Tag Archives: Kate Mansi

March 8, 2024 – Old Friends Meet Again, Reunion, Secret Side Gig, Diagnosis, New Soap, Bumping Along, No Shock, Salty Talk, No You, Those Ones, The Last, Uncle Oscar, Social Pets (!), A Handful Of Quotes & Survive

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Kristina comes into the hospital with Alexis and runs over to Sam, asking if she’s okay. She’s been worried about Sam ever since she heard about Dante. Alexis says, Molly’s still at the office. Otherwise, she’d be here. How’s Dante? Sam says she has good news.

On the phone, Anna tells Chase, great, and thanks him. She asks him to let her know when forensics has any information on that hoodie… Good. Call her back. John comes in and tells Anna that he heard about Dante. How’s he doing? She says, he’s out of surgery, and John says, good. There’s been a new development. He shows her the footage of Jason on his phone, and she says, is that… Jason Morgan? He says, that footage was taken tonight from the roof of Selina Wu’s warehouse. Now they know who was shooting at Sonny.

At the gatehouse, Michael paces and says he should be at the hospital, and Willow says she’s sure pacing here will help Dante as much as pacing there would. He says, like he doesn’t already feel useless enough, and she says she meant Michael’s good thoughts are reaching Dante no matter where he is. Also, she would have said anything to get him to stop. He says he’s sorry. He doesn’t mean to make her as crazy as this is making him. She says, he has every right to be worried about his brother. In the meantime, her fellow nurses are sending her regular updates. See? She shows him her phone, and he reads, no change… no change… no change. That’s good, right? That means that he’s stable? She says, and you didn’t even go to medical school. If Dante’s condition changes – for better, or God forbid, for worse – they’ll get someone to watch the kids and head right over to GH. He says he knows she’s right, but he feels so helpless, and she takes his hand.

In the chapel, Sonny and Ava come close to kissing, but hug instead. She says, sorry, but he says, she doesn’t have to apologize. He smiles at her.

Carly comes home and starts to head upstairs, when she hears Jason say, Carly? He steps out of the shadows, and they stare at each other.

Olivia runs into the chapel and says, there he is, and Sonny asks if there’s any news on Dante. She says, yes, and it’s the best. Their son made it through surgery. Sonny hugs her and she happy cries.

Sam says, they’re getting Dante set up in ICU. She’s glad they’re here. Alexis says, anytime, and Molly says, always, hugging Sam.

There’s a knock at the gatehouse door, and Michael says, it’s Dex and Joss. Willow answers and asks them to come in. She asks if they’ve been to the hospital to see Dante, and Josslyn says, yes. They had to give Commissioner Devane a statement and then she took Dex home to change. Dex says, lucky him. No one had cleaned out his apartment yet. Michael says he can’t thank them enough for what they did at the scene, and Willow says, one of the nurses said that Dante might not have made it if they hadn’t intervened. Thank you. Michael asks if they’re here with an update, and Josslyn says, not about Dante. He was still in surgery when they left the hospital. Dex says, but they do know something about the person who shot him.

Anna takes John’s phone and says, it’s impossible… Oh my God. If this is Jason, he would never work for anyone who would hurt Sonny. John says, they know he was on the roof. They know the shots came from the roof. They know Dante Falconari left the roof to pursue two people. Assuming one of them is Morgan, where would he go? She says, to Sonny, obviously, but he’s here. Or Sam. She looks over to see Sam sitting with Kristina and Alexis, and John says, anyone else? She says, yeah. There is one other person he would run to.

Carly says, Jason, and he says, it’s me. She says, it’s really you? and he says, it’s really me. She runs to him and hugs him, crying. She says, you came back. He says he’s sorry it took so long, and she asks where he’s been. What is he wearing?… He’s bleeding. Was he shot? He says, yeah, and she asks, how bad is it? He lifts his shirt and tells her that he’d say, it’s not bad. She tells him that he always says that, and he says, the bullet passed through. He could use a bandage. He’s going to be okay. She says she has a first aid kit, but she doesn’t want to leave him, and he says he’ll be here when he gets back. She says, promise her that he’ll be standing right there when she comes back downstairs, and he says he promises. She leaves, and he walks to the couch, slowly lowering himself onto it and breathing heavily.

Olivia’s phone dings and she says, Sam just texted her Dante’s room number. Sonny says, let’s go, and tells Ava that he’ll see her later. Ava says she’s so happy about Dante, and Olivia thanks her. She and Sonny run into Nina at the door, and Nina says she heard what happened. Is Dante okay? Olivia says, he made it through surgery. They’re just going to see him in ICU. Nina says, thank God. She’s sure he’s going to be fine. Olivia says, they’re going to see him now, and Nina says, of course (🍷). Sonny brushes past her, and she tells Olivia to please give Dante her best. Olivia says she will, and follows Sonny. Nina goes into the chapel and asks Ava, what’s going on? What the hell happened tonight?

Diane goes to the reception desk, and says, maybe the nurse can help her. Alexis tells Kristina and Sam that she’ll meet them upstairs, and hands Sam a bag, saying, change of clothes, toiletries, snacks. Sam thanks her and says, it completely slipped her mind. The elevator comes, and Alexis says, call her the minute they need her. As the doors close, Kristina says, what snacks? and Sam says, they’re not for her, but Kristina says she’s eating for two. Alexis goes over to Diane, who asks if by any chance she’s seen Sonny around. She knows he’s waiting on word. Alexis says she hasn’t seen Sonny, but she did hear that Dante made it through surgery and he’s in the ICU. Diane says, excellent, and Alexis says she guesses Diane is representing Sonny’s associates who are in custody. Diane says, yeah, and she’s got to update him on the situation, so she has to find him. Excuse her. Alexis says, not so fast. Where does she think she’s going?

Dex says, when they found Dante, someone had already given him first aid. They’d elevated his legs and wrapped a sweatshirt around him as a pressure bandage. Josslyn says, there was also a phone lying next to him with a line to 911. Michael says, so the person who shot Dante also tried to help him, and Josslyn says, yes and they were also risking being recognized because Dante could have seen their face. Dex says, it looks that way, and Michael says, none of this makes any sense. Willow says, why would they shoot Dante and then call 911? and Dex says, maybe they didn’t want to go down for killing a cop? Michael says, there’s another possibility here. What if the shooter helped Dante because he knows him?

Outside the ICU, Sam hugs Olivia and Kristina hugs Sonny and asks how he is. He says he’s fine. The only damage was to his coat. She says, he’s lucky. He’s not bulletproof. He asks how she’s doing and she says, frantic at first when mom first called to tell her about Dante. He wonders if it’s too much stress for the baby, but she says, the way she sees it, with this family, the sooner the baby learns to handle stress, the better. He asks how she’s really doing, and she says, it’s interesting how your body reacts to stress when you know it’s bad for the baby. And also, pushing the stress down could make it worse. She’s just doing a lot of breathing. He smiles and says he bets she is. She says, but Dante is doing better and seeing Sonny helps, and he says, right back at her. Take care of herself, okay? She says, of course (🍷), when a nurse comes out. Olivia asks, how’s her son? and the nurse says, Mr. Falconari is in critical condition, but his vitals are stable. Sam asks if they know when he’s going to wake up, but she tells them, it’s too soon to say. She leaves, and Sam says, Sonny and Olivia are his parents; they go in first. They go in and Sam hugs Kristina.

In the ICU, Sonny says, hey, son, and Olivia says, they’re here.

Diane says she’s got to go find Sonny, but Alexis says, not until Diane tells her why she’s been avoiding her. Diane says she hasn’t really been avoiding Alexis, she just had the feeling perhaps Alexis wasn’t too thrilled with her right now. Alexis wonders if there was some sort of a knockdown, drag out fight that she blacked out, because she’s been sober for a while now and thinks she would have known. Diane says, no. She just knows Alexis wanted her to represent Finn in the malpractice case, and not only was she not able to do that, she was the plaintiff’s attorney, and she got the feeling Alexis was a little unhappy with her. Alexis says, it’s her that Diane is talking to. She hasn’t been disbarred for that long. She knows how lawyers work. She knows what they do. Diane was doing her job. It’s not personal. Diane says she’s glad to hear it, and Alexis says, if Diane was worried about this, why didn’t Diane talk to her? Diane says, normally, she wouldn’t have thought twice about that, but this is Finn they’re talking about, and she knows he’s important to Alexis. Alexis says, and Diane is important to her as well. What she was really disappointed in was that she couldn’t represent him, and she does miss mopping the floor with Diane in court. Diane laughs and says, mopping. She doesn’t think that word means what Alexis thinks it means. Anyway, if Alexis did mop the floor with her, it certainly wasn’t as often as she seems to think. Alexis says she knows exactly how often it was, which is why she misses it, and Diane says she misses going toe to toe with Alexis as well, but jurisprudence loss is journalism’s gain. Alexis says, well, journalism is about to experience another devastating loss.

Ava tells Nina, Sonny and Selina were having a perfectly harmless, perfectly legal conversation, when Anna burst in with the FBI, guns blazing like some kind of raid. Nina says, how terrible, and Ava says, tell her about it. Nina says, it must have been frightening, and Ava says she guesses it was a little. Nina asks what Ava was doing there, and Ava says she thought she could be of some use. Nina asks what she was thinking, and Ava says she had to be there. She was tired of sitting on the sidelines, worrying if Avery was going to end up as collateral damage and that Sonny might… that Avery might lose her father. Nina asks what the active role was that Ava was playing, and Ava says, they had to sell the idea that Selina and Sonny were meeting with a mediator to settle their business conflicts, and Nina asks, how is Ava, the mother of one of Sonny’s children, an impartial mediator? Ava says she used to be in that world, so who better? Nina says she guesses, and Ava says, there’s no way to know if it would have worked anyway because the cops showed up, and that was that. Nina says she can sort of see why Ava did it, but what if something had gone wrong, which it kinda did, Ava could have gotten shot too or killed. Ava says she guesses she could have been. Anybody could have been. They all had to duck for cover. Nina says she’s glad Ava wasn’t. She doesn’t know what she’d do if she lost Ava.

Michael says he appreciates Dex coming back. It’s a good thing he did because he might have saved Dante’s life. Dex says, not alone. Joss did just as much as he did. Josslyn says, honestly, she thinks the only reason Dante was still alive when they got there was because of the pressure bandage. And the only reason Dante was even able to get to the hospital was because that person called 911. Willow asks if it isn’t possible that whoever helped Dante had nothing to do with the shooting, and they were a good Samaritan who had their own reason for not wanting anybody to know they were there. Dex says, they left the pier as soon as the paramedics took Dante away, but Chase and the cops were there collecting evidence, so they have the cellphone and the sweatshirt that was used as a bandage. Maybe it’s enough to track this guy down.

Carly comes back and sits on the sofa with Jason. She says she’s sorry, but she’s going to have to clean it. She puts an antiseptic cloth on the wound and Jason stifles a groan. She says she doesn’t want it to get infected. She just wants to get it clean. He says he thinks it’s clean, and presses a pad to it. She asks how he’s here. She wishes she could call her mom and ask how to help him. He says, no. Do not call Bobbie. She says she can’t. She died. He says, Bobbie’s dead? and looks like he wants to cry. Carly says, yes, already crying. There’s a knock at the door, and Anna says, police. Open the door.

Michael asks if they saw Sonny at the hospital, and Josslyn says, they saw him, he saw them, but they didn’t speak. Dex says, he was with Olivia and Sam. They were all waiting outside the trauma room while Dante was in surgery. Willow says, it was good of them to come to the house and tell Sam and Olivia what happened. She’s glad they got to see him. Josslyn says, one last time? She can’t even think about it. She cannot think about Rocco losing his father. She can’t think about Avery and Donna losing their big brother. But they all know that this could happen. Yes, Dante’s the cop and he takes risks, but they have to be honest here. This would not be happening if it wasn’t for Sonny. (Not necessarily, since he’s not the only target.)

Olivia and Sonny watch Dante, one on either side of the bed. Sonny strokes Dante’s hair and Olivia kisses Dante’s forehead.

Diane tells Alexis that she’s obviously appalled. She can’t say she’s surprised. Alexis tells her, thanks. She always knows just what to say. Diane says, yes, she does. And while a publisher does have the right to overrule an editor, but when it comes to hiring an individual journalist, it seems like a breach of trust. (I dunno. It seems kind of petty IMO. Certainly nothing to quit over.) Alexis says, Nina is all about trust, and Diane laughs. She says, an Editor-in-Chief has the right to determine who does and does not work for the paper, and Alexis says, right. If Nina had recommended a columnist, she could decide whether or not to hire said columnist. That would have been one thing. Diane says, but that’s not what happened, and Alexis says, no. She made a unilateral decision. There was no collaboration. Diane says, so what is she going to do? and Alexis says she’s going to not think about this right now. She’s going to concentrate on her daughter and helping her through this crisis. Diane says, of course (🍷). Of course (🍷) her family always takes first priority. But just so Alexis knows, she has a right to bitch about the b… boss.

In Dante’s room with Sam, Kristina says, so, bro, opening day is right around the corner. She knows he’s not going to miss that, especially since it’s the Yankees’ year. She was at the pub the other day and the game was on. This one bartender is a huge Sox fan, and they were joking around back and forth for a while. By the end of the game, she found herself rooting for them, and she thought, man, her brother is going to kill her. Since he’s been in here, it’s like the whole world’s upside down.

Nina tells Ava that she’s so worried about Sonny. Her marriage is not in the best shape right now, but she loves him. She doesn’t want anything to happen to him, and she’s terrified that whoever’s out to kill Sonny might succeed, and she doesn’t want to have to worry about Ava too. Ava says, she doesn’t have to. Rest assured, after this little misadventure, she’s laying off any derring-do in the future. Nina says, good. This is insane, right? She knows Sonny has enemies, but this? Ava says, for what it’s worth (🍷), they’re getting closer to the truth, and Nina says, wait. Does Sonny know who’s behind this? Does Ava? Ava says, no, she swears, and holds up her hand. Nina says, Ava has no idea? Come on. She needs to know who’s trying to kill her husband.

On the porch with John, Anna tells Carly to open the door, and John says, big house, other entrances. Let’s try one. They start to leave, when Carly opens the door and asks, what’s going on? Anna asks if they can come inside, but Carly says, not until they tell her what’s going on. Anna says, she’s aware Dante was shot earlier this evening, and Carly says, yes. Anna says, they’re pursuing a suspect, and Carly says, okay, but what does that have to do with her? Anna says she’ll explain. May they come inside? Carly says, yeah, and leads them into the living room. Anna says she believes Carly has met her colleague Federal Agent Cates, and Carly says, yes, hello Agent Cates. John says, Miss Spencer, and Carly says, okay. What’s this about a suspect? Anna says, she might want to sit down, and Carly says, why? What’s going on? Did something happen to one of her kids? Anna says, no. Not as far as she knows. It has nothing to do with her children. Carly says, then why does Anna want her to down? and Anna says, Jason Morgan is alive. Jason listens from upstairs.

Sam sits by Dante’s bed and kisses his hand.

Nina says, it’s obvious Ava knows more about this than she’s saying, but Ava says, if she had anything concrete to tell Nina, she would. Nina says, but she’s open to hearing theories, and Ava says, theories are just as good as random guesses right now. Just when we think we have a picture, new pieces appear, and the pieces don’t fit. Nina says, we? Sonny and her? Ava says, and Selina Wu, and Nina says she can sort of understand why Sonny isn’t telling her any of this, but she’d think Ava would realize how important this is to her. Ava says, even when things were good between Nina and Sonny, he kept Nina out of his business dealing, didn’t he? Nina says, yes, he did, but Ava isn’t in the business anymore, and Ava says she was. She knows how it works. She knows the players. She knows that it wouldn’t make sense for Sonny to confide in her about anything else, but in this particular circumstance, she’s a resource. She knows this has got to be frustrating. It has to be frustrating being on the outside looking in, but believe her, Nina doesn’t want to be on the inside… Nina says, this isn’t just about her feeling excluded. Does Ava understand, Sonny is her husband? He needs her, whether he wants to admit that or not. She can’t even support him through this. Ava says, she’s right. Sonny needs as many people in his corner as possible. Nina says, then tell her what’s going on and stop playing Switzerland and Ava says, the last thing she is right now is neutral. Nina says, then why won’t Ava help her with her husband?

Diane says, Sonny’s guards are not under arrest, either federal or local, for now. Sonny thanks her for doing that, and she says, he’s still going to have to answer some questions, make a statement. She can’t imagine Agent Cates is going to be giving him a reprieve earlier than tomorrow morning. He says, Agent Cates can wait until hell freezes over. His priority is his son. She asks, how is Dante? and Sonny says, he’s frail and defenseless, but he’s a fighter. It’s just, sometimes it’s not enough. She says, come on. After everything he’s been through, Dante’s not going to give up on this life. He thanks her and she asks, how is he? He says, she knows him. He just wants to find out who did this and take care of the situation.

Michael says he’s not saying they’re wrong… Josslyn says, but he wants her to let go of her anger for the sake of the family and because it’s not doing her any good, right? He tells her, what he was going to say is that Sonny knows he played a part in what happened to Dante. It’s got to be killing him. She says she knows it’s his son, okay? But she has trouble feeling sorry for Sonny when they have to constantly see people they love get hurt. Willow says, something she’s really started to learn since becoming a nurse, for a lot of people it’s more bearable to be angry than it is to be afraid. So while Josslyn has every right to be angry at Sonny, maybe it’s also a way to feel less afraid for Dante. Josslyn considers that and says, yeah. There was a moment on the pier with Dante where his heart stopped beating and they couldn’t get a pulse. Dex was doing chest compressions, and she was doing the rescue breathing. But he was shot in the chest and there was this voice in her head saying, what if you’re doing it wrong? What if we’re the people who kill Dante? She starts to cry, and Michael dashes over to her, hugging her.

Jason continues to listen, and Carly asks if this is some kind of a joke. Jason died in Greece. Anna says, that’s what they thought… but Carly says, stop. She doesn’t get to do that. Anna doesn’t get to show up at her house in the middle of the night and tell her Jason’s alive. She’s been grieving him every day for the past two years. Do they have proof? If they do, she wants to see it. If not, nighty-night. John says, they have proof. Does she want them to show her? He takes out his phone and hands it to her. She looks at the shot of Jason, and John says, that was taken earlier this evening, on the roof of a warehouse at 257 Water Street. They confiscated it from somebody they believe she knows – Jason makes a face – Damien Spinelli. Carly asks if they’re 100% sure Spinelli took this tonight, and Anna says, in the past four hours, yes. Carly says, and it’s real? Jason’s alive? Anna says, yes, and with her permission, they’d like to search the house for him. The look on Jason’s face says, oh, great.

Nina says, she and Ava have been through a lot. They’re friends, right? Ava says, no friend – and there haven’t been many – has been as loyal and generous to her as Nina has. Nina says, then help her with Sonny, and Ava asks if Nina has signed the divorce papers. Nina says she can’t bring herself to even look at them, let alone sign them, and Ava says, good. Then don’t. Nina says, no problem on her end, but sooner or later, Sonny is going to insist, and Ava says, don’t worry about that. They’re going to come up with a plan. Nina says, what plan would that be? and Ava says she’s going to help Nina save her marriage. Nina says, that would be amazing. She just hopes it’s not too late. Ava asks why she would think it’s too late, and Nina says she’s afraid the longer she and Sonny are apart, his feelings for her are going to fade. That he’s going to force himself to forget what they have together. Or worse, he’s going to decide to move on with someone else. Ava flashes back to almost kissing Sonny, and says, well, they just can’t let that happen. They laugh and hug each other.

Sonny finds Sam outside the ICU and says, any changes? She says she wishes. She felt like she needed to stretch her legs a little. She’s feeling pretty useless. He says, it helps Dante to know she’s here, and she says she knows. He says, she looks beat, and she says, thanks. (What every woman wants to hear.) He says he’ll stay here, and she can go home to rest, but she says she’s not leaving Dante. Sonny’s been here all night. Why doesn’t he go home and get some rest? He says he thinks he’s going to stick around for a while, and they hug. Sam goes back into the ICU, and Sonny watches through the window.

Amelia is heard crying on the baby monitor and Willow says she’d better go handle that before Amelia wakes up Wiley. Josslyn asks if she can come with Willow. She could use a hug. Willow says, of course (🍷) she can, and they go upstairs. Michael tells Dex that his sister is crazy about him, and Dex says, the feeling’s mutual. Michael says, but he’s not sure he’s going to stay? and Dex says, it’s not about what he wants; it’s about what’s best. Michael says, for who? and Dex says, for Joss. Michael tried to tell him once to go and he was right. Their lives are just too different. The best thing he can do for Joss is to just leave and stay gone.

Carly gives John his phone back, and says, they want to search her house for Jason? Anna says, they do, and Carly says she just found out he’s alive. She doesn’t know if she believes them. She doesn’t know if Spinelli gave them that footage. She doesn’t even know if it’s real. Anna says, Jason is familiar with this house, right? The layout, the security system. Carly says, yeah, but… and Anna says, could it be, he slipped inside without her knowledge? Carly says, they’re not searching her house. They don’t have her consent. They don’t have her permission. And if they don’t get the hell out of her house, she’s going to call her lawyer. John says, they asked as a courtesy. They don’t need her permission. They have a warrant. Upstairs, Jason grips his side.

On Monday, Anna says, Carly gets out of their way, or she gets arrested; Jake swears it’s not what it looks like; on the phone, Carly says, call her back as soon as possible and find a way to stop them; and Sam asks if Sonny understands what she’s asking him to do.

👟 Like An Old Shoe…

Let the good times roll.

🤫 She’s Got a Secret…

It’s a movie and she’s in it.

💉 Art and Life Combine…

Talk about ironic.

💃🏾 It’s About Time…

This sounds just like what daytime needs, a fresh resurgence. Hopefully, it won’t be opposite GH.

🤰🏼 Giving You Lala…

It’s all about that bump.

https://people.com/lala-kent-happy-pregnant-baby-bump-jumpsuit-8604953

https://www.eonline.com/news/1396532/pregnant-lala-kent-says-shes-raising-baby-no-2-with-this-person

https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/lala-kent-reveals-her-mcdonalds-pregnancy-craving

⌛️ Comes As a Surprise To No One…

Love bubble bursting as we speak.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1396587/teresa-giudice-and-luis-ruelas-marriage-is-under-fire-in-explosive-rhonjs-season-14-trailer

🧂 Contains Less Salt…

Isn’t it ironic that for her to feel seen, there had to be less of her? I don’t know how she can possibly help her daughters feel empowered when she’s given her power away.

https://people.com/rhoslc-heather-gay-felt-pressure-before-taking-ozempic-showed-her-body-positivity-big-lie-8603562

🤼 Shot For Shot… 

Let the lawsuits commence.

⚰️ News Of the Ones…

A peek at episode 3.

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/the-walking-dead-the-ones-who-live-episode-3-clip-rick-grimes-jadis-bye

And already asking about Season 2.

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/will-there-be-the-walking-dead-the-ones-who-live-season-2-rick-grimes-michonne

🌁 What’s Up With Us…

Details emerge. Some people take this way too seriously.

https://www.cbr.com/new-the-last-of-us-tv-location

Mostly old news, but in case you want a refresh.

https://www.polygon.com/23634196/last-us-season-2-release-date-cast-news

The parallel world of the game.

https://screenrant.com/the-last-of-us-season-2-casting-faithful-game

🏆 Here Comes the Big One…

The nominations.

https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2024

About the show. March 10, 2024, at 7:00 PM EDT.

https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/oscars-2024-watch-96th-academy-awards/story?id=107851439

My dream. Forget the award. I want one of these gift bags.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oscars-gift-bags-2024

You, too, can have an Oscar party.

https://www.thegoldknight.com/2024/03/your-2024-oscar-party-essentials.html

🐕 Sharing the Cuteness…

Pets doin’ it for the ‘Gram.

https://www.eonline.com/photos/19657/celebrity-pets-on-instagram

Some might be dated, but it doesn’t make them any less cute.

https://www.etonline.com/gallery/paws-up-celebs-show-off-their-precious-pets-117103

🦧 Quotes of the Week

Sometimes bad clothes happen to good people. – Carson Kressley, Watch What Happens Live

We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.Martin Luther King, Jr.

Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. – Chief Seattle (Once again, don’t step on any butterflies.)

Life is problems. Living is solving problems. – Raymond E. Feist

We must respect the past, and mistrust the present, if we wish to provide for the safety of the future. – Joseph Joubert

We do not remember days, we remember moments. The richness of life lies in memories we have forgotten. – Cesare Pavese

A study of economics usually reveals that the best time to buy anything is last year. – Marty Allen

🥇 A Winner In My Own Mind…

Make your mark on the weekend, then join me on Monday really Tuesday for soap and awful guests and/or crew on Deck. Until then, stay safe, stay giving from the heart and receiving graciously, and stay not turning your fear into anger. It doesn’t do you any good.

February 15, 2024 – Michael Tells Sonny Everything, All About That Soap, Brilliant Move, Two Stooges In Jersey, Golden Boy & One

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Ava walks into the living room to find Sonny staring at the fire. She says, he’s home, and he says he lives here. Is there somewhere else he should be? She says, of course (🍷) not. It’s just that he wasn’t here late last night when she went to bed. With everything going on, she was just worried something happened. Where was he? He says, out, and she says, the guards were pretty quiet about where he was. Please tell her Dex was with him at least. He says he doesn’t want to hear that name.

There’s a knock at the door, and Dex grabs his gun. Josslyn asks if he’s in there, and he puts the gun in his back waistband and lets her in. She says she’s been so worried. She hasn’t been able to reach him. He grabs her and hugs her, and she asks where he was last night. He says, she didn’t talk to her mom today? but she says, no. She’s been busy and hasn’t been able to call her mom back. Why? What happened last night?

Kristina tells Blaze that she’s so sorry. She woke up not feeling well and fell back to sleep. She’s so sorry. She forgot they had plans. Blaze says, that’s fine. Don’t worry about her. She does look a little green around the gills. How is she doing? Kristina says, morning sickness is no joke. She thought she’d be able to handle it and it would be fine, but her head will not stop pounding and the room is spinning. It feels like the ground is actually moving beneath her feet. Blaze says, it sounds awful. Kristina should lie down, and she’ll make some tea. Kristina says, that would be great, but before Blaze leaves, she has something important to tell her. Blaze says, whatever Kristina has to tell her can wait. For now, just let me take care of you. (Hell, I’ll date Blaze.)

On the phone at the MetroCourt, Nina tells Kira that she got here a little bit early. She got them a spot in the alcove. Do they want her to order them a coffee or… No. Of course (🍷) she understands. That’s fine. They should reschedule soon because she has an opportunity that’s going to be great for… Hello? Kira? Drew says, stood up again?

On the phone at a table in the restaurant, Anna says she’s coming by the station to see him… Okay, but Jordan’s coming in because she wants an update on the investigation into the stolen WSB weapons… Right, and she thinks they have to move on that ASAP because she thinks there’s urgency in this situation… Dante says, let him guess. The FBI is cool with the PCPD investigating until they’re not. Is that it? She says, exactly. She doesn’t know when they’re going to pull the agreement. She sees Valentin come in, and Dante asks if she’s still there. She says, yeah. Sorry. She has to go. Valentin comes over to the table, and she says, it’s been a while. He says, it has, and from the look on her face, it hasn’t been long enough.

Ava says she has to make a work call. She’ll be in her room if Sonny needs her. He says he’ll be fine, and she starts to leave, but he says, hey. Thank you. There’s a knock at the door, and a guard tells Sonny that someone’s here to see him. Michael comes in and Sonny says, hello, Judas.

Jordan tells Dante, good morning. She’s here to get an update on the MetroCourt shooting investigation for the mayor’s office. Have there been any new developments? He says, Anna is going to be here soon, but he doesn’t think she’d mind him telling Jordan that there’s been nothing new from the FBI. She says, why does that not surprise her? They’re not going to give up any of their intel unless it helps them. He says, they’re keeping their cards pretty close to their chest. They know Sonny was the target. They know the only person who could identify the shooter is O’Neal because he sold the shooter the illegal weapon. And he is Pentenville, at least for now. She asks what that means. Is O’Neal going somewhere? He says, not that he knows of, but it wouldn’t surprise him if Agent Cates had him transferred out of their jurisdiction so the Feds can have sole control over him. She says, as disappointing as that would be, there’s an argument for O’Neal to be in protective custody to keep him safe, and he says, that’s pretty convenient for Cates. She says, it’s pretty obvious Agent Cates isn’t too happy to have to work with the PCPD on this, and he says, according to O’Neal’s lawyer, he’s refusing to cooperate with them on his gun trafficking. But Dante still feels there’s a deal to be made there. This guy’s facing some pretty serious charges. Maybe his self-preservation instincts will kick in. She says, they need to offer him something in return, which as of now, the FBI won’t offer them, and he says, which is too bad, because given O’Neal’s line of work, he’d be a pretty valuable witness against a lot of criminals. Criminals who are in prison right now who might know he’s talking to them. Dante doesn’t know if O’Neal would want to take that chance going in there, and Jordan says, if something happens to O’Neal, there goes their only lead.

Valentin says he didn’t expect to see Anna here, and she says she lives here now. Again. Until she can find somewhere more permanent. He says he guesses that makes sense, and she says she doesn’t know if he heard, but she just got reinstated as Police Commissioner. He says he heard. Congratulations. It must be nice to have a badge back. She says, yes, it is. Anyway, she wanted him to hear it from her. He says, why? Because of what happened to Charlotte? She says, yes, and he sits down. He asks if she wants an update on Charlotte. Is that why they struck up this conversation?

Nina tells Drew that one of her contacts has canceled a meeting. No big deal. It happens all the time. He says, contacts? Doesn’t she mean friends? Trusted writers, editors, photographers. People she’s been working with for years. People who would always jump at a call from her before. Has she been able to get any of them on the phone recently? She asks what he did, and he says, it was simple really. All he did was put the word out that they’re absolutely free to work with her on her new endeavor, but if they do, they’re never going to be working with Aurora ever again. She says, so he forced them not to work with her, but he says, no. He just gave them a choice. And judging by the fact she’s sitting alone at this table, he thinks it’s pretty clear that they’re not as inclined to play with fire as she is. She says, he must not have a lot of faith in Carly running Crimson and beating her fair and square. Is he really that threatened by a little competition? He laughs and says, what competition? Speaking of Carly, all she wants right now is for Nina to be out of their lives completely. So if he can make that happen and make her pay at the same time, all the better. (Drew has officially turned into a 14-year-old mean girl. I’m wondering if it’s because Jason’s coming back.)

Blaze brings out a tray (seriously, I’ll marry her) and says, here we go. Ginger tea should help settle Kristina’s stomach. Kristina thanks her and says, that actually smells amazing. It’s a really good start because it’s not making her nauseous and everything is making her nauseous. So it’s a step in the right direction. Blaze tells her to give it a second to cool down. In the meantime, hold out her arm. Kristina asks, why? and Blaze says, just trust me. Kristina says, okay, and holds out her arm. Blaze presses on her hand and asks if the pressure is okay, and Kristina says, yeah. That is really relaxing. Blaze says, let her try another place, and presses on Kristina’s forearm. She says, how’s that? and Kristina says she thinks that actually made the room stop spinning. Where did she learn how to do this? Blaze says, on the road, and Kristina says, dealt with a lot of pregnant women, did she? Blaze laughs and says, hardly. A lot of hungover musicians. All lights and glory on stage and then there’s hell to pay the morning after. Kristina says she’s genuinely glad Blaze learned to do that because it made her feel so much better really fast. So thank you, miracle worker. Blaze says, let’s not get carried away. But now that the room isn’t spinning anymore, what does Kristina have to talk to her about? Kristina says, it’s about Molly, and Blaze says, is everything okay? They didn’t get into a disagreement about Kristina’s pregnancy, did they? Kristina says, nothing like that. Molly knows about us.

Josslyn says she knew something was wrong when she couldn’t get ahold of Dex last night. This was exactly the kind of thing she was afraid of since she learned he was working with Michael. Is he okay? Did Sonny hurt him? He says, not really. Sonny’s men roughed him up a little bit, but it could have been a lot worse. He thought he was never going to see her again. If her mom hadn’t shown up when she did… She says, thank God, she figured it out. She saved his life. He says he’s never been so happy to see anyone. Not that Sonny made it easy. He tried to get his men to take her to her car, but she flat-out refused to go. Josslyn says she’s really sorry. She knows Dex believed in Sonny, but this is who he is, and this is what he does. He uses people, and he thinks everyone else should forgive him over and over again, but the second he thinks someone’s betrayed him, he will turn on them. Dex says he gets it. Sonny knew he’d been paid off. He just didn’t know by who. Sonny pointed a loaded gun at him and tried to get him to talk. The only reason he was still breathing when her mom got there was because Sonny wanted to get the information from him. She asks if her mom told Sonny that he was originally working with Michael, but he says, no. Sonny figured it out. Sonny knew her mom didn’t have the money to pay him the bonuses that Michael had. All her mom did was confirm it. Josslyn says, Sonny’s never going to trust Dex again, and Dex agrees. She says, which means he’s free.

Michael says he’s not coming in here with excuses, and Sonny says, there is no excuse for what he did. Michael says he hired Dex from a security firm and paid him to infiltrate Sonny’s organization and gather incriminating evidence against Sonny and give it to him. He wanted to be the one to send Sonny to prison. Sonny says, because Michael wanted him to suffer, right? He gets it, but why? Michael says, because his mom risked her life and her freedom to run Sonny’s organization when he was in Nixon Falls. Sonny says, he had amnesia in Nixon Falls. Why does everyone forget that? Michael says, when Sonny came back, he cheated on her with Nina. And not only that, he sided with Nina when she was suing him and Willow for visitation with Wiley. He didn’t recognize Sonny anymore. He didn’t see his father. He convinced himself that Sonny needed to pay. Sonny says, he didn’t go through with it, and Michael says, in the end, he couldn’t do it. Because sending Sonny to prison would tear the family apart, and he couldn’t do that to his siblings. He couldn’t do that to Sonny. In the end, his loyalty to the family was stronger than his need for revenge. Sonny asks what he knows about loyalty, stabbing his father in the back?

Nina says she knows Drew and Carly wish she would just vanish into thin air, but how exactly is Drew going to manage that, because she’s not leaving Port Charles anytime soon. He says, of course (🍷) she’s not, because that would be the decent thing to do, just kind of slink out of town and never come back. She says, Port Charles is her home. He might have caused a little setback to her plans to start her own magazine, but this hotel is hers, so she doesn’t want to hear any more threats from him, idle as they may be. He says, she misunderstands him. He’s not threatening her. He’s offering to buy her share of the MetroCourt. (He has a funny way of doing that.)

Michael says he knows Sonny feels betrayed and he has every right to, but he was in the position to get the revenge he wanted and didn’t go through with it. Sonny asks if he wants credit now for a change of heart Michael still tried to take him down, and Michael says he knows and he’s admitting to it. Sonny says, then why didn’t Michael come to him as soon as he called it off? Own up to it instead of bringing his mom into the equation. Michael says he didn’t plan that. She just figured it out. He already decided he wasn’t going to turn Sonny in, so his mom came up with a plan for them to work together to keep Sonny protected and safe. That’s what they all wanted, Dex too. Sonny says, what about last night? What kind of man sends his mother in to clean up his mess? Michael says he didn’t send in his mom. He had no idea Sonny was closing in on Dex. Sonny says he doesn’t want to hear any more. Michael had every chance to tell him the truth. Michael was in his office, and they were hugging. Michael said he hated the distance, but it wasn’t about the distance. Michael was out to get him. Michael says he wasn’t out to get Sonny. He was out to protect him. Sonny says, what about his sisters, Donna and Avery? How does he think they would feel growing up without a father? They’re his sisters. Michael says he did think about that, but at the time, he thought they’d be better off with Sonny behind bars. Sonny says, it’s not his call to make. What about Wiley and Amelia? How does Michael think they would feel without him in their lives anymore?

Josslyn says she doesn’t know what she’d have done if something happened to Dex. Watching Trina go through this with Spencer, it’s terrible. She’s not even herself. She couldn’t do it. She can’t lose him. He says he loves her, and she says, last night, she had this pit in her stomach when she couldn’t find him, and to know she was right to feel that way… All she wants is for him to be safe. Not just today or tomorrow, but always. He says he wishes it were easy to make that happen, and she says, her mom had to have told Sonny that Dex was protecting him, not betraying him. He says, she did, but it doesn’t matter. In Sonny’s eyes, he still lied. Now he knows way too much about Sonny and his organization. How can he make a clean break? Sonny will never let him walk away knowing everything he knows.

Kristina says, this isn’t easy for her. She’s really trying to respect Blaze’s privacy and be patient, but hiding how they feel about each other when other people are around isn’t really a way to build a relationship. Blaze asks if that’s what they are, a relationship, and Kristina asks if Blaze thinks she would let just anyone see her like this. Blaze laughs, and Kristina says she thinks it’s safe to say they’re in a relationship.

Drew says, just think about it. Nina wants to start her own magazine. That’s going to take some capital. The kind of capital she would get if she sold half of a hotel. This offer isn’t coming out of nowhere. It wasn’t that long ago Nina offered to sell her shares to Carly. Nina says, that was before he and Carly took Crimson away from her and she found out how vindictive they are. He says, she did all that herself. She has to take responsibility for her choices. Nina says, oh good, another lecture, and he says he’ll pay her fair market value for her half of the MetroCourt. She says, not a chance. Now if he wants to buy something nice for his girlfriend, besides a magazine she has no earthly idea how to run, she suggests jewelry. She’s not going anywhere.

Valentin says he’s not comfortable giving Anna all the details. Just know that Charlotte is home and she’s settling in nicely. And he promises they’ll keep her informed. She thanks him, and he sees Nina come in, Drew following her. He asks Anna to excuse him, and leaves the table.

Drew tells Nina, calm down. There’s no reason to get so worked up. She says, don’t dare tell her how to behave, when Valentin joins them and asks Nina if everything is all right. She says, no. Drew thinks he can take her share of the hotel from her.

Jordan says, there’s got to be another way to get access to O’Neal and keep him in Port Charles under their custody, but Dante says he doesn’t see that happening. The Feds want them to stand down as it is. She says, on the gun charges, yes. They need to come at it from a different angle. He says, like what? and she says, maybe they get him on charges unrelated to the shooting. Something that doesn’t involve the Feds and would be solidly in their jurisdiction. He says, like unpaid parking tickets or something? and she says, preferably a felony. What is the likelihood that an arms dealer has been involved with another crime here in Port Charles? Dante tells her that he’d say the likelihood is pretty high. You don’t go from upstanding citizen to arms dealer overnight. She says, exactly. So they need to go over every case in the last six months involving firearms. Track all the weapons and see if it leads back to their friend in Pentenville. He says, they’ve been there and done that. Nothing. She says, then go back even longer. A year or more. Do whatever he has to do, because even if O’Neal is placed in protective custody, he’s still got a target on his back. Dante’s phone rings, and he answers, Detective Falconari… Wait. What?

Michael tells Sonny, again, he changed course. Dex was already inside. So he and Carly made sure Dex was keeping him safe. Sonny says, that little rat lied to him, and Michael says, Sonny can hate that he paid Dex to keep him safe all he wants, but he has to admit that if it wasn’t for him, Sonny would be dead… Sonny says he doesn’t have to admit anything. Michael says, Sonny came to rely on and trust Dex. For him to say something would have accomplished nothing. To tell the truth, it would have ruined everything. Sonny tells him to stop making himself look good. Michael didn’t just lie because he was worried about him. Michael lied to protect himself. Plain and simple. Admit it. Michael says, yes. He came to really like that their relationship was good again. He didn’t want to lose that. Sonny says, he lost it the day he hired Dex to destroy him, and Michael says he gets that Sonny is angry, and he hopes eventually, Sonny will be able to see why he did what he did and be able to forgive him. But this isn’t just about their relationship. Sonny asks what it’s about, and Michael says, it’s about Sonny and how he’s pushing everybody away. Because without Dex, without him, and especially without Carly, who does he have? Does he want to end up alone?

Dex tells Josslyn that there are no good options for him here. Sonny will never trust him again, so his time in Sonny’s organization is over. Josslyn says, exactly. So maybe this is the clean break they’ve been waiting for. He says, it’s not that simple. Does she think Sonny is just going to forget what he did to him? She says, Sonny hates a lot of people. She can live with that if he can. He says, it’s not about what they can live with. Sooner or later, one of Sonny’s rivals is going to realize Sonny’s cut him loose and try to take advantage. All of these guys talk. When they try to use him to get to Sonny and he refuses, they’re going to have it out for him too. She says she hadn’t considered that, and he says, if it’s not the mob, the DA or the Feds could find an excuse to bring him in and try to get him to flip on Sonny. The only way to guarantee he won’t talk is to eliminate him. She says, if that’s true, why did Sonny let him go last night? and he says he doesn’t know. Maybe Sonny is just telling her mom what she wants to hear. He knows she won’t let anything happen to him because of him and Josslyn. Regardless, he wouldn’t want to involve her in a crime. Maybe Sonny decided to walk away last night and finish the job later, without any witnesses. She takes his hands and says, he’d do anything for her, right? and he says, yes. She says, then run.

Blaze tells Kristina that her mother has been wanting to visit her in Port Charles, and she’s been putting her off, but she’s finally run out of excuses. She’ll be here next week. Kristina says, that’s fine. Don’t worry about them seeing each other when her mom is here. She has a lot of stuff to get done at the pub, and she could certainly use the time to get caught up at the center too. So they can just take a little break and then pick up where they left off when her mom is back on the plane heading home. Blaze thanks her for being so understanding, but somehow, it’s just making this worse. She doesn’t want Kristina to feel like she has to hide. Kristina says she’s not the one hiding.

Drew tells Nina, good luck getting her magazine up off the ground, because he loves rooting for the underdog, and leaves. Nina says, so much for Mr. Nice Guy, and Valentin says, he thinks he has Nina wrapped around his finger. She doesn’t have to sell him the MetroCourt. She knows that, right? She says, who knows? He basically crushed her idea to start her own magazine, and he barely had to try.

Drew says hi to Anna, and says he saw her sitting over here and wanted to say congratulations on being the new Police Commissioner. She thanks him and says, actually, she was just going to the station. He says he’s not going to hold her up. He just wants to tell her that he’s happy for her that things are going well. She says, and him? and he says he’s making progress. She says, what kind? And at what cost?

Josslyn tells Dex, go, today, right now. Get a head start before anyone even realizes he’s gone. He can hide without Sonny finding him, right? He says he’s not leaving. He can’t lose her. She says, he’s not going to lose her. She’s coming with him. He says, absolutely not. They talked about this last year. She’d be giving up her family, her friends, her future as a doctor. He won’t let that happen. Her whole world is here. She says, it’s her life, so it’s her choice. She can’t lose him. Not after everything they’ve gone through. He says, she’s everything to him, but she’d be giving up her life for nothing. He’s not going to run, with or without her. She says, that’s insane. They were just trying to protect Sonny, and now Sonny wants to kill him for it. He hugs her.

Michael says, somebody tried to kill Sonny twice now. And whoever gave that shooter inside information on his security, it was not Dex. Dex isn’t the traitor. It’s someone else inside Sonny’s organization. Sonny asks why he should hear anything Michael has to say, and Michael tells Sonny not to put himself in any more danger just to get back at him. Sonny will isolate himself, so he’ll have no one to confide in. He needs somebody around him that he can trust. Sonny says, that’s none of Michael’s concern, and Michael says, Sonny’s his father. Sonny says, is he? (and I say, isn’t he?) and Michael says, Sonny can push him away. He can push all of them away. But he’s going to need someone to talk to. He can’t go through this alone. Sonny says nothing, and Michael leaves. Ava comes back, and Sonny says, catch all that? She says, unfortunately, she did. She’s sorry. It must hurt a lot, what Michael did. She can go if he wants, and they can pretend she was never here. She starts to leave, but he says, wait. Can she stay?

Kristina says she didn’t mean that. She’s not judging Blaze. She doesn’t even know Blaze’s family. Blaze says, they’re great actually. They’re just religious and old-fashioned. They were raised a certain kind of way not to talk about these kinds of things, and there’s a part of her that feels she needs to protect them. Kristina says she gets that. She actually thinks a lot of people are in Blaze’s position. She just hates that Blaze feels she has to protect them from the fact that she’s gay. She’s personally thrilled Blaze is gay, and she knows a lot of other people would be too. Blaze says, thank you? and Kristina says, what she means is, she’s glad Blaze is living her authentic life, being her true self. And if that happens to include her being gay, then all the better, because Kristina happens to think who Blaze is, is pretty damn wonderful. Blaze says she feels the same way about Kristina, and Kristina says she does want to respect though, that coming out is Blaze’s personal choice, and she can’t pressure Blaze or anyone into making that decision. That’s her own to make whenever she’s ready. Blaze says, but that’s no way to build a relationship, and Kristina says, no, it’s not. Blaze says, then she knows what she has to do. She’s going to tell her mom about her and Kristina. It’s time her family knows the truth.

Nina tells Valentin that she can’t believe how she let Drew get to her, even that little bit. That’s what he wanted, but she couldn’t help herself. Valentin says, Drew can really push her buttons, huh? and she says, it’s not that he offered to buy her share of the hotel. It’s slowly dawning on her that she’s never going to get a magazine to rival Crimson off the ground. It’s just not going to happen. It’s too much. Even if Drew hadn’t scared everyone away from working with her, it’s just too huge of an undertaking. She’s just going to have to swallow her pride, and as much as it hurts, accept defeat. He says he can’t believe she’s giving up this easy, and she says, on the magazine? He says, on evening the score with Drew and Carly. Because he’s been thinking, there may be another way.

Anna tells Drew that she shouldn’t have said that. It’s none of her business. He says, she clearly has an opinion on him, and he values her opinions. So please let him hear it. She says she doesn’t really have an opinion, but she just was going back to the last conversation they had where he said he had regrets and that he wanted to get toxicity out of his life and move forward. He says, which is exactly why he offered to buy Nina’s half of the MetroCourt to get her out of their lives completely. Anna says, she seemed pretty upset by his approach, and he says, that’s just part of getting the best deal possible. That’s the cost of doing business. (What is? Upsetting the person you want to make the deal with? That makes zero sense.)  Anna asks if it’s worth it, and he says, she’s a big girl. She can take it. Anna says she’s not talking about Nina. She’s just going to say this. He seems harsher to her than he once was, and he has every right. It’s understandable, especially where Nina is concerned, but making her pay isn’t going to bring him back everything he’s already lost. He says, so he’s been told. And she’s not the first person to tell him that he’s changed recently. Her phone rings and she says she has to take this. Will he just think about what she said? Then they can pick up this conversation later. He says, okay, and she says, okay, and pats him on the shoulder. She leaves and he looks at Nina.

On the phone, Dante says, there’s been a development. He can’t get into it over the phone, but it concerns a prisoner at Pentenville. Anna says she’s on her way and gets in the elevator.

Drew stomps over to Nina, who says, oh God, and he says, let’s try this again, shall we?

Ava asks how Sonny is doing, and he says he knew Michael would come here. He even knew what Michael was going to say and all his excuses. It still hurts, those words coming out of his mouth. Ava wonders why he even dared to show his face here, and Sonny says, he insists that Dex did nothing wrong, that he still needs Dex’s protection. Ava says, he might have a point there. Dex did save them in Puerto Rico. Without him, she doesn’t know if either one of them would have gotten off that island alive. They still don’t know who the shooter was, so they’re still vulnerable. He asks if she thinks he should still have Dex in his organization after Dex betrayed him the way he did, and she says, it’s his call, of course (🍷). She was just wondering though, where Dex would go if Sonny cut him loose. She imagines he’s seen a lot of things, heard a lot of things, things that could hurt Sonny if they got out. She’s sure there are a lot of people who would love to get that information that’s rattling around in Dex’s head. He says he knows he has a problem. There’s a leak in his ship. She says, he’s far from shore. How much water can he take on? He says, before they all go down?

Josslyn tells Dex that they’re not just going to wait around until Sonny decides to punish him for a betrayal that didn’t even happen. There has to be another way. He says, not that he can think of, and she says she’ll talk to Sonny. She’ll make him understand. Dex says, he’s already made up his mind, but she says she doesn’t care. She has to talk to him. She has to try. She’ll go right now. Let her do this for him, for them. He says he knows better than to try and stop her when her mind’s made up, so go ahead. But if it goes badly, just get out of there. He doesn’t want Sonny getting angry at her too. She says she can handle Sonny. She’s going to fix it. Just watch. He kisses her, and she tells him, stay here. She’ll be back as soon as she can. She leaves, and he double-locks the door. He checks his gun and makes sure it’s loaded.

Drew says, despite what Nina obviously believes, he made his offer to buy the MetroCourt in good faith. She says, so he says. What she wants to know is, why do he and Carly insist on underestimating her? He says, do they? and she says, over and over and over again. And she’s sick of it, so listen to her carefully. Not only is she refusing his deal, he’s going to regret he ever messed with her in the first place.

In a hallway on the phone, Valentin tells someone that he has a proposal for them.

Kristina tells Blaze, wait. It was never her intention to pressure Blaze into coming out to her mom or force her in any way… Blaze says, stop. Kristina didn’t pressure her. If anything, Kristina being so patient with her is what helped her make this decision. Kristina says, okay… good, and Blaze says she’s grateful for Kristina’s support. For someone whose family was so accepting of her for who she is, Kristina understands her situation far more than she would have expected. Kristina says she tried to think about how she’d want to be treated if she was in Blaze’s position, and Blaze says, she appreciates that. But this isn’t only about her feelings for Kristina, and it can’t be about living a lie to keep the peace in her family anymore either. What Kristina said today made her realize she’s happy. Really and truly happy, and that’s nothing to hide. Kristina takes her hand, and Blaze puts her other hand on top of Kristina’s.

Anna joins Dante and Jordan, and asks, what’s going on in Pentenville? Jordan says, the prison transport was attacked today, and a prisoner is dead. Anna says, who? and Jordan says, Olivia Jerome. (I’ve kept forgetting she wasn’t dead for years, so no change here.)

Ava comes out and hears Josslyn tell the guard that she will get Dante up here and Sonny will not like it. This is an emergency, and she needs to speak to Sonny. Ava opens the door and asks if there’s something she can do for Josslyn. Josslyn says she needs to speak to Sonny now, but Ava says, she’s sorry. Josslyn just missed him.

There’s a knock at Dex’s door. He picks up his gun and unlocks the door. (Why none of these people check peepholes is beyond me, and Dex doesn’t even have one.) He holds the gun behind him and opens the door. It’s scary looking Sonny.

Tomorrow, Anna thinks whoever tried to kill Sonny is behind Olivia Jerome’s murder; Doc says, even a glimpse is out of the question; Cyrus tells Laura that his flock is about to get bigger; and Sonny tells Dex, the way he sees it, Dex is going to have to disappear.

🧼 All the Soap That’s Fit To Print…

She’s been mentioned periodically, and every time, I think, isn’t she dead? Although her actually being dead doesn’t mean it’s a sure thing either.

I can definitely see her as Blaze’s mother.

A few side gigs.

Check Out Steve Burton’s Wild New Look!

How they celebrated.

See How Soap Stars Celebrated Valentine’s Day!

The headline that nearly gave me a heart attack.

🍑 Stirring It In Hotlanta…

She’s come a long way from thinking the Underground Railroad was really a railroad.

👀 He’ll Be Watching You…

This guy is ridiculous. And shame on Bo Dietl. He’s the one I learned never go to crime scene number two from.

🐕 Another Star In the Family…

Of course their dog is awesome too. Is it too late for them to adopt me?

https://ew.com/goldie-hawn-and-kurt-russell-dog-budweiser-super-bowl-commercial-8576002

And he’s already got his first gig.

https://people.com/goldie-hawn-kurt-russell-dog-now-repping-wyatt-russell-cocktail-brand-8580671

👑 Queen Of Kings…

Join me tomorrow for soap and a presidential extravaganza. Really just the usual variety pack. Until then, stay safe, stay using adversity as an opportunity, and stay understanding that payback isn’t going to bring back everything you’ve already lost.

June 9, 2023 – No Soap For You, 2 Mollys, Jersey Mess, Vandermath, VanderNew, Sink It, Dead Dates, A Farewell, Star Releases, Sharks, Cuteness, Double 4 Quotes & Love

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Well there was this:

So I did this:

💼 Ups and Downs…

She’s doing a good job so far. She’s not straying too far from the already established character.

She’s lucky she didn’t kill someone.

👠 Jersey Devils…

They still don’t totally explain it. So like, what happened the next time Frankie and Louie spoke? Or haven’t they?

https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/frank-catania-shares-why-frankie-stopped-working-for-luis-ruelas

Where they are now.

https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/rhonj-season-13-finale-recap-cast-updates

This one doesn’t live in the real world with the rest of us. I don’t blame Andy for losing his sh*t. It was like, STFU already.

About that text.

And the rest.

🍸 Trying To Recover…

I don’t think there is a future for her on the show. At least, I hope not.

I guess, but I can’t imagine she didn’t want to smack Rachel’s bobblehead face. I thought she was restrained.

https://people.com/lala-kent-regrets-attacking-raquel-leviss-at-vanderpump-rules-reunion-7510310

Giving you more Lala.

https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/raquels-big-secret-on-vanderpump-rules-reunion-lala-reacts

She’ll be fine. She dodged a narcissistic bullet.

https://extratv.com/2023/06/08/ariana-madix-reveals-plans-for-the-future-and-thoughts-on-marriage-after-scandoval/

She was so funny on WWHL.

🎁 Just What We Need…

I still want more episodes of Overserved, but I’ll take what I can get. After I take a million showers to get the smell of the Reunion off.

⛵️ Aye, Aye, Captain…

She’s right. That boat needs to die. I’m sure Glenn and Colin are having a grand old time holding it together with duct tape and bubble gum, but it almost tanked the season.

⚰️ Moving Dead…

Updates on both Dead City’s premiere and Fear the Walking Dead’s mid-season finale.

https://screenrant.com/fear-the-walking-dead-season-8-episode-6-airtime-change/

🥀 She’ll Be Missed…

I love this show, and was so sad to hear this.

https://people.com/bling-empire-anna-shay-dead-7508300

👽 When the Force Will Be With You…

Updates on Star Wars releases.

https://ew.com/movies/star-wars-movie-tv-show-release-dates/

🦈 Doo-Doo Doo-Doo-Doo-Doo…

Cue the music.

https://people.com/sharkfest-2023-how-to-watch-sharkfest-7509679

🦙 Take a Deep Breath…

Some relief from all the nasty, awful reality this week.

https://paradepets.com/pet-news/cute-animals

☄️ Quotes of the Week

Some people think only intellect counts: knowing how to solve problems, knowing how to get by, knowing how to identify an advantage and seize it. But the functions of intellect are insufficient without courage, love, friendship, compassion and empathy. – Dean Koontz

The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.  — John Powell

The border to eternity is never ahead of us. It runs parallel to life and can be crossed over at any moment by old and young. – Reinhard Bonnke

A mathematical formula for happiness: Reality divided by Expectations. There were two ways to be happy: improve your reality or lower your expectations.Jodi Picoult (I vote for lowering expectations.)

Even while we kill and punish we must try to feel about the enemy as we feel about ourselves—to wish that he were not bad, to hope that he may, in this world or another, be cured: in fact, to wish his good. That is what is meant in the Bible by loving him: wishing his good, not feeling fond of him nor saying he is nice when he is not. – C.S. Lewis, from Mere Christianity

I can tell you, without diversity, creativity remains stagnant.Edward Enninful

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

That wasn’t karaoke. It was you, a jukebox, and a bar full of angry people. – Mike Biggs (Billy Gardell), Mike & Molly

🕺🏽 Curly Shuffling Away…

Tune in for a chance of Fear on Sunday, and on Monday really Tuesday for soap and double the Deck. Until then, stay safe, stay respecting your elders no matter how old you are, and stay making sure that when you’re singing karaoke, you’re really at karaoke.

May 24, 2023 – Diane Presents Carly With Her Options, Temping, Part One Of Sandoval’s Reunion Awfulness & Hero

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Diane visits Sonny’s old kitchen, aka home of the hallowed moss bowl🎍, and Carly asks if she wants coffee. Diane says, bless you, and Carly asks if she had a rough night. Diane says, rough morning. She forgot to set her alarm, then the line at Kelly’s was out the door. Carly asks why Diane didn’t just text and say she’d be late, but Diane says, never. Punctuality is her trademark. Carly says, one of many, and Diane says, before they get into the nitty-gritty, catch her up. What’s been going on? Carly says, Nina and Sonny are getting married, and Diane chokes on her coffee.

Nina is admiring her ring when Sonny comes out, and says, cappuccino for her, and espresso for him. She asks what he thinks people did before espresso machines, which is a good question, and he says, live a sad unfulfilled life. She takes a sip, and he says, so? She says, it’s delicious, but he says he was talking about the ring. Is she still a fan? She says, considering she’s obsessed with it, she thinks so, and he says he can get her a different one, but she says, it’s perfect. The setting is perfect, the stone is perfect, the coffee is perfect, he’s… He says, perfect, but she says, even better. He’s all hers. They kiss.

Alexis writes a text to Gregory: Just checking in. Here if you need me. She says, here goes nothin’, and sends it. Sam knocks at the door, and Alexis says, she’s early; how unlike her. Sam asks if that’s Alexis’s not so subtle way of saying she’s usually late, and Alexis hugs her. Sam says she came early because she wanted to talk to Alexis before Krissy got here. Alexis says, also, so Sam doesn’t lecture her, she reached out to Gregory. Sam asks if he responded, but Alexis says she just sent it a minute ago. Sam says, actually, she didn’t come here to talk to Alexis about Gregory. She wanted to talk to Alexis about her sister. Alexis says she’s worried about Molly too, but Sam says, not that sister. What’s going on with Molly?

TJ comes out as Molly is getting her bag ready for work, and she says she’s sorry if she woke him; she was trying to be quiet. He says, like she was last night? He didn’t hear her come in. She says, it was late, and he says, she must be tired. Why doesn’t she take the day off? She asks if he can please not treat her like she’s about to break, and he says he’s sorry. She tells him, there’s no reason for her to take the day off. She’s not sick. God knows she’s not pregnant, and she never will be.

Curtis lifts weights at Volovino’s, when Drew comes in. He says, hi, but Curtis doesn’t hear him because he’s busy flashing back to his conversation with Jordan, and Jordan asking if he’s on the rebound or are he and Portia really over; and if so, do they get a second chance?

At the hospital, Jordan is flashing back to her and Curtis kissing. Portia says she needs to speak with Jordan.

Sam tells Alexis that she knew something was up at Michael and Willow’s wedding. Molly seemed a little off to her, and she asked TJ if Molly was okay. He said she was fine, but he was glad she had her sisters. Two SEC agents showed up and questioned Carly, so the conversation got derailed, and now she feels terrible because she didn’t follow up. Alexis doesn’t want her to feel terrible. She thinks Molly will tell Sam about it when she feels the time is right for her, and she thinks the time is soon. Sam asks how worried she should be, but Alexis says she shouldn’t be worried. This is not life threatening. She’ll be fine. What about Kristina? Sam says, the foundation Sonny is helping her set up. She thinks it’s an amazing idea, and can do a lot for the LGBTQ+ community. However, she doesn’t think Kristina is grasping the reality of what she’s getting herself into. She feels like Kristina needs guidance. Alexis asks, who doesn’t? when there’s a knock at the door. Alexis says, it’s her middle girl, and she and TempKristina (see below) hug. Kristina tells them that she’s about to change Port Charles forever. Wanna see?

TJ tells Molly, it’s still too soon to say they can’t have children, but she  tells him, she didn’t say that. She said she can’t get pregnant. He says he just meant that they can still create and raise a family together. It might not look like they thought it would, but when have they ever been conventional. She asks if it’s okay if they don’t talk about their options right now. She knows they need to figure it out, and they will, but right now, she’s a little bit overwhelmed. He says he gets it. They have all the time in the world to figure out what’s next. Honestly, he’s more focused on her right now. Endometriosis is a serious condition, and Dr. Navarro says she has a serious case. Which means she’s been suffering symptoms all this time and he didn’t know. Why didn’t she tell him?

Drew comes over to Curtis, and asks if he’s okay. Curtis says, all good, and asks if he and Drew are good. Drew asks why they wouldn’t be, and Curtis says he heard Drew and Carly have been seeing each other for a while now, and if memory serves him correctly, he said some not so nice things about Carly’s lies to Nina. Drew says, that’s not why he kept it a secret. There’s some things Curtis doesn’t know. Plus, Curtis was just telling the truth, and he likes that he can count on Curtis for that. If anyone knows their own mind, it’s Curtis.

Jordan suggests they go somewhere more private, but Portia says she doesn’t need privacy for this. She wants to say thank you. If not for Jordan, Trina wouldn’t have made it back to Port Charles. Jordan says, what she did was a team effort, and Portia says, Jordan was a major part of that team. She put her career in jeopardy to hold off the WSB. She just wants Jordan to know she’ll forever be grateful.

Nina says she wishes this could last forever, and Sonny says, that’s the plan; til death do us part. She says she means the part where it’s just them; the dinner, the coffee this morning… Pretty soon, the whole world is going to know they’re engaged. He asks if she doesn’t think they know right now, and she wonders if they should have celebrated so publicly last night, but he says, they have nothing to hide. She says she agrees with him, but they have to face it. Not everyone is going to be as happy about them getting married as they are.

Diane asks how Carly feels about the Nina situation, as she soaks up the radiance of the moss bowl🎍 , and Carly says she’s not exactly thrilled about it. Her heart’s not being ripped out of her chest or anything. She and Sonny are divorced. They’ve both moved on, and she’s happy that he’s happy. It’s just… Diane says, Carly wishes he was happy with literally anyone else, and Carly says, it’s Nina. That woman devastated her family, and now she’s positioned to be even closer to them. It’s appalling to her, but there’s no stopping Sonny once he’s made up his mind, so she just has to figure out a way to live with it. Diane says, Sonny is a difficult man, and Carly says, ya think? Diane says she knows this because he’s a difficult client, but a relationship with him has to be an endurance event. Carly says, Diane doesn’t think Nina can handle it, does she? and Diane says she thinks if Nina wants to, she’d better start her conditioning now, but she’s not optimistic. Carly says she doesn’t have the energy or the desire to unpack Nina, and Diane says, fair enough. Let’s get down to business, shall we? Carly says, her case with the SEC. Go. Diane says, Carly has options, but she’s not going to like them.

Molly says, it’s not like it was excruciating, and TJ says, but she was in pain often. Was it constant? She says, no, but it was often enough. She guesses it depended on where she was in her cycle. He asks if it hurt when they had sex, and she says, sometimes, not all the time. He asks why she didn’t say anything, and she says, because she didn’t want it to hurt. Everything else about it – being close to him, cuddling with him, having him hold her in his arms – she loved those things, and didn’t want to ruin it by saying she’s feeling a little crampy tonight and doesn’t really want to. He says he feels like a monster, but she says, no. He says, his partner has been in pain and he didn’t even know, and she says, because she didn’t let him know. He asks why she’d hide something like that from him, but she says she wasn’t hiding it; she was dealing with it.

Kristian spreads out a blueprint on the table, and says she has to talk to the contractor, but she wanted to show them first. Sam says, then she’s already hired an architect, but Kristina says she doesn’t need one. All she’s doing is knocking down a couple of walls. Sam says, which requires a permit, but Kristina says, the contractor’s going to figure all that out. This is her chance to really make a difference. She knows she’s said that before, but it’s for real this time, and would mean the world to have their support, especially Alexis’s.

Sonny tells Nina, last night was perfect (WOTD). He doesn’t care what people think. Nina says she agrees with him, but unfortunately, they don’t live in a vacuum. There’s a knock at the door, and he says, they don’t? That’s Ava dropping off Avery, and he doesn’t want Avery to know until he tells Ava first. She says, her lips are sealed, turning her ring around, and he answers the door. Avery hugs Sonny, then runs to Nina, and Ava says, Avery was excited Nina was going to be here today. Nina says she’s super excited. She’s been thinking about this. Playground, park, carousel. Avery says, yeah, and Nina asks, which one? Avery says, all of them, and Sonny says, what about me? Nina asks if Avery thinks they should let her dad join them, and Avery notices the ring, asking, what’s that? The sparkly ring? Mommy used to wear one just like that.

Curtis asks Drew, what’s this with the SEC? They questioned him? Drew says, thanks to Ned Quartermaine, he and Carly are being charged with insider trading. Curtis says, Ned turned them in? and Drew says, he didn’t admit it of course (🍷), but he doesn’t know who else it could be. Curtis asks if they have a case, and Drew says, they have a strong case. The SEC is coming at them hard, for whatever reason, and it doesn’t seem like they’re interested in a deal. At least not with both of them. Curtis helps Drew get boxing gloves on, and Drew says, of course (🍷) his Aunt Tracy had the brilliant suggestion he should turn Carly in. Curtis says, damn, that’s cold, and Drew says, it’s not an option, but just between them – Curtis says, of course (🍷) – he needs to disarm Ned. He’s rich and he’s got power. He could strongarm the SEC and make this whole thing go away. Curtis doubts he’ll do it willingly, and Drew says, Carly doesn’t deserve any of this. He’s going to do everything in his power to make sure he protects her. He punches the heavy bag.

Diane says, before they get into strategy, she wants to be walked through Carly’s actions as though she’s never heard it before. Carly says she knew Michael and Drew were planning to merge ELQ and Aurora, and Diane says, arguably a sacrifice for Drew. Carly says, Drew liked having his company independent of ELQ. The only reason he agreed to the merger was to help his family. Since Michael’s her son and at the time Drew was just a friend, she wanted to help them. Diane says, so Carly bought stock in Aurora before the merger, and Carly says, yes. Aurora is the smaller company, so the more it’s worth, the more equal the merger would be. The irony is, Drew told her not to do it. And Michael did too. Diane says, fortunately, Michael has no part in this because he owns no stock in Aurora, and they’re going to leave him out of it. So Drew cautioned her not to buy the shares, and she… Carly says, didn’t listen. Now Drew is caught up in her mistake. She didn’t mean for it to be insider trading. She was just trying to help. Diane says she gets it. The SEC probably gets it too. The problem is, they don’t care. Carly knew before the public that there was a merger planned, and she acted on it. Carly says, that makes her guilty, and Diane says, her and Drew both.

Molly tells TJ that she’s always had painful periods; cramping and bloating and tenderness. This was more severe, but it wasn’t completely foreign, so she thought it was just what happens as you get older. So she took ibuprofen and got on with life. TJ asks if it even helped, and she says she’s sorry, but he says he’s not asking her to apologize. He just wants to understand. Did she ever think to get checked out? She says, no. She just told him that she thought it was normal. He says, being in pain all the time is not normal, and she says, it wasn’t all the time, but he says, she’s not casual about her health. She asks what he wants her to say. She got used to it. He says, but why? If you’re not feeling well, you go to the doctor. Obviously, something was wrong. She says, not to her, and the last thing she needs is for him to keep piling it on right now. She feels guilty enough. He says, for what? and she says, because she ignored her symptoms; she didn’t get examined. She cries, and says, if she’d just gotten diagnosed earlier and started treatment sooner… but it’s too late for that. It’s all her fault.

Kristina tells Alexis and Sam, so this is the common space. A place to hang out, have fun, and support each other. She wants the kids to feel safe. Like when they walk through those doors, they know that everything is fine and they’re going to be okay. Alexis says, sounds wonderful, and Kristina says, the offices will be here, with the staff; they’ll be nearby. She wants to hire young people. Less like administrators and more like their peers. It’s going to be bright and airy and open, and really colorful. Sam says, it sounds like a major renovation, but Kristina says, actually, it’s not. Sam says, she’s knocking down walls and stuff. Won’t it increase her property taxes? Kristina says, maybe, but it will be so worth it in the long run, and Sam asks if she’s even started fundraising yet. Kristina says, no. She needed to have something to show before she started asking for money. Sam says, mom… but Alexis says she trusts Kristina. If she thinks it’s worth it, it’s worth it. Kristina holds up a paper printed with the letters CD covered by a roof in rainbow colors, The Corinthos-Davis House underneath, and says, and this is their logo. How beautiful is it? Do they love it? Alexis says she loves it, and Kristina asks Sam, what now? Sam says, nothing. She just thinks it’s a little premature to hire a graphic designer. Kristina asks how she’s supposed to have a website if she doesn’t have a logo, and Alexis says, an online presence is very important. Sam says, absolutely, but so is hiring an accountant and registering as a non-profit, and Kristina asks, so what is Sam’s deal? Does she just not believe in this project? Or is it her Sam doesn’t believe in?

Drew finishes with the heavy bag, and tells Curtis that he thinks Tracy is Ned’s Achilles heel. If he could just scrounge up some dirt on her. Curtis says, if Drew needs a man, he’s got one. Drew has always been there for him. Drew says, no way is he dragging anyone else into this mess. Besides, Curtis has enough on his plate. Any developments on the Trina front? Curtis says, she took the DNA test; the results should be in soon. Drew says, good. He thinks if the positions were reversed, he doesn’t think he’d be handling it as collected and cool as Curtis is right now. Curtis says he’s been living at the boxing gym. It helps keep his mind off things. Drew asks if Curtis and Portia have been discussing the next steps, but Curtis says, they’re all in a holding pattern, just trying to see what’s what. Drew says, the reason he’s asking is, he thought after Greenland, they were on the same page, and Curtis says, about bringing Trina home, yeah, but everything else, no. After his time in Greenland, he reevaluated his plans. Drew says, such as? and Curtis says, if he should have ended his marriage so quickly to Jordan.

Portia says, Jordan has gone above and beyond. When they needed Oz Haggerty’s testimony, she bought them time. Jordan says she doesn’t know what Portia is talking about, and neither does Portia. Portia says, it’s just that ever since Trina came home, it’s become clear to her that Jordan’s been looking out for her family, and she never gave Jordan credit for it. So this is her saying thank you, and she’s truly sorry that she’s just realizing it now. She just hopes Jordan can accept her apology.

Sonny says Avery knows he loves Nina very much. He took a chance, and asked her to marry him. Avery asks if she said yes, and Nina says she did. Sonny asks what Avery thinks about that, and Avery asks if she can be a flower girl. Nina thinks that can be arranged, and Sonny says, she’s already been practicing. Avery says, this is the best news ever, and hugs Nina. Nina says, Avery has no idea how happy that makes her. She can hardly wait to be part of Avery’s family. Avery says, her neither, and asks if she can go on her tablet. Sonny says, it’s by her bedside, and Avery runs off. Nina says, Ava’s been very quiet. Isn’t she going to say congratulations?

Diane tells Carly, here are the people responsible. The person who gave out the insider information, and the person who acted on said information. Carly says, me, and Diane says, ultimately, they are both culpable. From a legal standpoint, not a moral or emotional one. Drew has the option to say Carly acted without his knowledge. That he wasn’t even a participant. That he wasn’t even the one who gave her the insider information. Carly says, in other words, lie, and Diane says, likewise, Carly can say Drew came to her and asked her to purchase stock in Aurora. He gave her no private information; she was just following instructions. Carly says, that’s literally the opposite of what happened, and Diane tells her, she’s just saying this is how Carly can strike a deal with the Feds. She had no private information; no private knowledge. She was just doing a favor for a friend. Carly says, no. Drew wouldn’t do that to her, and she’s not going to do it to him. Diane says, in that case, there is another alternative. She was speaking with a friend in the DA’s office, a trusted source. She had an interesting tidbit to share. They gravitate back to the moss bowl🎍, and Diane says she thinks they can all agree, the SEC is least interested in Carly. Carly says, Drew is definitely the more high profile get, sure, and Diane says, in terms of high profile, a corporate CEO pales in comparison to Sonny Corinthos. Does she know who’s right across the hall from the SEC? The Justice Department. Carly says, no, and Diane says, Carly knows where all the bodies are buried, so if she decides to give them Sonny, she can write her ticket to freedom. I’m shocked at Diane’s suggestion, and Carly says, no. Diane says, even though he’s marrying a woman she can’t stand? and Carly says, he can be marrying Hannibal Lecter for all she cares. She’s not giving up Sonny. Diane says she just wanted to make sure Carly understood the parameters, and Carly says, let’s just focus on her other options, but Diane says, she has none.

Sonny says, they planned to tell Ava first. They didn’t want to spring it on Avery like that, but things happen. Ava says, for better or worse, nothing gets by their daughter these days. She tells them, congrats, and Nina thanks her. Ava asks when Sonny popped the question, and Nina says, last night. Ava asks if Carly knows, and Sonny says, not yet. Ava says, he might want to get on that. She knows Avery. She’s going to tell the mailman, and Donna, and the barista at Charlie’s, and anybody and everybody who will listen. Sonny says, she’s probably right. He’s going to head over there right now. He asks if Nina is all right with Avery, but Ava says she’ll hang around. Nina says she’d like that, and Sonny leaves. Nina says, he’s gone. So does Ava want to tell her what she really thinks?

Sam says, of course (🍷) she believes in Kristina, but Kristina says, it doesn’t sound like it. Sam says, Kristina’s compassion, her vision, her creativity, all of it. Sam wants to see her get the shelter up and running more than anything, but it’s going to be difficult. There’s going to be a lot of hoops to jump through, and she doesn’t think Kristina is getting that right now. For starters, she’s going to be housing a lot of at risk teenagers, who have been emotionally traumatized, possibly exploited, and she’s going to need professionals to help her with that. So instead of picking out colors for paint, she’d hire a psychiatrist as a consultant. Kristina says she knows; she’s getting there. Sam says, it’s like Kristina’s priorities are all in the wrong order, and asks why Alexis isn’t chiming in here. Alexis says she’s trusting that Kristina knows what she’s getting into, and Kristina thanks her. Sam says, they’ve heard this before. Kristina has all of these great ideas and this vision, and then it doesn’t work out the way she wants it to. It’s not because Sam doesn’t believe in her. It’s because Kristina never follows through.

TJ says he doesn’t blame Molly at all, but she says, he was just upset because she didn’t see a doctor. He says he was upset because she was in pain, and he hates that; not because he thinks she’s at fault. She says she feels so guilty. She feels like she let him down. He says, no, but she says she was supposed to carry his baby, now she can’t. He says, she’s not supposed to do anything. Nothing is expected of her. They’re in this together. She tells him, he says that and she knows he really believes it, but it’s different when you’re a woman. She so wanted to give him this gift. To do this thing that women do every single day, and they have been for centuries. And to know that she can’t… He says, we can’t, and she says, except there’s nothing wrong with him. It’s her. She thinks she needs some time to come to terms with that. He asks what he can do, and she says, honestly, nothing. She has to get to work. He asks her not to leave, but she keeps walking and goes out the door.

It’s Curtis’s turn at the heavy bag, and Drew says he must be losing it. He could have sworn Curtis said Jordan. Curtis says he did. They’ve been spending a lot of time together lately, and recently Jordan admitted she still has feelings for him. So now he’s asking himself, did he give up on their marriage too quickly? Drew says, that’s a big question. He can certainly understand why Curtis would be drawn back to Jordan, but has he talked to Portia? Curtis says, about Jordan? but Drew says, no, about him and Portia. Before he starts reevaluating his relationship with his ex, shouldn’t he examine the state of his marriage?

Jordan says, Portia has nothing to apologize for, but Portia says she kinda does. Jordan gave her great advice. She told Portia to tell the truth to Curtis about Trina. If she’d listened to Jordan, if she’d done it sooner… But what did she do? She accused Jordan of trying to break them up. It’s so ironic. Jordan says, the what if game never does anyone any good. In all honesty, she should have never interfered. Portia says she’s glad Jordan did. It’s far messier than she could have imagined, but at least the truth is out. Maybe she should ask Jordan what she should do next. If Jordan were her, how would she save Portia’s marriage?

Curtis tells Drew, Portia’s the one who lied to him. He doesn’t owe her anything. Drew says he agrees, but Curtis just said he’s afraid he ended things too quickly with his ex. Isn’t it possible he’s making the same mistake with Portia? Curtis says he can’t get past it. Every time he’s in the same room as Portia, all he can think about is the dishonesty, and Drew asks how much time they spend together. Curtis says, not much, and Drew says he’s going to stand by Curtis, no matter what, but unless he can say for certain that he doesn’t love Portia anymore… Curtis says, it doesn’t matter. Love or no love, it doesn’t change what she did. Drew says, but it does affect Curtis’s capacity to forgive.

Portia tells Jordan, sorry. She’s going to retract that question. She’s been so worried about Trina, she hasn’t gotten an ounce of sleep. She thanks Jordan for the talk, and starts to leave, but Jordan asks her to wait. She can’t offer advice on Curtis, but she can say this about Trina because she’s been there. Focus on forgiving herself. Mothers are human; they make mistakes too. In time, Trina will see that.

Kristina says she would have expected this from mom, but not Sam. Sam says she wants Kristina to be successful, but Kristina says she doesn’t. Sam just wants to suck the joy out of everything she gets excited about. Alexis says, that’s not true, and Kristina asks if she’s even been listening. Kristina’s phone rings, and Alexis says, both she and Sam are supportive of her. Sam says, absolutely, and Alexis says, if anyone can get this shelter going, Kristina can. Kristina says, now she’s going to be on the call with the contractor, and it’s actually perfect timing. She steps away, and Sam says, that went well. Alexis asks if Sam didn’t come down a little hard on Kristina, but Sam says, Kristina is an adult. She needs to understand what she’s actually getting into. Alexis says she agrees, and Sam says, you could have fooled me. What are they supposed to do? Alexis says, last time she interfered with Kristina’s career, Kristina didn’t speak to her for a month. Sam says, now Kristina isn’t going to speak to her for a month. She probably hates Sam more now. Alexis says, just give her some time, and she’ll value the advice Sam gave her, and Sam says she’s actually proud of how Alexis bit her tongue. Alexis says she’s proud of herself. She’s getting better. She also can’t predict the future, so if that’s the case, why not just have faith?

Diane says, Carly is in a very poor position. Technically, she’s guilty of insider trading. She has two paths that could get her out of it… Carly says, which are non-starters, and Diane says, which leaves Carly holding the bag. Carly says, for her own actions. She wants Diane to do everything in her power to fight these charges, but at the end of the day, it’s her mess, and if she has to pay for it, she will. Diane says, understood. She thanks Carly for the coffee, blows the moss bowl🎍 a kiss, and leaves.

Ava says she already told Nina that she’s happy for her, and Nina says, once more, this time with feeling. Ava asks what Nina wants from her, and Nina says, for starters, the truth. Ava says, does she? The truth is, Nina’s relationship has been a ticking time bomb since she turned Carly into the SEC. Nina asks why Carly shouldn’t pay, and Ava says, because she’s Carly. She doesn’t know how to tell Nina this, but Carly and Sonny have been through everything – the good, the bad, the ugly – for well over twenty years, and Nina’s been in a relationship with Sonny for like, two? Nina says, that shouldn’t matter, and Ava says, but it does. If Sonny finds out that Nina turned Carly in, it’s over forever.

On the phone, TJ leaves a message for Molly, saying, he doesn’t like how their conversation ended. He’s so sorry for all of it, but most of all that she felt alone in this. Just know he loves her and he’s here. Always.

Sam says, Alexis’s support means so much to Kristina. Maybe with this extra boost of confidence she might be able to pull this off. Alexis says, who knows? Stranger things have happened. Don’t tell her sister she said that. Sam says, never.

Drew tells Curtis that he’s sorry. This is such a tough spot. He wishes he could help. Curtis says, he already has, and leaves.

Portia says she can’t tell Jordan how much she appreciates that, but Jordan says, Portia is giving her way too much credit. Portia says she’s not giving Jordan enough credit, but Jordan tells her, stop. She’s not the person Portia thinks she is.

Ava says, there’s really no easy way out of this. Either Nina comes clean, and accepts she and Sonny are over, and maybe they can find their way back to each other in a few years; or she keeps digging the hole she’s digging, and prays she gets to China. Nina says, Ava is right. Because of her stupid, impulsive decision, she planted the seeds to lose both Sonny and Willow. Ava says she’s sorry it’s come to this, and Nina says, so is she. She doesn’t have any other options. She only has one choice. It’s time for the gloves to come off.

There’s a knock at Sonny’s old kitchen door, and Carly says, come in. Sonny walks in.

Tomorrow, Portia asks if Curtis is officially ending things; Jordan tells Anna that there’s a secret weighing on her conscience; and Carly tells Sonny, sometimes the simplest solution is the truth.

👟 Stepping In…

I knew I knew her from somewhere.

Vanderpump Rules – The Reunion – Part 1

FYI, I’m sure I missed a bunch of stuff. There was a lot of yelling and separate conversations going on. That’s why I hate a Reunion. They all talk at once, then start yelling, and I lose track of what’s being said. Anyway, here we go with this sad awfulness.

Andy says, this is a reunion that may be more explosive and dramatic than anything seen in the show’s ten year history.

The players in this season’s triangle did separate interviews with Andy, and we see that first. Andy asks how Sandoval is doing; it’s his final chance to come clean. Sandoval says he’s doing okay, and agrees that he’s the most hated man on television.

Andy asks how Ariana is doing, and she says, better than a few weeks ago. He tells her that she looks great despite what happened (upside!), and asks about her and Sandoval’s current living status. She says, Sandoval is staying in the guest room, and she tries to avoid run-ins with him. They have people running interference and go-betweens.

Andy asks how Raquel is feeling about seeing everyone in a group setting, and true to beauty queen form, she has her prepared response of, she’s preparing for the worst, and hoping for the best.

Andy asks if Ariana has seen or spoken to Raquel, and she says, no. It took Raquel – who she calls Rachel now, as they all do – 48 hours to text her. She told Ariana that she didn’t know what to say, and she was sorry. Ariana told her, f*** off, you f***ing rat, and blocked her.  

Andy asks when Sandoval realized he had feelings for Raquel, and Sandoval says, throughout last year, he started to see who she really was. I’ll refrain from adding who I think that is. Andy asks when they first hooked up, and Sandoval says, they’d been at guys night, then the next time there was a See You Next Tuesday, the show was filming, but they weren’t a part of it. Some of them went to The Abbey that night, and he and Raquel had sex.

Andy asks if Ariana was suspicious, and she says, absolutely not. Andy says, in watching the show, she vehemently stood up for Sandoval, and we flash back to Ariana saying she trusts and loves both Sandoval and Raquel. She says she felt like he was a loyal and committed partner, and she trusted him.

Andy says, Sandoval claims he and Raquel weren’t together when they went glamping, and Sandoval says, after that first time, they took a break. Andy asks when it kicked back up to romance, and Sandoval says, after they went to Life is Beautiful; after they’d wrapped filming. Andy says, before Bravocon. He wonders what Sandoval was thinking when, during his concert, he looked out to see his girlfriend and his mistress (I thank him for using that word, and I’m sure Lala does too) next to each other. Did it get him off? Tom says, no, but I bet it did.

Andy asks Ariana, looking back, are there situations where she wonders how she missed it? and she says, of course. More so with Raquel than Sandoval. They all know men are trash – no offense – but she trusts her girlfriends. This was someone who’d ingratiated themselves in her life. How could they be so close? She’d expect it more from a guy, but she can’t imagine doing that to one of her friends.

Andy asks how Sandoval could cheat on his girlfriend of nine years with one of her closest friends, and Sandoval says, he and Ariana kept their relationship private for many years; they had issues. He felt like her gay BFF, and they put on a front for filming. He even talked to a showrunner about it. We see some unseen footage, where Sandoval tells some guy that he feels guilty. He feels it’s important to talk about sh*t and not pretend it’s all amazing. He doesn’t think it’s fair to the rest of the cast.

Andy asks Ariana if there were elements of the relationship that she and Sandoval were hiding, but she says, she felt they showed everything. Sandoval is framing it now as something else, because he’s desperate to throw anything at the wall, hoping it sticks. He used to coach her like he coached Raquel. They’ve got to get their lies and stories straight, and get their spin right, so they can have matching answers Andy says, it looks like she’s moved on from tears to anger, and she says, the indifference is becoming strong.

Andy asks how Sandoval feels about seeing everyone. He says he’s nervous and scared, but ready to face it.

Schwartz is the first on the set, and Andy asks if he was silent or was silenced. Schwartz says, both. On her way in, Lisa says she feels like she’s dressed like a gladiator, and might need to be. She sees Ariana, and says, that’s a revenge dress if she ever saw one. When Sandoval comes out, Ariana says, he looks like sh*t, and Lala says she hates him. Me too.

Andy says, let’s dive in to the Season 10 Reunion, and introduces everyone – minus Raquel who is not legally allowed in the same room as Scheana, due to a restraining order. We see Raquel watching from her trailer. Lisa says, normally she doesn’t like Reunions, but this one is much needed. Andy asks how Ariana is feeling, and she says, as good as she could be feeling. She did have a great night’s sleep, which she usually doesn’t before a Reunion. Andy asks if it’s Sandoval’s first time seeing the group since news of the affair broke, and Sandoval says, yes. Andy asks how he’s feeling, and he says he’s all over the place. Andy says, it’s the first time Schwartz isn’t sitting next to Katie at a Reunion, and Schwartz says, it’s strange, and kind of sad. He tells Andy that he and Katie put in post-divorce work on their relationship, but Katie disagrees. Andy says, since most women are angry at Sandoval and Schwartz, is James now the number one guy? And James says, it’s not hard to compete with Schwartz and a clown. Andy congratulates Scheana on her wedding, and asks if they’re still in the honeymoon phase. She says, they are, and that Brock cut all his hair off. Andy says, the most burning thing they have to talk about is the affair that happened right under their noses. We flash back to Ally’s interview, where she talked about seeing Sandoval with Raquel at The Abbey, and wondered where Ariana was. Next, we relive Ken saying that Sandoval had Raquel over when Ariana wasn’t home, and then Lala saying Sandoval was with Raquel all day after Ariana’s grandmother died. Andy says, they’ll get in a bit now, and talk about it more when Raquel comes out. He asks if there’s anything Sandoval wants to say, and Sandoval starts sniffling. James tells him to pull himself together, and Ariana says, the sad sack act is f***ing BS. James says, it’s not an audition. He accuses Sandoval of crying crocodile tears, and calls him a p*ssy. Sandoval says he appreciates everybody being there for Ariana, and the world collectively rolls its eyes. He says, no matter what was going on in their relationship, she didn’t deserve to have this happen. Ariana says, nothing happened; he did it. He says he’s sorry for doing the one thing he said he wouldn’t, and he did it in the worst way possible. James and Lala are both unimpressed, and Ariana says, he’s been victim blaming her 100%, and this is bullsh*t. Andy asks if Sandoval is still living in the house, and Sandoval says, off and on. Andy says, when Lala and Randall broke up, she got out quickly, and he asks if Lala thinks this is healthy. Lala says, no. Given ten years, Sandoval is Randall. She couldn’t get Randall to stay home, but once they broke up, she couldn’t get him out. That’s a narcissist, and Sandoval is a dangerous human being. Lisa thinks that’s a ridiculous stance, and Lala says she didn’t ask Lisa’s opinion. When someone does that to a life partner, there’s something wrong with them. Sandoval says, who is she to be judging his character? and she tells him, STFU. Lisa says, they’re here for ten hours. They can’t start like this. Andy asks what Ariana thinks caused the divide, not spending quality time together? but Ariana says, Sandoval f***ing other people. Andy asks if there were more than Raquel, and we flash back to Sandoval telling Scheana about cheating with someone else. Ariana says, Sandoval made these choices, and Andy asks what Sandoval thinks caused the demise of the relationship, and Sandoval says, communication dissipated, but Ariana says, it’s not like they never had conversation. Andy says, Sandoval claimed they hadn’t been intimate in years, but Ariana says, that’s not true. Besides, having intimacy issues doesn’t excuse anything. You work on it or break up. Andy asks if the rest of the group sensed there were significant issues in the relationship. Schwartz nods, and Scheana says, not until recently. She and Lala had a conversation where Lala said she thought something was going on with Sandoval and Raquel. Scheana said, they were fine and in a good place. Andy asks Lala when the conversation happened, and she says, in January. James keeps sending jabs Sandoval’s way, and Sandoval says, he’s been supportive of James. Lala says, Sandoval paid for half of James and Raquel’s engagement, and James says, it just goes to show how much of a friend Sandoval wasn’t. James gets up, and Sandoval tells James to get out of his face. Andy separates them.

During the commercial break, my feelings take the shape of gummi bears, and I eat them.

Sandoval says he stood up for James, and James says, Sandoval is a nobody, nothing, a loser, a backstabbing ho. Sandoval says, if James gets in his face again, he’s going to f*** James up. This is all the provocation James needs, and they have to be separated again. James says he’s going to beat Sandoval’s ass, and Andy tells him to stay in his chair. James says he’s going to the bathroom, and calls Sandoval a worm with a mustache. When James leaves, Sandoval says, James pees on a fire hydrant like a dog, and Raquel is his fire hydrant. Lala tells him to stop bringing in things from 500 years ago. This was Sandoval’s life partner, not Kristen Doute. Stop pulling out the history books. James comes back, and Andy asks why Sandoval didn’t come clean. Lisa says, the million dollar question, and Sandoval says, Ariana was going through a lot, and he didn’t want to add anything. Andy asks when Sandoval told Schwartz, and Schwartz says, in July, Sandoval was saying he wasn’t happy, then after guys night out, he confided in Schwartz the next day. Ariana says, when Charlotte’s body wasn’t even cold, and we flash back to her leaving the girls trip because of Charlotte. Schwartz says, he didn’t know that, and Katie asks when he found out, and Schwartz says, late August. He and Sandoval met up, and Sandoval broke it down for him. Sandoval is like, what? and Lala asks if they didn’t put their timelines together. We see a clip of Andy’s interview with Sandoval, and he says, it was mid to late January. Andy asks if Schwartz knew when he kissed Raquel, but he says, no, and we flash back to that. Andy asks if he had a gut feeling, since he talked about Raquel possibly having a crush on someone else. We flash back to that, and Schwartz says he wasn’t talking about Sandoval. Sandoval had said it was a one night stand, and would never happen again. It was a mistake, alcohol. After that, things went back to normal. Scheana asks if this was before they went glamping, Schwartz says, yes, and we flash back to Schwartz saying Raquel has a type; men that are taken. Schwartz says, Sandoval and Raquel spent an inappropriate amount of time together, and Andy asks why Sandoval encouraged Schwartz and Raquel to make out. Was he a decoy? Sandoval says, absolutely not. After he and Raquel hooked up, he said it was never going to happen again. Lisa says, it’s perverse, and Katie says, it’s a great excuse. Look over here instead of at us. Andy says, Sandoval cheated with Miami Girl early in the relationship, and we flash back to that. Sandoval’s excuse for this is – wait for it – he wanted to feel single one more time before getting serious. Andy asks Ariana why she was forgiving of Miami Girl, and Ariana says, they weren’t exclusive, and she wanted everyone see best in him. Like I said, a lot is going on, and Sandoval brings up Kristen again, but no one cares. Lala tells him, it’s not that serious. It wasn’t like being in a committed relationship, then f***ing his partner’s best friend.  

Andy says, it’s easy to forget that, before the affair, the group was dealing with three seismic breakups; Lala and Randall, James and Raquel, and Schwartz and Katie. He asks what made Katie realize it was the end of the road, and she says, realizing she wasn’t happy, and Schwartz prioritized everyone over her. Schwarz says, prioritizing the bar was a necessity, but Katie says, and everything else; friends, parties, strangers. So she made a choice she didn’t want to. Schwartz says, their intimacy had dwindled, and he was going through a lot, losing his father, his brother, and his money. But he’d never expect Katie to put her feelings on hold to stay with him out of pity. Katie says, they went from being husband and wife to being friends. Looking back, she thinks she’d do it differently, and not be friends right away. Schwartz says, he would have been reasonable had Katie fallen for someone else in the group. When they were still living together, Katie was hooking up. Katie says, Schwartz could have done the same thing, but Schwartz says, the friend code is murky. If the roles were reversed, and she’d made out with Peter, he would have been okay with it. He’s sorry he hurt Katie’s feelings in Mexico, but somehow the kiss was liberating. I don’t necessarily hate Schwartz. I just want to pat him on the head and tell him to go lie down. Lala says, Schwartz felt that way and Raquel was f***ing his best friend the whole time. Sandoval says, one time, but Lala says, it doesn’t matter. Andy says, no one has clean hands except Katie and Lisa. James cheated on Kristen – James points out he was in his early 20s – Ariana was with Sandoval before he broke up with Kristen, Schwartz made out with everyone while he was married, and James and Lala often had something going on. Lala says, none of them were f***ing their best friend’s man, and Andy moves on. He asks where Schwartz and Katie stand in building a friendship, and Katie says, she looks for honesty, respect, and integrity. Schwartz complains that he has to abide by her terms, like that’s unreasonable, and Katie says she’s setting boundaries. James says, staying out of the friend group is the least Schwartz could do out of respect for her as a woman, and Sandoval says, that’s sexist. The world gives a collective blank stare. Andy asks if Jo is a girlfriend to Schwartz, and he says, she’s a friend, although it evolved into a friend with benefits thing. They were both coming out of long term relationships, and were each other’s happy place. Katie says, Jo is a creep and no one likes her, and Schwartz says, Katie is going to get a cease and desist if she doesn’t quit commenting about Jo on social media. We see some comments, but I’m like, eh, grow up. Andy asks Katie if Jo is in the friend group, and Katie says, by proxy. She was a friend of Kristen’s, but she blocked Kristen as soon as she moved in with Schwartz. Andy asks if Jo and Schwartz didn’t double-date with Sandoval and Raquel, but Schwartz says, they just all went snowboarding. James says, Raquel hates snowboarding, and just went to s*ck Sandoval’s d*ck.

Andy asks the Toms how far away they’d thought the opening of Schwartz & Sandy’s was after they had their first party, and Schwartz says, they’d thought the end of August; it was naïve. Andy asks when they ended up opening, and Schwartz tells him, November 2nd. Andy says, the food seemed to be holding them up, and Sandoval says, they’ve been through three chefs. Andy wonders why they just didn’t open the bar with minimal food to start, and Sandoval says, they would have loved to. Lisa says, Greg didn’t want to, and Andy asks how it’s going now. Schwartz says, it’s great. They have good food and gotten good feedback. Lisa says, they didn’t know what they were doing, and why should they, since they’d never done it before. She didn’t like Sandoval saying they didn’t need her, and we flash back to Sandoval’s interview, where he said they were glad not to be under LVP’s thumb. Lisa says she’s done everything to give them a start. She gave them 5% of TomTom. It cost $5 million, they each put in $50K, and she ended up giving it back when they needed the money before Schwartz & Sandy’s opened. It’s a sh*tshow, but she’s been on that side, and it’s not an easy place to be. Andy asks if they took a hit after the news of the affair, and Schwartz says, a little bit. There was boycott momentum at first, but it’s good now. Lala says, people were writing Team Ariana on the tips, and Schwartz admits there was Team Ariana and F*** Tom graffiti in the bathroom. Andy asks if Ariana is going to stop speaking to Lisa since she’s still friendly with Sandoval, and Ariana says, they won’t be as close. Lisa asks what Ariana expects her to do, and Ariana says she doesn’t expect anything from anyone. Andy asks if Ariana thinks Lisa should pull out of the business, and Ariana says, Lisa knows what’s best for he. She’s not someone who should give Lisa business advice. Lisa says, if it comes at a cost of friendship and loyalty… but Ariana says she’ll always love Lisa and support anything she does. It just won’t be a place she frequents. Lisa says she doesn’t want her and the Toms partnership to affect her and Ariana’s friendship. Andy says, Schwartz & Sandy’s wasn’t the only restaurant talked about this season. Ariana and Katie are going to make their bread and butter from a sandwich shop, Something About Her. Ariana says, they haven’t opened yet, but expect o by the end of May. Andy says, they started selling merch after the affair news broke, and Ariana says, they’ve made $200K. They thought they’d do it down the road, but people were asking how they could be supportive. Katie says, they brought Andy a shirt to replace the TomTom hoodie Raquel gave him. Andy says he’s switching gears. Last year, Lala was hard on Brock, and she and Scheana weren’t in a good place. Scheana says she thinks the kids brought them closer together, and they understood what they needed out of a friendship. Lala even bought the house next door to her in Palm Springs. Andy wonders if this is an issue with Katie. Schwartz had said Katie felt she didn’t get the same level of loyalty from Lala as she’s giving Scheana.

Katie says, if the roles were reversed, Lala probably wouldn’t be happy, but she didn’t make it an issue. Lala says she went to Scheana’s wedding, but aborted the mission on a lot of things. The kids were the reason they created the friendship. Katie says she understood that, but in the past, Lala said, anyone who talked to Scheana was dead to her. Andy asks if Scheana feels any differently, since she’d encouraged Schwartz and Raquel to make out. Scheana gets weepy, and says, she got a different perspective when she saw the show, and wishes she’d had more empathy for Katie. What she heard from Raquel about how Katie was treating her took over, and she was watching Raquel’s back. After watching the show, she feels different. Katie isn’t the person Raquel explained to her. She let what Raquel told her be bible, and it took her back to where she was bullied by Katie and Lala. We flash back to that, and Scheana says she felt like she needed to protect Raquel. Lala says, they’re not teaching pre-K; this is Bravo. No one is bullying anyone. Sandoval asks if Lala gets a get-out-of-jail-free card, and Lala tells him, STFU. Both he and Raquel triggered her, and now they know why. Sandoval says, Lala used Raquel as a scapegoat, but Lala says, she sniffed Raquel out a mile away; she moves like a snake. Sandoval says, it takes one to know one, and Lala says, and he has the balls to say, accountability, Katie. Lisa says, Lala has been aggressive in the bast, and Lal tells her not to stick up for Sandoval. Lisa says, she’s not; she’s talking about Lala. Everyone starts talking at once, and James gets up and leaves, saying, he’s not listening to this sh*t. In her trailer, Raquel says, oh my God.  

Next time – Part Two – Schwartz says, Katie has a history of diminishing his friendships; more of the one-on-one interviews; and Raquel joins the group.

🍸 Having My Own Kiki…

See you tomorrow for soap and recovery from this awful VanderMess. Until then, stay safe, stay bringing in ‘da noise and ‘da funk, and stay just having faith, since you can’t predict the future.

May 4, 2023 – More Rescue Comes To Greenland, Replacement, It’s a Wrap, Striking, VanderBits, All About That Met, Runway Roach, That Cat & Cantina

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Sonny meets Nina at Kelly’s, and asks if she’s thinking about Willow. She asks if it’s that obvious, and he says, Willow is Nina’s daughter; they’re all thinking about her. She says she doesn’t suppose he has news, and he says, on Liesl and everybody else? No, unfortunately. But he’s been doing some digging on who tipped off the SEC about Carly and Drew’s insider trading. (D’oh!) She asks what he found.

Carly tells TJ, it was exhaustion, right? First, there was all the excitement from the wedding, then the SEC showing up. The whole day sapped Willow of her energy. That’s why she passed out, right? TJ says, it could be exhausting for sure, especially for someone in her condition, and Michael says, but? TJ says he’s afraid it’s more than that.

Dex and Josslyn spoon on her bed, while looking at her laptop. She closes it, and says she’s sorry. She knows they put this on for distraction. Between Trina and Willow, now her mom and Drew… He says he gets it. It’s too much. She says, what if Drew and Liesl don’t make it back? and he says, one thing he learned in the military is, you have to hold onto hope, even in the worst of circumstances. You never know when the tide can shift. She says, could it shift now, please? Hope. He says, it’s powerful, and she says, then she’ll hold onto it, and pray Drew gets everybody home safely. He has to. Willow’s life depends on it.

Somewhere in Greenland. Spencer says, his grandmother is on the island with Drew, and Curtis says he’ll find them, come hell or high water. Trina says she knows Spencer’s grandmother is supposed to be a badass, but she faked out Victor Cassadine? Curtis says, it almost makes you feel sorry for the guy. Almost.

Victor tells his goons to stand down, and Drew says, very wise. Victor says, if Laura drops it, she dies, and Laura says, but so does he. She’s thinking it just might be worth it.

Helena says, there’s no way out, at least not earthly, and Valentin says, death. She says, what is death but another country? Come my son, let me take you away from everything, and everyone.

Victor says, Laura has no idea the power she has in her hands right now, and she holds up the vial, saying, she thinks she does. He tells her, then think of Willow. If Liesl dies, so does her innocent niece. Laura says, better to lose one innocent life than a whole world of them. She lifts the vial higher and away from herself, and he asks what she’s doing. She says, saving humanity.

Carly asks, what made Willow collapse tonight? but TJ says, Dr. Randolph is the specialist. He doesn’t want to say too much before they speak with her. Michael says he trusts TJ, and more important, Willow trusts him. Just tell them what’s going on. TJ says, Willow has some bleeding that’s not clotting, and Michael says, because of her low blood cell count. TJ says, they’ll be giving her something to get it under control, but all of this is an indication that her body’s breaking down, and she can’t produce enough cells to fight it. Michael says, they all get that they’re running out of time. Most important, he needs to know, what are they going to do about it?

Josslyn tells Dex that she keeps thinking about Willow’s wedding. For a while, nothing else mattered. Just the way they looked at each other, and the promises they made. What if Drew and Liesl don’t make it back in time? I think about how much I like Josslyn’s sweater, and Dex says, Drew Cain is an ex-Navy SEAL, remember? Those guys more than anyone know how to finish the job. She says she believes Drew’s going to get everybody home safe, but when he does, he and her mom have the SEC breathing down their necks. He says, Sonny’s working on that, and she says, that’s great. Sonny’s got the SEC following a false trail, and bought some more time – for now. But even if everything works out, and everything goes according to plan, Sonny’s going to end up in prison. Is Dex having second thoughts about that?

Sonny tells Nina, so far he’s come up empty, but whoever tipped off the SEC about Carly and Drew is going to be uncovered. He has his contacts at the SEC, and they’re trying to figure out what kind of case they have against Drew. That’s if he comes back. She tells him not to say that. Drew has to bring everybody back. He has to bring Aunt Liesl back, or else Willow… He says he’s praying for that. She knows he prays. But the SEC isn’t going to wait for Carly. She asks if they might charge Carly even without Drew here, and he says he doesn’t know about the rest of them, but he’s going to make sure Carly isn’t left holding the bag. She says, what if that’s not possible?

Hersley says, come on, Scorpio, as he takes Robert to the elevator, Felicia trailing them. Robert says, let him talk to the director, but Hersley says, if he’s referring to Frisco Jones, he’s been replaced. If Robert means the new director, he’s not taking Robert’s calls. Robert tells Hersley to call him. Tell him to abort the mission before the Bureau bombs that island. Hersley asks if he needs to remind Robert that he’s under arrest, and Robert asks if he needs to remind Hersley there are lives at stake. Felicia says, innocent lives, but Hersley says, there’s nothing he can do about that. Come on. Jordan and Diane come out of the elevator, and Diane says, sorry. She’s afraid DA Scorpio isn’t going anywhere. He tells her, says who? and Jordan tells him, says me.

Spencer says, his grandmother is more than a match for Uncle Victor, but it’s not going to be a fair fight. This place is crawling with guards. Curtis says, let him worry about Laura. The three of them, get to safety. Spencer says he’s not leaving his grandmother behind, but Curtis says, that’s exactly what he’s going to do. There’s a seaplane waiting offshore on the east side of the island. Just get there, and get the hell out of here. Trina says, what about him? but he says he’ll be fine. She says, he doesn’t know that. She can’t lose him now. Not before they even know if she’s his… She hugs him.

Victor says, Laura may be willing to die, but he doubts these two are. Drew says, Victor couldn’t be more wrong, and Obrecht says, Laura needs to know something… Victor says, silence her, and the goon holding her puts his hand over her mouth. Laura asks if Victor really thinks she’d hold her own life more precious than the lives of her children and grandchildren, and he says, very well. If she’s determined to play the role of a martyr, go ahead. Do it. Die for her cause before he kills her for it. She drops the vial, and it smashes on the floor.

Nothing happens, and Victor says he’s sorry. Did he forget to mention the pathogen has to be activated by UV light. Good old fashioned sunshine. Otherwise, it’s quite harmless. Isn’t that right Liesl? (Um… so how is Valentin infected? It’s been dark since they got there. Just saying.) Obrecht says she tried to warn Laura, and Victor says, sorry. Her martyrdom is just going to have to wait for another day. He tells the goon holding Obrecht that they need to keep the good doctor breathing long enough to test the antidote on their guinea pig.

Valentin says he’s not going anywhere with Helena, but she says, he’s dying. It’s time to accept reality. He was never good enough. Not for Anna, not for anyone. He says, that’s not true, and she says, they’ll all be better off without him. He doubles over in pain, and she says, there, there. It won’t be long now.

Curtis says, Trina’s not going to lose him, but they need to get out of here right now. Trina says, there’s a satellite phone behind the bar. She can call Jordan on the way, and tell her to send help. She runs behind the bar, and Curtis says, he doesn’t have to tell Spencer how hugely important that young lady is to him. He’s counting on Spencer to get her out of here to safety. The pilot has orders to take off as soon as they’re on board. Do not wait for him, no matter how much Trina begs him. Understood? He needs to know he can trust Spencer. Spencer nods, and Trina says she’s got it. Curtis says, it’s time to move. Be smart, and be safe. Trina says, that goes double for him, and he kisses the top of her head. He starts to leave, and Trina says, she knows everything is uncertain right now, but she… He says he knows. Him too. He jets.

Carly asks TJ if there’s anything they can do for Willow. Just name it and it’s done. TJ says he defers to whatever Dr. Randolph thinks is best, and raising his voice, Michael says, Dr. Randolph isn’t here… Sorry. TJ tells him not to apologize, and Michael says, just tell him what to do so he can bring Willow home. TJ says, that’s just it; he doesn’t think Willow should go home. Not if they want to buy her more time. Michael says, of course (🍷) that’s the goal, and Carly asks if hospice is an option. TJ says, it’s always an option. They will definitely keep Willow comfortable as she transitions. Michael says, transitions? To death? TJ says he hates this too, and Carly says, what if she stays here? TJ says, then they can treat her symptoms as they develop. She has a chance of surviving until Drew gets here, but he’s not going to lie. Willow will be in a great deal of pain. Her enlarged lymph nodes are putting pressure on her organs. Michael says he brings his wife home to die comfortably or she stays in the hospital, suffering to survive, or maybe not, and TJ says, it’s a horrible choice. Carly says, but one he has to make.

Dex asks, what makes Josslyn think he’s having second thoughts? and she says, because he sees something in Sonny that she and Michael don’t. And she gets it. She used to see it too. It’s not as easy to turn Sonny in as he thought, is it? He says, Michael hired him to do a job, and he intends to finish it. The job, if he hadn’t taken, would have never brought him to her. She says, so no regrets, and he says, it’s not a regret to admit two things can be true. (GH’s favorite phrase.) She says, such as? and he says, Sonny’s breaking Federal law, violating the NSA, and deserves to be in prison. He also saved Dex’s life when he didn’t have to. So when the Feds come for Sonny, he’s going to feel bad, but his part in this is over. He got the footage and gave it to Michael. It’s in her brother’s hands now.

Sonny says he could kill Ned for putting Carly and Drew in this position, and Nina says, Ned? He says, that’s what the Quartermaines do. Michael’s distracted, Valentin and Drew are off the grid, so Ned is going to make his move. She says, it’s a good thing the SEC didn’t hold Carly overnight, and Sonny says he bought Drew some time also. She says, it’s really wonderful of him. She’s sure Michael and Carly were very grateful. He says he’s not looking for a pat on the back, and she says, of course (🍷) he’s not. That doesn’t mean she can’t give him one. He says, here’s the thing. He’s going to do everything he can for his family. He doesn’t care what’s going on between them. If somebody messes with one of us, they mess with all of us. He’s telling her right now, if Ned had anything to do with it, he’d better brace himself. Nina says she’s been thinking about what he said about flying down to the islands, and he says, she told him that she didn’t want to go. She says she reconsidered. How soon can they leave? He says he thought she didn’t want to go with everything happening with Willow, and she says she’s a little uneasy about it, but he made a point when he said they could get back to Port Charles in a few hours. She thinks they need a little time alone to recharge and regroup. When they get back home, they’ll be more ready to help whoever needs them. She knows he’s dealing with a big business thing. Is that going to stop him from getting away? He says he took care of it, and she asks if that’s a yes. He tells her to let him make a call. If I were Nina, I’d head to Nixon Falls right about now, and never look back.

Josslyn tells Dex that she doubts Michael is going to call the Feds on Sonny any time soon. He’s so focused on Willow. Dex says, totally understandable, and she says, but it’s not great for him. He says, until Michael puts Sonny away, he’s always going to be looking over his shoulder, wondering if it’s the end, if Sonny’s onto him. Who wants to live like that? She says, not her, and he says, him either. She says, still, for this last little bit of time, before all hell breaks loose, and her whole family is divided between Team Sonny and Team Michael, she’s just going to enjoy the peace. And she’s so glad she gets to enjoy it with him. She kisses him, and his phone rings. He looks at it, and she says, what’s wrong? He shows her it’s Sonny calling, and he says, boss. Sonny says, Brick is using his jet, and he needs Dex to call a private airstrip and have them charter a plane as soon as possible. He’ll send Dex the contact information. Dex says, destination? and Sonny says, paradise. Josslyn asks what he wanted, and Dex says, a plane out of town… tonight. She says, he doesn’t think Sonny knows what he and Michael are planning, but he says, no. If Sonny was onto him, he’d be the one leaving town, and Sonny would make sure he never came back.

TJ says, Michael and Willow are married now, so while she’s unconscious, what happens next is up to him. Michael says, Willow wouldn’t want to die in the hospital. The lights, the sounds, she hates it all so much. Carly says she knows Michael wants to respect that, but what if keeping her here means she doesn’t die? Michael says, there are so many variables, none of which he has any control over. He doesn’t know. He has to think. He walks off, and Carly thanks TJ for being so steady around Michael. She knows it’s torture for him too. He says he just wishes he could do more, for both of them. She says, they all do. She wants to be strong for Michael, but most of the time, she just wants to curl in a ball. He says, but she doesn’t. That’s what matters. She’s here by Michael’s side, offering any support he needs. He’s lucky to have her. She says, he’s lucky to have TJ too. They all are.

Sitting by Willow’s bedside, Michael says he hates the thought of Willow being in more pain. It’s the second to the last thing he wants. He takes her hand and wonders how they got here. He flashes back to Willow saying, they’re getting married. She’s going to be his wife. She knows they have this scary thing looming over them, but she doesn’t want it to overshadow the fact they’re marrying each other, and they love each other. Whether they get 60 hours or 60 years, he’s her guy. He remembers telling Willow that it’s the last time he’s going to see her before she becomes his wife, and he wants to remember this moment. She says she’ll never forget it. He flashes back to their wedding, and telling her that he’s grateful for her friendship and her courage, her love and compassion. And most important, how she’s been such an amazing mother to Wiley, and now Amelia. The fact that he gets to call her his wife… Willow says, Michael?

Josslyn tells Dex that he needs to be really careful. Nothing gets past Sonny, and if he’s starting to suspect… He says he’ll be careful, when her phone rings. She says, mom? and Carly says, it’s Willow. Josslyn asks, what happened?… She’s on her way. She tells Dex that Willow’s been taken to the hospital, and he says he’ll drive her, but she says, he has to stay here and deal with Sonny, and she has to be with her family. He says he’ll walk her out, and she says, that she’ll take him up on.

Hersley says, this is a matter of national… no, international security. Jordan has no jurisdiction here. Diane says, that’s actually for a judge to decide, a precedent set by Chandler versus the United States. Robert says he just loves when she talks precedents, and Hersley says, this is Felicia’s doing, isn’t it? Felicia says she has faith in Mayor Collins and her friends. Just give them a chance to come through. Hersley says, faith is nice, but those bombs are a sure thing, and Diane says, the only sure thing in his future is a discussion about DA Scorpio’s civil rights. She would take those handcuffs off him, unless Hersley wants them to be part of that discussion. By all means, contact his superiors. She of course (🍷) will be contacting the Federal District Court. Hersley takes the cuffs off Robert, and leaves with Diane. Jordan tells Robert, she hates to say it, but Hersley may be right. If Laura and the rest of them fail… Felicia says, they won’t, and Robert says, it won’t matter unless he can talk that new director into calling off the drone strike.

Trina thinks the baby is going to need another blanket, but Spencer tells her to wait. He doesn’t like the idea of her going off on her own right now. She says, two minutes; he can time her. She leaves, and Spencer bounces Ace, saying, it’s just us, buddy. Just him, and Ace… He hears something, and says, that was fast. He turns to see the creepy nanny, and says, she’s not Trina. She says she most certainly isn’t, and he says he doesn’t think he ever got her name. She says, no, but she knows his, young Mr. Cassadine, and he and that baby aren’t going anywhere.

Victor says, Drew is now useless to him, and Goon143 shoves Drew to his knees. An alarm goes off, and Victor wonders, what’s that? Laura asks if Drew brought a plus one, and Drew says he thought she did. Victor says he knew there were more of them, and tells the Goon Squad to kill them. Something blows up in the hallway, and there’s smoke everywhere. Everyone ducks down, and Anna comes in with a gun.

There’s some shooting back and forth, and Victor says, go get her. Goon231 runs out.

Creepy nanny says, there’s plenty of security on this ship. Nice big fellows who can stop Spencer from leaving. (Ha-ha! Ace looks worried – baby acting!) But they don’t want the baby involved in the struggle, so why doesn’t he just hand Ace over? Spencer says he has a better idea. Why doesn’t she go back to the stateroom, and forget she ever saw them. She says, the senior Mr. Cassadine hired her to take care of the baby. She won’t disappoint him. She puts on the radio, and says, anyone on this channel, there’s been a breach… Trina whacks her over the head from behind, and she goes down. Trina says, less than two minutes? and he says, her timing’s perfect.

Carly tells TJ that Josslyn should be here any moment, and he asks how she’s handling everything. Carly says, like mother, like daughter, when Josslyn comes out of the elevator. She puts on a brave face, but like everyone else, she’s terrified. Josslyn asks who Carly is calling terrified, and they hug. Josslyn says, Carly’s right; she’s terrified. Carly says, her too.

Michael asks how Willow is feeling, and she says she’s okay, she thinks. What happened? He says, she passed out, and he took her to the hospital. She says, they were talking about Sonny, and he says, they’re done with that conversation, he promises. But first… She says, they need to focus on her health, and he says, she needs that transplant. She says she really wants to be home with him and the kids, and he says he wants that too; all of them do. But her best chance, her only chance, is to stay here in the hospital.

Sonny says, they’re going to go by Nina’s place, pick up her clothes, put them in a bag, and go to the airstrip. She says, sounds perfect, and he says, she doesn’t have to bring a lot of clothes, right? She says, is that so? and he says, it is so. They kiss, when Dex walks in, and says, everything’s been arranged, but there’s been a development. Sonny says, with the plane? but Dex says, with Willow.

Helena tells Valentin, don’t fight it. The pain will soon be over. He says he’ll take complete agony over eternity with her, and she says, such a waste. She could have made a legend out of him. Instead, he’s just one more corpse.

Anna and Drew fight with Victor’s goons, and Laura reaches for the cannister on the lab table, but Victor puts a gun to her head, and says, don’t.

Nina asks Dex, what about Willow? Did she have another episode? Dex says he doesn’t have any details, and she says, whatever he knows. Please. He says, Carly called Josslyn, and said Willow collapsed and was rushed to GH. Joss went to meet her mom; he came straight here. Sonny says, call the airstrip and cancel the flight, and tells Nina, let’s go.

Josslyn asks if Willow is going to be okay, but Carly says she doesn’t know. Her only chance is a transplant. Josslyn says, and they can’t have that without Liesl, and Carly wonders where they are. Josslyn says, she still hasn’t heard from Drew? and Carly says, they have to be okay, and they have to come home now. Josslyn asks how much time they have, and Carly says, not enough.

Willow asks what Dr. Randolph says, and Michael says he hasn’t talked to her. It’s TJ’s opinion that if she wants to hold on until Drew and Liesl get home, she’s got to stay in the hospital for treatment. She says she can come in every day, but he says, they want her constantly monitored so they can treat any symptoms that may arise in real time. She says, assuming Drew and Liesl come back in time… but he says, they can’t think that way. They’re going to come back. And there’s a whole team of specialists here who are in her corner, who want to keep her alive, but it starts with her. She has to do her part. Willow says, and her part is spending what could be her last days away from her family, but Michael tells her that he’ll bring Wiley and Amelia here whenever he can. He knows this goes against everything she wanted, but they’re down to the wire. This is their last shot. Please tell him that she’ll take it.

Spencer tells Trina, the nanny from hell is locked in the stateroom. She’s going to have a nasty headache when she wakes up, but she’ll be okay. They hear shooting, and Trina asks what they do. He tells her, they do what Curtis said. They have to get his brother to safety. The seaplane isn’t going to wait for them forever. She tells Spencer that she has to call Jordan, and hands him the baby.

There’s more fighting with Anna and Drew, and Victor tells Laura, step away. Anna gets hit hard.

Josslyn asks how Carly is holding up. She’s the one who got drug out of a wedding by the SEC. Carly says she cares about the charges, but she cares more about Willow and Michael, and what they’re going through. Willow was weak before, let’s hope this SEC situation doesn’t push her past her breaking point. (Um… I don’t think that’s what did it. Throwing mental guilt darts at Michael.) Josslyn says, that’s on Ned, and Carly says, what he did was vindictive and cruel, and she honestly didn’t expect it from him. Josslyn asks if she thought there were lines he wouldn’t cross, and Carly says she guesses she did. She knows the Quartermaines play dirty; they blackmail each other over their morning coffee. But the way everyone rallied around Michael and Willow for the wedding, she thought it was sincere. Now, when Willow’s waiting for a transplant, it’s thoughtless and reckless. She really didn’t think this was Ned, but maybe it is. What is she talking about? She’s the one who gave him the opening. It’s all on her. Josslyn protests, but Carly says, it is. Drew and Michael separately and together begged her not to get involved. They didn’t want her to buy any Aurora stock, but she did because she had to help. So much for helping. Josslyn says, so buying that stock wasn’t great, and Carly says, it was terrible. Josslyn says she understands, but Carly was just trying to help someone she loved. Intentions matter. Carly says, they sure do; the road to hell’s paved with them. Josslyn says, what Carly set out to do was good. What Ned set out to do was harmful. Carly was just trying to help someone she loved, and Ned wanted to inflict damage. Carly says, Ned called in the SEC because her and Drew’s actions made them vulnerable. Josslyn says, that’s awful, but she’s having a hard time believing Ned wanted them to show up at the wedding. Carly says can’t believe anyone would want to do that to Michael and Willow; ruin their special day. Josslyn says, their special day wasn’t ruined. Carly saw the looks on their faces when they exchanged their vows. They were so happy and they were so in love, and she genuinely believes that’s what’s going to get Willow to hold on. Carly says she wants to believe that too, when Josslyn’s phone rings. She says, it’s Dex, and steps away. She asks if everything is okay, and he says, everything’s fine. He just saw Sonny and Nina, and thought she’d want to know. Sonny and Nina walk in, and she says, they’re coming to the hospital. He says he takes it they’re already there, and she says, they just got here. He says, sorry there wasn’t more of a heads up. Sonny and Nina walk over to Carly, and they give each other soap looks.

Willow tells Michael, if Drew is putting his life on the line to bring Liesl back to them, then she needs to do whatever she can to make the risk worth it. He says, so she’ll stay and fight? and she says, with everything in her.

Anna rallies, and totally kicks the ass of the goon who punched her. Victor tells Obrecht that they’re leaving. Laura says, Victor, and he says, goodbye, Laura, shooting her. She falls, and he hustles Obrecht out the door. Goon47 points his gun at Anna, but a shot from somewhere downs him. Anna sees Curtis, and says, good shot. He says, thanks. Is she okay. She says she is, and he goes to Laura, who’s already up. She says she’s okay; it’s just a graze. Drew asks where Victor is, and Laura says, he took Obrecht, and the pathogen, and ran out. Curtis goes after them.

Trina asks if Jordan can hear her, and Jordan says she can. Where is she? Trina says, on the Haunted Star with Spencer and Ace, and Jordan says, listen to her. She has to get off that boat now. Trina says, they know, but… Jordan says, there are drones on their way to drop bombs on the entire island, and they have no way to stop them. Take the baby and get to the seaplane before it’s too late.

Outside, Victor tells Obrecht, come on. Keep moving. They’re going to leave just the way they came; get moving. He pushes her along, and I think, why do they always have to give their captive a push? A voice says, going somewhere? and Victor turns to see Holly with a gun pointed at him. Obrecht smiles.

Anna comes back with Drew, who says, they have the guards tied up in the hall; they’re not going anywhere. Anna tells Drew that he has to go after Victor. He can’t escape with the pathogen. Drew jets, and Anna asks Laura, where’s Valentin? Laura says, he’s in the isolation room. Victor used him as a test subject for the pathogen. Anna says, oh my God, and runs out. Laura says, let’s find Trina and Spencer now, and as she and Curtis pass a computer screen, Laura looks at it. It’s got some staticky lines going in and out, and it’s making noises like dial-up used to. Curtis says, what’s that? and Laura says she knows that sound. She looks pretty worried.

Helena tells Valentin, let go. Doesn’t he trust his mother? He says, there’s only one person he trusts with his life. He cries, and says, there’s only one. He looks up, and sees Anna looking through the window. He smiles.

Curtis says, they have to get out of here and catch up with the others before that seaplane takes off without them, but Laura says, they can’t go right now. He says, why not? and she says, this computer. It’s like the one that controlled Mikkos’s weather machine. The one from forty years ago.

So it is dial-up.

Tomorrow, Willow wants to see someone; Anna won’t let Valentin die; Trina says she’s not leaving Spencer; Holly tells Victor that he failed again; and Victor says, he could have fixed the world if it hadn’t been for those meddling kids. Okay, not really on that last one, but I want it so much.

🔃 Wait, What…?

Apparently, we’re getting a new Kristina.

🦸🏽 It Was the Pathogen…

It would be awesome if the pathogen turned Valentin into a superhero. In his off-time, he’s halfway there.

📝 Strike That…

I suppose it comes down to how long the strike goes on.

But in a pinch, you can watch this.

🍸 A Little Bit Of Scandoval In Your Life…

Small favors.

Sandoval’s picture is next to cliché in the dictionary.

💃🏾 To the Met and Beyond…

The fashion.

https://okmagazine.com/p/new-york-socialite-kamie-lightburn-dishes-best-met-gala-looks/

https://www.instyle.com/met-gala-2023-red-carpet-7480093

https://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/fashion/g43757161/best-worst-dressed-met-gala-2023/

https://www.eonline.com/photos/36008/met-gala-2023-red-carpet-fashion

In case you need explanation.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/who-was-karl-lagerfeld-2023-met-gala-theme-explained/

After the ball is over.

https://people.com/style/met-gala-2023-afterparty-outfits/

🪳 Uninvited Guest…

But who was he wearing?

https://www.etonline.com/cockroach-goes-viral-after-crashing-the-2023-met-gala-red-carpet-203807

🐱 Best Thing Ever…

And of course, the cat.

https://people.com/pets/choupette-cat-responds-met-gala-outfits-jared-leto-doja-cat/

🧺 Bringing Out the Sheaves…

Set a spell tomorrow for some soap, freshly brewed tea, words of importance (or not), and music for May. Until then, stay safe, stay respecting other people’s time and not being late, and stay holding onto hope, even in the worst circumstances. You never know when the tide can shift.