainly not for all those months. She admits at first it was about Carly, but the second she knew what happened to him, she picked up the phone to tell her, and Carly threatened her with all kinds of legal action, and she froze. She couldn’t do anything. Yes, she held back. Sonny says, Nina wanted to hurt Carly, and Nina says, she wanted to hurt Carly as much as Carly had hurt her. But that all changed when she got to know him as Mike; sweet Mike. They got closer and closer. She didn’t plan any of this. She didn’t expect things to wind up the way they did. He says, that’s her excuse? but she says, there’s no excuse for any of it. She was just hoping maybe he’d understand. He says, he understands. She stole his life from him.
Carly tells Jason, she keeps thinking about how she thought they would get so much pushback when they told people they were getting married. In the end, all of their family and friends said, of course (🍷) it makes sense. He says, because it did. They got married because they thought Sonny was dead. Otherwise, they never would have done it. She says, right, and now Sonny’s back with his family where he belongs, but she can’t help but think, if things had been different, they would have had a wonderful life together. He says he thinks so too, but that’s not what happened.
Josslyn sits with Trina and Cameron, and asks, what’s going on? Trina says, Ava is leaving Port Charles, walking away from her entire life because of this stalker situation. Josslyn says, okay, but when Trina called, she said this was about Spencer and Esme. She just ran into Esme at the gym, and she’s positive she was right the first time. That girl is not to be trusted. There’s just something about her. Trina says, right? She’s sketchy… beyond. Josslyn asks what Trina thinks Esme has gotten Spencer into, and Trina says she thinks Esme and Spencer are Ava’s stalkers. They’re acting as a team. Sure, Spencer was at Windymere the night Ava’s car got torched, but that was also the night Esme showed up. She had a supposed alibi, but it was lame. Josslyn says she’s not defending Spencer, but she doesn’t see him torching a car. Trina says, because he didn’t. Esme did. Josslyn says, but if they’re in on it together… and Trina says, maybe Esme did it and Spencer didn’t know about it, or maybe he did, and he was okay with it. Either way, they’re working together. Josslyn says, Cameron is being silent. What does he think? Cameron says he knows he’s been pumping the brakes on this, but it is kind of weird, Spencer being in town on the downlow for so long. He was really upset when Ava refused to testify against Valentin. That’s why his grandmother sent Spencer away, for his own good. Spencer holds a grudge. Josslyn says, and Esme’s working him every chance she gets. Spencer likes to think he’s all sophisticated, but she thinks he’s in over his head with Esme. Trina says, Esme’s very persuasive with Spence.
Spencer says Nikolas said he was surprised when Esme showed up as his girlfriend. Why? Doesn’t Nikolas think he’s got game? Nikolas says he knew Spencer had game. He’d just seen Spencer with Trina, and it looked like they were connecting. The couple times Spencer mentioned her, it sounded like she was important to him. Spencer says, it’s not like that. Trina is great, and he likes her a lot, but as a friend. Nikolas says, all he can tell Spencer is, that night on the turret, he didn’t seem like a guy with a girlfriend.
Britt says, Nina had Peter in her sights, and didn’t call the cops, or Anna? Scotty says, so the trip to St. Lucia was a cover-up, so Obrecht could knock off Peter August. Maxie says, that was the general impression she got, and Scotty says, she should have called the cops. Maxie says, she couldn’t because Peter was blackmailing her. Scotty asks what Peter would be blackmailing Nina over, and Maxie says, Sonny. Scotty asks, what the hell does Sonny have to do with this? and Britt tells Maxie that she already knows. Jason told her. Scotty says, you two girls need to tell me what’s going on, and Britt says, Sonny Corinthos is alive. He asks her to say it again. He’s starting to think he’s in the middle of a nightmare, and Britt tells him, Sonny Corinthos is alive and well. He came home last night. Scotty says, of course (🍷) he did, because he’s impossible to kill, because he’s like a palmetto bug. Ha-ha-ha! I love Scotty. Maxie thinks they should refocus. Liesl told Nina to tell Peter that there was a lead on Louise in St. Lucia, and Anna and Valentin were hot on the trail. Nina thought that would convince Peter to go, but somehow, Peter found out what was going on, and turned the tables on them. Scotty says, so he and Obrecht were gassed up, they hijacked the plane… Wait a minute. That’s why Liesl said she couldn’t die; she needs to help Nina. Britt says, plane crashes are Peter’s M.O. He did it to silence Drew Cain. Who’s to say he woudn’t do it again? I think someone needs to tell he that an M.O. happens more than once. Scotty says, but why chuck him out like a sack of potatoes? He was a loose end. And where’s the evidence of a plane crash? Britt says, because there wasn’t one. Her mother’s not dead.
Obrecht suggests she and Victor stop this cat and mouse. He’s proven he can get to her whenever he wants. That being the case, let her go back to Port Charles. She has urgent business there. He says, family business. A grandson, a very troubled niece, and that bumbling idiot she calls a boyfriend. She says she also has a daughter who needs her mutter now more than ever. He says, yes, Britt’s diagnosis is troubling. Huntington’s; dreadful disease. Yet one more reason to hate her father. She says, Cesar is dead. Hating him is a waste of time and energy. She must focus on her daughter. She was supposed to attend a medical conference touching on cutting edge research for Britt’s condition. He says, remarkable how a symposium on inherited diseases just happened to pop up in her inbox at this exact moment in time. She says, there was no medical conference. It was a trap. Has he no shame? He says, why should he be ashamed? Everything’s worked out neatly. He’d always planned to bring her there anyway, and the timing couldn’t be more perfect. She says, and now he detains her when Britta needs her, and he says, Britt needs her alive. He saved her from herself. He says they both know she had bigger plans than attending a medical conference.
Sonny says, Nina took advantage of the situation. She didn’t give a damn about him and his real life. And while he was cleaning beer off a bar, the entire empire he built, everything he cares about, was threatened. Nina says, but he was away from that. He was away from the mob for once. He was in danger. He was safer there in Nixon Falls than he would have been here. He asks if she’s saying she was protecting him for his own good. That’s not her job, and he doesn’t want it. He’s not some drifter living off the kindness of strangers. He could have taken all the worry form Phyllis and Lenny. He could have made a call, and erased all their debt. He would have given them security, and maybe, for just a little bit of time, Lenny could have had peace. Nina says what he gave Lenny and Phyllis was so much more important. He gave them friendship, love, and loyalty. He’s right. She lied to him. She kept him away from his family, friends, and business, but he’s wrong about Mike. He wasn’t just a hapless drifter. He was loyal and hard-working. He was fearless and a devoted friend. He was a good man. Maybe the kind of man Sonny always longed to be. So take it from someone had the privilege of knowing him up close and personal, Mike the bartender was just as real as Sonny Corinthos.
Carly tells Jason, this morning, she walked in the kitchen, and Sonny was making coffee, like always. He asks if it finally tasted right, and she says, it did. She tells Jason that she missed him, and she’s worried about him, but he says she doesn’t have to; he’s fine. She tells him, he always says that, and he says, because it’s true. He sighs and shrugs, and says, maybe things will just go back to the way they were. It’s what they’ve got to do. She’s got a life and a family with Sonny. She says, and he’s a huge part of that life. Please tell her that’s not going to change.
Trina says, maybe they can record Spencer and Esme without them knowing. What if she accuses them and leaves? They might say something incriminating when they think they’re alone. Cameron says, so she’s talking surveillance equipment, and Josslyn says, don’t hate her, but she’s the one having second thoughts now. Esme is one thing, but do they really want to trap Spencer? Trina says, what if it exonerates him? That’s the outcome she’s hoping for. She thinks Josslyn is right. Spencer’s in over his head with Esme. Before Esme came, Trina was getting to know Spencer. Sure, he’s a lot, but underneath all that posturing and arrogance is some real vulnerability. Maybe even some kindness. Josslyn says she agrees. Spencer can be astonishingly sweet… when not being self-absorbed and oblivious. Trina says, despite everything, that’s why she doesn’t want anything bad to happen to Spencer. Despite herself, she’s kind of gotten to like him.
Spencer tells Nikolas that he and Trina are good friends, and Nikolas asks, is that all? Before he met Esme, he thought Spencer and Trina were headed toward something. Spencer admits, there was an attraction, a spark. Trina’s beautiful, smart, direct, and she’s a good person; one of those people who genuinely wants to do the right thing without being too preachy. Why wouldn’t he like her? But it can’t go anywhere. Esme’s his person. Esme comes in, and says, oh good, they’re together. Spencer asks, what happened to kickboxing and home décor? and she says she had to rush back to tell him. His uncle is alive. Spencer asks what she’s talking about, and she says, his uncle, Sonny Corinthos. He came home last night. Josslyn just told her. He says, Uncle Sonny’s alive? That’s fantastic! Wait until she meets him; he’s the best. Nikolas says, if Sonny’s back, Avery is protected. Ava won’t have to worry about her daughter so much. He thanks Esme, says he has to go, and jets. Esme asks why Spencer is standing there grinning like the Cheshire Cat? He says, because his uncle, who he loves, is alive, and she says, and his father just took off so fast, he left a vapor trail. Can’t he see this is a disaster?
Victor says, when he intercepted Obrecht, he also let Peter know that he almost walked into her trap. He was most appreciative. She says, he’ll regret his dealing with Peter. Everyone does eventually. To be clear, that degenerate has threatened to kidnap her beloved James, and use him as a substitute for his own lost child. If that happens, if Peter gets his hands on James, or harms Nina, or Maxie, or her Britta, she will hold him responsible. He says he’s well aware of the hazards of associating with Peter. Although he still thinks Henrik suits him better. She says if he’s trying to win her over by disparaging Peter, don’t waste his breath. She loathes Peter, but that doesn’t make her feel any warmer towards him. He says, it’s not good strategy to antagonize him, and she says, has she hurt his feelings? He says, she’s acting against her own interests. Britt may not have long before her symptoms manifest. Does Obrecht really want to spend what might be Britt’s last healthy months there, locked up in this room? She asks what he wants, and he tells her, forget her foolish, stubborn pride. Let him back in her heart.
Britt plops into a chair, and says, she’s okay; she’s just really relieved. Maxie says she prays Britt is right, but what makes her think Obrecht is still alive? Britt says, Scotty just said it; he’s a liability. Peter hates loose ends. If he wanted to get rid of her mother, he would have crashed the plane, whether Scotty was on it or not. Maybe he’s holding her mother hostage for leverage. It’s the first time she’s felt confident that they can find her mother, and rescue her. Assuming she doesn’t rescue herself first. Scotty says, he was given the bum’s rush, and thrown out of the plane, but he’s here. He tells Britt, he has a new mission, and that’s to save her mother’s life.
Sonny tells Nina, just because he remembers who he is, doesn’t mean he forgot what happened for the last nine months. He remembers when she came to him; they were talking, they were dancing. He remembers everything. How she led him on, and didn’t say anything is unforgivable. She says she knows, and he says, that’s all she’s got to say. She says she has plenty to say, but none of it will make a difference. All her reasons, all her justifications, her excuses she made to herself; it’s not going to make a difference. Yes, she was angry at Carly, but nothing she did in Nixon Falls was malicious. Just the opposite. She can see him, how he was there; laughing and at peace. She wanted to give that to him. He says he didn’t know what he’d lost. He didn’t know what her lies took from him. She says she hopes she didn’t cause any problems between him and Carly. She knows he’s not going to believe this, but all she wanted was for him to be happy.
Jason says he’s not going anywhere, and Carly says, no matter what it costs? He says, it cost him nothing. You can’t lose what you never had. What she had with Sonny, that’s real. Did Sonny say anything else about where he’s been? She says, just a small town in Pennsylvania, and the locals were good to him. She thinks he’s waiting to talk to Jason about it. Jason says, probably, and she says, Sonny’s never going to understand the big hole he left in their lives when he disappeared, or the void she would have fallen into if it wasn’t for Jason. She puts her hand on his, and he says, they were there for each other. He puts his other hand over hers, and she says, like always.
Spencer tells Esme, lighten up. She’s going to love his Uncle Sonny. He can be a little intense, but when he loves you, he’s got your back 100%. She says, that’s what she’s worried about. Did he hear his father? He said Sonny could protect Avery, which takes away Ava’s incentive to leave. Where does he think his father’s heading right now? Ava. Just when they were this close to breaking them up for good. They have to do something.
Nikolas goes into Charlie’s, and asks Trina if Ava is around. She wasn’t at the gallery. Trina says, that’s because Ava already said her goodbyes. He asks if he can talk to Trina for a second, and she steps away from the table with him. He says he knows how close she and Ava are… and Trina says, she’s sorry, but she has to stop him right there. She can’t tell him anything Ava told her in confidence. He says he gets that, but he needs to know where Ava went. If he can find her, he may be able to stop her from leaving Port Charles. She asks, how? and he says he hasn’t got time to explain. All he can say is, the situation has changed. Will Trina help him?
Obrecht says, Victor told her that he’d let her see Britt. Why should she trust his word? He says, because as she can plainly see, he still has feelings for her. She says she can plainly see he’s trying to manipulate her; lure her into complacency. He says, just the opposite. She’s a brilliant woman. He wants them to help each other. She laughs, and says he has a strange way of asking for her help. A gilded cage is still a cage. He says, collaborate with him on a certain research project, and he guarantees she’ll have contact with her daughter. She says, and if she refuses? and he says, then she stays there, far away from her last surviving child. All those years she spent devoted to Faison, and how did he repay her? By murdering her beloved son. Britt’s all she has left. She’s a lovely woman. She reminds him a lot of Obrecht. No sign of Huntington’s yet, and he can give her a way to be with Britt. All she has to do is cooperate.
Carly says she’s glad she and Jason requested donations to the Alzheimer’s Association in lieu of presents. Now she doesn’t have to return anything for the shortest marriage in history. How long were they married? Three hours tops? She knows it wasn’t legal, but she meant the vows when she said them. He says, so did he, and she says, they’ll be okay, right? He says, they are okay, because she’s got him, and he’s got her. No matter what. She says, no matter what, and puts her head on his shoulder. He puts his arm around her.
Sonny tells Nina not to worry about him and Carly. He’s at home with his family where he belongs. She says, good. She’ll try to stay out of his way. She’s really sorry about the pain she caused him and his family, and the time she took from all of them. And she’s really sorry about letting him fall in love with her. She should have known better, and she should have known better than to fall in love with him too.
Trina says she wishes she could help Nikolas, but Ava might already be gone. He asks if Trina thinks she left, and Trina tells him, she did say something about making one last stop and unfinished business. Nikolas thanks her, and leaves. Trina sits back down, and Josslyn asks, what was that about? Trina says, inspiration. She knows how they can trap Esme and Spencer.
Spencer tells Esme, don’t overthink this. Ava is leaving today. She might already be gone. Father can try all he likes; he won’t change her mind. Esme asks if they should really take that chance, after all their hard work? He says, their hard work paid off. Ava’s made up her mind. Any last minute appeal made by his father won’t make a difference.
Britt tells Scotty, her mother’s been in tight situations before and survived. The just need a lead; some idea of where she might be. Maxie says, Obrecht has held her own with Peter before. Peter is so arrogant, and over-confident. Scotty says, that will be his downfall. Letting Scotty live, big mistake, because he’s going to find Obrecht, and take Peter August out.
Obrecht tells Victor that she can’t lose Britt, not after losing Nathan. She has no choice but to trust that he’ll keep his word. He puts his hands on her shoulders, and says, don’t worry, darling, the worst is over now. She whips around, and puts a knife to his throat, saying, wrong again, darling.
Sonny tells Nina, whatever happened in Nixon Falls is over. Nina says he’s back in his life; she accepts that. But she can’t pretend the last nine months didn’t happen. Mike will always be in her heart. Sonny remembers kissing Nina, and says she’s got to stop fooling herself. Mike’s gone. She has to forget he ever existed. She says she can’t do that. She can never forget what she and Mike shared.
Carly sits up, and asks if it’s weird for Jason. He says, it’s a little weird, but it will wear off. She says, getting there is going to be… He says, yeah, they’ll get there. He has to go. He needs to talk to Diane about this whole Buscema/Novak thing. He knows the cops are going to call. She says, there’s something they need to talk about. What are they going to tell Sonny? About what? It’s not like they slept together.
On Monday, Chase asks what’s up with Finn and Elizabeth, Obrecht tells Victor that he won’t be so lucky, and Sonny tells Nina they were great together. Although I have the feeling there’s a but coming after that.
Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles
JoshF was dealing with Jeannie, the owner of the Macapa house, a throwback to the Rat Pack days (the house, not Jeannie). She wanted to sell, but wanted a buyer who was not going to tear it down. I can’t imagine why more of these old homes aren’t kept as is, since they clearly have historic value, but, way it goes. She also wanted Josh to sell in two weeks. He called his friend Zach, who did a lot of deals in the area, and dealt with people who appreciated an historic home. Josh told Zach, the house was in Hollywood hills east, had fabulous views, and a lot of land. Zach asked if the house was something salvageable, since he had a writer couple who loved re-doing homes. He asked Josh to send a video, but still wanted to take a look in person. He wanted protocol taken though, since he was a germaphobe who wouldn’t touch elevator buttons before the pandemic.
James and David went to look at house in Windsor Square, Hancock Park. Apparently, it had been the place to be in the 40s and 50s for people with old money, and began appealing to the Hollywood crowd. Both Nat King Cole and Mohammad Ali had once had homes there. The seller’s rep Hilary met them at the house, which was pretty big; 8058 square feet, 5 bedrooms, 7 baths, the primary suite alone being 1500 square feet. It was built in 2016 and had an entertainer’s kitchen. As I’ve said before, they’ve never explained these terms, and I have no clue what they mean, but I have the feeling entertainer’s means bigger. There was a boutique-style closet, which I took to mean as big as a store. Hilary said it was the size of her first apartment, and I thought, I could fit my first apartment in one of the dresser drawers. In his interview, David or James said it was a unique house, which should appeal to every demographic, but the area usually attracted older clientele. It was a beautiful place, but didn’t have the same cache Beverly Hills. The house also had a movie theatre, which prompted (I’m pretty sure) David, to tell us in his interview, that he’d always wanted to be James Bond, because he was so suave, but it was never going to happen. Agreed. Hilary said her client’s bottom line was $10 million, and either David or James said he thought it was a good number, but the other one said he thought it was too much for the area. In their interviews, one said it was unusual for them to disagree about pricing, but the other said they always disagreed. Apparently, even they don’t know what’s going on with them. They did some showings, but didn’t have much luck. Everyone loved the house, but thought it was overpriced, but Hilary wouldn’t budge.
JoshF met Zach at the Macapa house, wearing a full-on orange Hazmat suit. Zach wore a bandana anyway. Although using a bandana instead of a mask when he was so paranoid, didn’t make sense. Zach said the house wasn’t ideal, but the bones were incredible. He took a ton of pictures, including the unobstructed view of the Hollywood sign. He FaceTimed with his client, and in Josh’s interview, he said a lot of people were buying houses without seeing them because of covid. Zach made a great pitch, getting pretty excited about the house, and what features should be kept.
On his way to Dolph Lundgren’s house, Fredrik called his brother to brag. In Fredrik’s interview, he said, growing up in Sweden, he wanted to be Dolph. Dolph explained that he was going to be doing Aquaman 2, would be away a lot, and wanted to sell. He’d acquired the 5230 square foot, 4 en suite bedroom house for $3.9 million. It was nice, and very big, but the word that sprang to my mind was suburban. There was a beautiful lap pool, a full gym, and a movie theater. The most impressive thing was a poster from Rocky IV that Sly Stallone had gifted him. It had been made in Africa, and painted on burlap. The house had panoramic city views, but even I noticed the ginormous telephone pole outside the primary suite, and the abundance of poles and wires outside. Dolph suggested planting palm trees. Fredrik felt it should be priced at $3.995, and while there were crickets for a moment, Dolph agreed. He just wanted to jet. He wanted Fredrik to get it sold in 60 days, but although it was priced well – because of the pole – Fredrik said houses in that area usually took 90 days, and he didn’t want to disappoint his childhood hero. Dolph told Fredrik, if he lies, he dies.
James and David continued to show the Windsor house, which somehow acquired GH’s moss bowl 🎍. It was a really gorgeous house. In (I think) David’s interview, he said, they could get clients in the door, but the house next door was half the price. If they wanted to do it, they had to be more realistic. James insisted they could do it, and in his interview, he said, being positive sometimes worked to his advantage, and sometimes didn’t, but if you went in not believing in the price, the energy would rub off on the client and agent.
JoshF met Zach privately at Dan Tana’s. Privately like they closed the restaurant for him. Zach said he had an offer of $2.8 million, and Josh said Jeannie had rejected $3.2 million. Zach said the main thing was, they wouldn’t tear it down. After some back and forth, Zach got his clients up to $3 million, and Josh tried to convince Jeannie that anyone who would pay top dollar would tear it down. There was value in them keeping it intact. Doing something he wouldn’t normally, Josh put Zach on the phone. In his interview, Josh said, sometimes a client was so emotionally invested, they needed to hear it from someone other than him. Jeannie liked that they weren’t developers, and was good at $3 million. Josh gifted Zach with the Hazmat suit. Meanwhile, David, or maybe it was James, tried to tell Hilary that the Windsor house was overpriced, but she wasn’t hearing it.
Fredrik did some private showings of Dolph’s house, and was pretty nervous because, Dolph. One potential buyer called Dolph’s pool a spool, since it was small, and when they got to the pole, he called the view a spiew. WTFueiw? In his interview, Fredrik said, a good broker had to take a negative and turn it into a positive, so he said the pool’s advantage was that it was private. Because of the pole, the house was priced lower than those with unobstructed views. Still, the spiew was a deal breaker.
David and/or James said they’d done countless showings, got two offers, and all they ended up with was pushback about the price. In maybe David’s interview, he said he trusted his gut, and took matters into his own hands, telling the buyer that the seller was flexible on the price. He said, sometimes you had to help the client by doing the opposite of what they wanted. They got two offers of $8.8 and $8.9 million, and went to visit Hilary and her two cute dogs. James admitted he’d f***ed up, and David admitted he’d gone outside the rules. He said he knew Hilary must know something they didn’t, and Hilary said, of course she did. The seller’s bottom line was $9.5 million, not 10. She told them, the best generals don’t ask for permission, but beg for forgiveness. They ended up having a deal at $9.450.
Next time, JoshF meets with Suzanne Sommers, Dolph pressures Fredrik, and Tracy’s sister puts her house on the market.
🔥 Into the Fire…
The doubles in the Tan-O.
🍵 Spilling the Tea…
Garcelle talks the reunion.
😥 Sniff…
Looks like no RHONY reunion. I’d say I’m so disappointed, but then my First World problems would be showing.
https://ew.com/tv/rhony-reunion-season-13-canceled-bravo/
https://people.com/tv/rhony-will-not-film-a-season-13-reunion-due-to-scheduling-challenges/
💸 Rut-Roh…
Looks like Jax has more than his racism and homophobia to worry about.
👠 Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough…
More Emmy fashion.
https://ew.com/emmys/see-all-the-celebs-at-the-emmys-afterparties/
🎭 Light the Lights…
Tony’s back.
📡 Quotes of the Week
For it’s not light that is needed, but fire; it’s not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind and the earthquake in our hearts. – Frederick Douglass
Man may have discovered fire, but women discovered how to play with it. – Candace Bushnell
Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn. – John Maxwell
You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist. – Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
Being crazy isn’t enough. – Dr. Seuss
💃🏽 Doing the Hustle…
This hellacious week finally over, I’ll see you when Dead meets Walking. Until then, stay safe, stay holding on to your principles, and stay remembering a gilded cage is still a cage.
What I Watched - TV With Theresa 