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January 31, 2025 – Lulu Confesses Her Love For Dante, Soap Suds, This Week In Reality, Weekend Watching, Performing, Animal Tales, An Even Number Of Short Quotes & Mountain

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What I Watched Today

(The whole GH enchilada & entertainment minutiae on Fridays)

General Hospital

Monday:

Tara from Turning Woods had info for Elizabeth, but when she and Lucky showed up, Tara was out sick. Natalia told Lucy that she could land an account in LA, but the contact only wanted to meet with her and the silent partner – i.e. Sonny. Kristina went to see Sonny and asked him if everything was okay since he didn’t show up at Charlie’s. She said they had to keep Avery away from Ava and she’d decided to testify at the custody hearing. Anna told Jason about Sidwell being in Port Charles. She asked if he or Sasha were willing to go on record about Sasha’s kidnapping.

Curtis told Nina that Drew was going to undermine the company in congress if he didn’t get his stock back. Chase visited Willow, who whined about Drew being ostracized by his family. Drew met with Martin and told him that Monica wasn’t speaking with him. He was her first truly lost cause, and he wondered if he’d ever really been a part of the family. Anna told Jason not to go after Sidwell on his own. Lucky told the Turning Woods rep that Cyrus wanted a list of his patients who had died so he could send condolences to the family. Curtis told Nina that things had a way of getting out and encouraged her to tell Willow that she’d been sleeping with Drew. Drew told Martin, if they thought banning him from the Quartermaine grounds would keep him from Willow, they had another thing coming.

Jason told Anna that he couldn’t stand by and do nothing. Mr. Furner came in while Lucky and Elizabeth were there. Lucky distracted him by threatening a lawsuit while Elizabeth waited for the printout. Chase told Willow that he and Brook were trying to have a baby.  Nina told Curtis that she’d made the devil’s bargain with Drew. She couldn’t tell Willow about Drew, nor he about her. She hoped with time, Willow would trust her more than Drew. Curtis said he had a plan and needed Nina’s help. Anna said the best way of getting Sidwell was to get criminal charges that would stick, but Jason said he had to do it for Michael.

Natalia conferred with Sonny about the LA trip. Anna asked if Jason could guarantee he would be the only target for retaliation. He could break the cycle of violence by not retaliating. Curtis told Nina that he wanted to sabotage Drew’s connections in DC. Chase showed Willow his lab results and she told him to see his doctor. According to the results, he couldn’t father a child.

Tuesday:

Ned told Tracy to show some respect to Willow or she’d be out on her high-class derriere. Tracy said two fingers of bourbon for everyone, and no one was leaving until they figured out what to do.

Felicia took Anna for a manicure and told Anna that she’d seen Emma clubbing. Emma joined them and Anna questioned her. Emma said, it wasn’t a spa day; it was an interrogation. Carly couldn’t figure out Jack’s angle. He said when he first came to Port Charles, he was on a mission. He had no intention of pursuing her until she visited him in prison. He considered her a friend, not an asset. Kai told Trina that his vertebrae was cracked, and he couldn’t play football because he’d risk a spinal injury. She suggested he talk to her mom. Portia told Alexis that Sam had been murdered and how they came to that conclusion. It had been a pattern. Alexis said she wasn’t leaving it to the police and was going to find answers.

Ned said the mess was all on Drew and they should give Willow a chance to create distance. Tracy said they had to make rules and asked what Chase thought. Brook told Lois that she was able to have a baby. Lois asked if she regretted giving her baby up, and Brook said it was the hardest choice she ever made, but she never regretted it. Chase said Willow was a good person and they should respect her. Tracy said Drew would use Willow to his own ends, but Ned said, if they pushed things, Willow would run back to him. Sasha said Tracy was being dramatic, then Tracy screamed because she saw a mouse. She said Sasha was out if she didn’t climb up and get it (like the mouse wasn’t in Chicago after Tracy screamed), but Sasha said she wasn’t climbing anywhere because she was pregnant, quickly adding, it’s not Cody’s.

Sasha said if anyone had complaints or judgements, oh well, and Gio said he didn’t grow up with a father and turned out fine. Alexis talked to Isaiah about Sam. Trina asked Portia to talk to Kai. Anna said Emma was allowed a social life, but not allowed to lie to her and sneak around. Emma said she’d been to a fundraiser and wondered, since when was Anna so uptight? Jack offered to have Michael’s cultures forwarded to Germany from the WSB to expedite things for Carly.

Tracy wondered why they offered daycare to everyone, and Ned said she’d just kidnapped two more. Portia said Kai wasn’t necessarily sidelined. Anna said there was a difference between uptight and responsible, and she was the latter. Emma said she never saw Anna because she worked so much. Carly called Felicia about the cultures, and Felicia told her to proceed with caution when it came to Jack.

Emma made a deal that if she got straight A’s, Anna would go clubbing with her. Jason asked Sasha if Michael knew about the baby. Chase told Brook that his tests came back, and he couldn’t get her pregnant. Portia suggested Kai get a second opinion from a specialist in sports medicine. Kai said Trina’s mom was amazing and he knew where she got it from. Alexis said she wasn’t going to stop until she found the killer. Jack went to the hotel spa and Felicia warned Carly that Jack had an agenda, but Carly said Jack was intriguing and she wanted to know more. Valentin showed up at the spa to kill Jack.

Wednesday:

Chase told Brook that he was sterile and couldn’t be a father. Olivia and Lois took Tracy for a manicure to destress. Sasha told Jason that Michael knew she was pregnant, and he was the father, but they had a deal that he’d stay out of it. At the hospital, Anna told Lulu that she was glad no one was hurt in Prague. Lulu said she was glad her daughter didn’t get shot a second time. Valentin pretended to be a masseuse and tried to strangle Jack while he was on the table.

At the Quartermaine mansion, Emma told Gio that she wanted to do a fundraiser to stop animal testing. She wanted him to play at it because something classic and boring would get the old people and boomers to contribute. Olivia said asking invasive and intrusive questions was Tracy’s love language, but she should let up on Sasha. Martin came into the beauty salon and said, good luck with that. Sasha said it was none of Jason’s business, but he said Michael had a right to know. Anna said she didn’t have the words to tell Lulu how sorry she was, but Lulu said she could see how it was an accident because of the circumstance. She thought Valentin was dangerous and bad things happened when he was around. Carly went looking for Jack at the spa.

Anna said she had an eye open for Valentin, and Lulu thanked her. Gio agreed to play at Emma’s fundraiser, but wondered if it was a scam to get extra cash. Jason told Sasha that Michael had asked for her and thought it was because he knew she was carrying his child. Sasha said if he wanted to help Michael, make sure no one else found out. Chase didn’t want Brook to miss out on the experience of being pregnant, but she said she loved him more than anything and they’d get through it together. Tracy said Martin would defend anyone and she’d been trying to protect the kids. He said she had a bad habit of rolling over people’s lives and just wanted to hurt Drew. Lulu told Dante that she was the best judge of what she could do, but he said, obviously not. Carly heard a noise in Jack’s room, but an employee said it was nothing.

Jack was lying on the floor when Carly came in and cracked something over Valentin’s head. Chase said he didn’t deserve Brook, but she said he was stuck with her. Emma said she was sick of people treating her cause like it was a joke, and Gio said he was only kidding. She said she’d volunteered for a shelter when she was younger. Some puppies were bought by a lab, and it stayed with her. Cody showed up looking for Tracy. He wanted to apologize for missing their ride, but Gio said she was pretty upset, so Cody should wait on that. Martin said just because Tracy disliked someone didn’t make them disreputable, and Brook called Lois, asking her to come home. Portia told Anna about the pattern of suspicious patient deaths and that someone had injected the patients with a large, unprescribed dose of digitalis that resulted in a heart attack. Carly told Jack to wake up or she’d tell the world he died wearing his bathrobe, and told the employee to call an ambulance.

Brook told Lois about Chase and said she felt like her soul was broken. Gio told Cody about Sasha being pregnant and Jason promised not to tell anybody that Michael was the father. Sasha had no doubt Willow would use her pregnancy against Michael, and she’d do what it took to keep her baby away from the Q’s. She also wanted Sonny to be kept in the dark. Anna told Portia about the Angel of Death syndrome, but Portia said two of the cases involved healthy patients, Sam and Dex. Lulu said she was no longer helpless, but Dante said she was human and had limits. She said he focused on someone else to ignore his own pain and didn’t want to think about losing Sam. Jack said he was fine and the WSB would handle Valentin. Carly asked what he was going to do now, but he said, that’s classified.

Jack made a call to have Valentin killed on sight. Tracy asked what Martin’s problem was with her, and he said she had an obnoxious misguided sense of entitlement. She felt entitled to judge him and Willow and had prevented him from having a relationship with Lucy. Tracy said he should thank her instead of ruining her zen. Lois said Brook and Chase could be as sad as they wanted for as long as they wanted. Brook said Chase suggested IVF, but he was just sacrificing his feelings for her. She thought she should tell him that she’d been pregnant before. Dante said he didn’t blame Lulu for Sam’s death and she asked what he was doing for himself. She knew her presence was a complication in his life. He said he’d never be sorry she was here. Anna asked to talk to Dante. Jason said Sasha didn’t have to do it on her own and he was on her side.

Anna told Dante that Sam was murdered. Sasha let Jason feel the baby move. Carly and Jack kissed.

Thursday:

Hitting the heavy bag, Chase flashed back to his and Brook’s baby journey. Brook told Lois that Chase was mourning the life he’d imagined for them. She wanted him to know the pain and anguish she’d felt giving her baby up so he didn’t feel so alone. Alexis told Diane that Sam had been murdered, while Lulu told Maxie. Cody listened in on Sasha talking to Jason about the baby, but slipped away before he heard Michael was the father. In Baden Baden, Jack went to Carly’s suite and kissed her. She said she needed a minute, and he apologized if he’d read things incorrectly, but she said he didn’t. She just didn’t want to do something she regretted. He said he wasn’t there to sleep with her and had something much different in mind.

Molly visited Cody at the stables to drop off his paperwork from the station. He was less than hospitable. He said his feet were held to the fire while career criminals got away with everything. Jason wanted Michael’s side of the story, but Sasha said she didn’t owe Jason anything. He said she owed Michael. Lulu said she owed Sam everything, but Maxie said, feeling guilty over something she had no control over would go nowhere. Lulu admitted still being in love with Dante. Brook said she’d have to tell Chase the whole truth, that Dante was the father of her child. Dante told Chase about the murders at GH and that Sam was one of the victims. Alexis didn’t know what to do with her feelings about Sam being murdered, and she threw stuff around the office.

Jack brought Carly to the rooftop, where he had a fire going and they had champagne. Carly said, it was cozy, beautiful and private. He toasted to her changing her mind about coming to the spa. Jason told Sasha that he’d back off the second he talked to Michael. Sasha said they were done, but if he talked to Michael, tell him that she was thinking of him and praying for his recovery. Cody said, clearly Molly had an agenda, but she said she was there as a favor to Mac. He said he appreciated it and she left. Diane wanted to say the right thing, but Alexis told her that there was no right thing to say. Diane said, whatever Alexis wanted, she was all in – whatever she needed, whenever she needed it. Alexis said she had to tell Molly and Kristina, who were on their way there. Diane got a text from Jason and promised she wouldn’t tell him anything. Kristina came in and wondered what had happened.

Brook said if she told Chase, she’d have to tell Dante, and she felt sick. Dante told Chase about the digitalis murders, that Dex was one of the victims, and Michael had been saved by Isaiah’s quick thinking. Maxie said she was surprised Lulu admitted she still loved Dante, but it would be weird if she didn’t. Jason met with Diane and told her about Sasha’s pregnancy. Alexis told Kristina and Molly that Sam was murdered. Carly wanted to know what was going on between Jack and Valentin. She thought it was crazy that Valentin tried to kill him. Jack said, Valentin had been a friend, but after tonight, he wasn’t protecting Valentin any longer. He figured Valentin assumed he was the one who fired the shot in Prague. He hadn’t, but he was at that point now. It was a winding, complicated story. Carly told him to order another bottle of champagne.

Dante unloaded on Chase about Lulu and said she had to stop taking risks and be careful for her sake and Rocco’s. He was happy she was there, but Sam was gone because of it. Every time he looked at Lulu, he’d think of Sam and what they’d all lost. At the MetroCourt, Cody saw Diane with Jason. He apologized to Maxie about the other night and told her that Sasha was pregnant. Then he realized she knew already. Jason said Carly couldn’t know anything about this. He was going to the clinic to see Michael, but wanted Diane to keep an eye on Sasha. Jack told Carly that he wanted to rise in the ranks at the WSB and an alliance with Valentin was a smart move, so he sought out Valentin’s friendship. Valentin was the iron fist, and he was the velvet glove. Valentin needed him as much as he needed Valentin, and they became true friends.

Diane promised to keep an eye on Sasha and let her know when Jason got clarity. The fact Michael never told her spoke to Sasha’s credibility. Jason said if he was wrong, he’d gladly admit it, and she said she wanted a ringside seat for that. Maxie asked how Cody found out, but he said it didn’t matter. Maxie said Sasha was clear that she had no plans to tell the father, and Cody said the father was Jason. Sasha told the baby that they could do this on their own and promised she’d always be there. Lois said she didn’t want to influence Brook’s decision, but Brook said she needed Lois’s advice. Lois said Brook was a grown-up now and it was only her choice to make. Brook said she and Chase had to be open and honest and she had to tell him. Dante asked Chase what was up, and Chase said he’d talk when he was ready. Alexis promised they’d find out who did this to Sam. They were going to shield the truth from Scout and wanted to wait for more information to tell Danny. She’d ask Anna to keep it away from the public for as long as possible. They’d have to stay strong and present a united front for Sam.

Carly said there was more to Jack than met the eye. She admired his loyalty. He said there was a big difference between them. She was a good person. She said he wasn’t the bad guy he wanted people to think he was. To her, he was the guy who’d done awesome things for her and expected nothing in return. They kissed by the fire.

Friday’s Enchilada:

In his hospital room, Kai struggles to put on a brace belt and Trina walks in.

Jordan is surprised to find Drew at Volonino’s, and asks if he’s allowed through the doors of Aurora these days. He asks if she means his company, and she wonders if he’s trying to drive away anyone who ever thought they knew him.

Curtis meets Portia at Beradino’s and says, Aurora’s new CEO is looking fine. He says he aims to please, and she asks, what’s with the good mood? He says he’s at breakfast with his beautiful wife. Why wouldn’t he be? She says she saw on the news that there’s a holdup with the McConkey esplanade. It was a big project for him and Aurora. Curtis says, it still is. Don’t worry. He’s steps ahead of it. Since no one eats at home, at another table, Ric says, even though it was gruesome, the fire strengthened Ava’s case. She asks if it’s strong enough to rescue her daughter, and he says he thinks it should. Given her present financial situation, he has a proposal to present to Diane. With any luck, it will convince Diane to wrap things up with her and Sonny. Ava says, that would be ideal, and thanks him. His generosity had been so helpful. He says, what generosity? and she says, him representing her pro bono. He says he’s not doing her case pro bono, and she says, he’s not? Since he stopped hounding her to pay, she assumed… He says, that his service was gratis? Why? Because they kissed?

Lulu meets Laura at the bistro and apologizes for being late. Everything she does seems like something she has no chance with. She was here with Rocco and her baby boy is now a coffee drinker. Laura says, he’s a coffee snob, and Lulu says, he gets that because of Sonny. Dante is so good with Rocco. He’s a great dad, but… Laura says, she’s still in love with him, isn’t she?

Dante bursts into Anna’s office and asks, what the hell is going on? Mac said she ordered him locked out of Sam’s murder investigation. She says, he’s correct, and he asks, why?

Brook goes to the stables and asks Cody if they’re alone. He says, yeah, and she says, good. She needs to talk to him. He says, about what? and she says, the summer romance she had with Dante, and he asks if she means the summer she got pregnant.

In Diane’s office with Kristina, Sonny says he’s going to LA on business for Deception, and she says, that’s a long way to go for a silent investor. He says, Natalia wanted him to go and he wants to go over some things before he leaves. Diane says, that’s why Kristina came, and he says, there are things they all need to discuss.

At Volonino’s, Brad does push-ups, and his trainer suggests a break, but he says, no breaks. The trainer hands him some water and says, he needs to hydrate. Brad takes a drink and says, if he’s going to hit his goal before Miami, he can’t afford breaks.

Ava asks if Ric thinks she kissed him in exchange for legal fees, and he says he hopes not. It was a good kiss, but hardly covers his retainer. He’s attracted to her, but business is business. He’s extending her grace in deferring his payment. She says, he’s a beacon of charity. At this juncture, it’s like the kiss never happened and it’s not likely there will be another. He says, ever? and she says, not until she gets her daughter back. After that, they’ll see what’s on the table. He says he guesses he should be going then, and leaves.

Curtis tells Portia that Drew is stalling the project, and she says, that’s so sad. He says he can think of two other strong words, and she says, Drew is using his office to exact petty revenge. She’ll stick with sad. Tell her about his next steps. He says he’s going to need an ally on Capitol Hill who has more connections than Drew. Nina is setting up something, but if it doesn’t work, he has a back-up. Meanwhile, his focus is on the next step with Aurora, and it involves her, him, a beach, and daquiris on a tropical island.  

Drew says he understands that Jordan is upset about the esplanade, and she says, he brought the project to her, and they worked on it together. Now he’s stalled it. He’s damn right she’s upset. He says, for what it’s worth (🍷), he’s sorry, and she says, explain why he’s doing this. He says he’s just trying to hold onto what’s his.

Brook says, of course (🍷) she’s referring to that summer, and Cody says he thought the subject was verboten. She says, it was, and it is. Did he ever tell Dante? He says, she swore him to secrecy, and he drove her to the bus station. She left and he didn’t see her again until he started working here. She asks if he ever told Dante, but he says, no. He hasn’t even thought about it since then. She says, thank God, and thanks him, and he says, no problem. She says she’s sorry to make a big deal out of it, but she had to be sure. He says he gets it, but it was like, a million years ago. Why bring it up now?

Anna says she wants to reiterate how sorry she is, but Dante says he doesn’t want her sympathy. He wants Sam’s file. She says, he barged into her office and asked for access to a case… He says, because Sam  was his fiancé and he loved her, and Anna says, that’s precisely why she can’t let him get anywhere near the case.

Trina offers to help Kai, but he says he’ll do it himself. He struggles some more, and she says, it will be easier when his arm isn’t in a sling. He finally asks her to help him, and she puts the belt on him. As she wraps it around him, they gaze at each other for a moment.

Lulu tells Laura that she loves Dante, but not… He’s still grieving Sam… They were already divorced, but she ended things with Dustin. She was planning on telling Dante that she never stopped loving him, but unfortunately, she never got the chance. Now she’s finally awake, but Dante is grieving Sam… He totally should. Laura says, good to know, and Lulu says, it’s probably better. Things between them are worse. Laura asks, how so? and Lulu says, they fight all the time. When she went to Prague, Dante brought it on himself to follow. It’s a habit and they know how she doesn’t like being handled. Laura says, they do indeed, and Lulu says she wants to try and get along, but he makes it impossible. Laura says, maybe she’s pushing him away, but Lulu says, it’s not that. If anything, she thinks she’s holding herself back.

Sonny tells Diane that he’s concerned Charlie’s is going to be scrutinized. The business is clean, but he did sell it to Kristina. Diane says, she’ll stay ahead of it and tells Kristina to call if there’s a problem. Kristina says, if the Feds tap her phone, she’ll ask for a copy of the recording to help her keep track of things. Sonny says he doesn’t want what he’s done to interfere, and Diane says she’ll make sure of it. She’s about to leave when there’s a knock at the door. She opens it to Ric and Ava, and Ric says, good. They’re already here. That makes it easier.

Brad kisses his bicep (he’s pretty jacked) and says, woo!

Kai thanks Trina for her help and says he’s sorry for snapping. She says she gets it, and he says he appreciates her coming, but he’s not in the mood. He’s still trying to rap his head around what he’s going to do with his life. She says, that’s why she’s here. Since he was injured in a game, PCU can’t revoke his scholarship. She brought him some catalogs for inspiration. He says he can’t think about classes. He’s barely managed to schedule his rehab. She asks if that means he got a second opinion that was positive, and he says, they told him, no promises.  

Drew tells Jordan that he’s the ultimate team player. He’s dealt with Tracy, navigated Ned’s fragile ego, and sat through his fair share of family squabbles disguised as ELQ board meetings. He does one thing the family doesn’t approve of… Jordan says, he had an affair with his nephew’s wife, and Drew says, and the rest of the Quartermaines are saints compared to most people. Monica banned him from the grounds, and he was pushed out of his own company. Jordan says she gets it. His life as a rich congressman is in shambles. Welcome to politics. They’re not here to talk about Quartermaine infighting. He’s stalling the progress for the good of the city he’s been chosen to represent. He says, it could still happen. That depends on what Curtis chooses to do with Aurora.  

Portia says, Curtis’s plans for Aurora involve them on a beach? and he says, not just any beach. St. George Island, potentially the first site of Aurora’s new resorts. Portia says she loves it, and he says, of course (🍷) he wants to experience the island before moving forward and he can’t without her. What does she say? She says she can feel the sand between her toes, when Curtis’s phone rings. Jordan says she’s calling in a favor, and Curtis says, which one? She tells him to meet her at Volonino’s as soon as he can.  

Anna says, when she told Dante that Sam was murdered, she was speaking to him as a private citizen. That’s why he can’t be involved. He says he can help find out who killed her, and she says she’d let him if the victim was anyone else. He says, because it’s Sam, and she says, imagine if he finds the killer and it goes to trial. What does he think the defense is going to do? He says, object because of his conflict of interest, and she says, they won’t need to. We won’t have a case. It will be thrown out because he was involved in the investigation. He asks if that’s what she wants, but she says, no, but she has to look at it. What if he finds the killer and decides to take the law into his own hands? He asks if she thinks he’d do that, and she says, in this instance, she doesn’t know. He asks what she means by in this instance. Does she have a suspect?

Brook says she’s sure everybody knows she and Chase are trying to start a family, and Cody says, word got around. She says, it’s bringing up a memory for her, living in the same house with Dante. She needs to be sure. He says he never told Dante. He hasn’t even thought about it in years. If she had told Dante back then, he’s sure Dante would have stepped up, unlike other guys. She asks what he means, and he says, it’s an obligation and the guy has to step up. He can’t leave the woman hanging. Brook asks what he’s talking about, and he says, Sasha is pregnant and she shouldn’t be in it alone.  

Drew works out with the weights, when Curtis comes in. He asks if this is why Jordan needed him, and she says, Drew told her that the future of the esplanade depends on Curtis. Care to elaborate? Curtis says, Drew wanted to push Michael out of Aurora, and Jordan says, while he’s in Germany, recovering from third degree burns? Curtis says, yeah. And if Drew doesn’t get what the wants, he’s more than willing to sabotage Aurora. Hence the delay on the esplanade. Jordan says, is that right? and Drew says, Curtis couldn’t be more wrong.

Kai tells Trina that the doctors told him to manage his expectations and set reasonable goals. Don’t get ahead of himself. She says, that’s good advice, and he says his teammates’ doctors said the same thing. She asks if they played again, and he says, one did. The rest never set foot on a field again. She says she’s sorry, and he says him too. He knew it was a possibility, but he told himself that it would never be him. How could he be so stupid?

Lulu tells Laura that Dante would jump in to save any chance he got, whether she needed him to or not. Laura says, Dante just lost someone he loved and maybe he doesn’t want to lose someone else. Lulu says, maybe… probably. She hates seeing him and Rocco in pain and not be able to help. Dante sees her as the woman his fiancé died trying to save. What is it going to be like for the rest of their lives? Laura says she knows what Lulu thinks, but unless she’s spoken to Dante directly, she doesn’t know how he feels.

Anna says she has no suspect yet, but there’s a person of interest, and Dante asks, who? She says, it’s not his case and she’s not disclosing more information. He says, she hasn’t told him anything. Dammit! She needs to tell him… She says she thinks he should go home. She’s placing him on one week’s paid leave and would like him to see the department psychiatrist. He asks if he can say no, but she says she thinks he knows the answer to that. He says, fine, and leaves.

Diane tells Ric to come back when he’s made an appointment, but he says he has an offer regarding the custody hearing. Sonny says, let’s hear it, and Ric says, the recent incident at his domicile caused the destruction of property and injury to his son. Ava says, it was obviously an attempt… and Ric says, it’s obvious Sonny can’t provide a safe home for Avery. At best, Sonny is going to lose. He’s made an effort to save them time and expense. He gives Diane the paperwork and she laughs. She says, visitation every other weekend and Ava has sole custody and all major holidays? Ava says she’s willing to give up Arbor Day, but Diane says she won’t even entertain it. Ric says, then they’ll go to court, and Sonny says, let’s do it. Ric says he’s going to call Kristina to the stand, and Kristina says, no problem. He asks if she’s sure. He’s going to ask about her father’s brutal assault on Dex Heller and his long list of mental and emotional instabilities. He’ll also bring in her impulsiveness and hot-headed temper that led to the attack on Ava and also the death of Kristina’s child. Sonny says, that’s enough, and Kristina says she looks forward to making sure Avery ends up with the right parent. Ric says, it’s impressive, but her keeping it together in her attorney’s office for five seconds doesn’t hold a candle to keeping it together on the witness stand… which she knows. Ava tells Sonny to spare the agony for both him and his daughter and take the deal. Sonny leans on his desk and asks, when’s the date? Diane says, February 25th, and Sonny tells Ric, see you there. Ric says, it’s their final offer, and Sonny shrugs. Ric says, it’s over, and he and Ava leave. Diane says she knows one thing, and Sonny says, they’re desperate. Diane says, right, and he says, Ava’s funds have dried up. Kristina says, Lucy mentioned to her the other day that Ava took a place far below her standards, and Sonny says, Ava wouldn’t trade down if she didn’t have to. Kristina says, that’s good news. If Ava can’t afford it, all they have to do is wait, but Diane says, they can’t rely on that. Ric and Ava’s argument is stronger than theirs.

Dante sees Brook at the stables and asks if Cody is around. She says, he was, then he wasn’t. She doesn’t know if he’s coming back. Is Dante okay? He says, obviously not, and she asks if there’s anything she can do. He says he doesn’t know. Sam was murdered and Anna won’t let him find the bastard who did it.

Lulu says she knows Dante loved Sam, and Laura says, and Sam loved Dante. She’s grateful they gave a good home to Rocco. Lulu says her too, but she’s a little jealous. And by little, she means really jealous. Laura says, Sam is gone now, and Dante has to find a way to live with the loss, and Lulu says, it’s a big loss and here she is, swooping in. Laura says, Lulu is entitled to be here, and Lulu says, Sam is too, but she can’t be. Laura says, but Lulu can, and Dante is afraid he’s going to lose her too. He practically camped out by her bedside and fought like hell for her. She says she knows, and Laura says, from her own life, she knows it’s possible to love two people at the same time. Dante absolutely loves Lulu. Maybe not in the same way she loves him right now, but there’s definitely a place in his heart for her. Lulu says she knows it’s not rational, but she feels like it’s her fault Sam died. If she feels that way… Laura says, maybe Dante does too?

Trina says, Kai isn’t stupid. He doesn’t know how rehab is going to turn out. His first orthopedist told him that he’s never play again. He says he doesn’t feel like a lecture. He needs to figure out rehab now. As for class, he doesn’t know if he wants to go back. She says, why? Even if he never plays again, he’s been given an amazing opportunity. A scholarship most kids would kill for and PCU is an amazing school. He says he knows Trina thinks she’s helping, but she’s not.

Drew says, when he pitched the esplanade, he did it on behalf of his company. Now he’s pitching for his constituents. Jordan asks, then why hold up the project that will give his constituents jobs? and he says, the environmental report was of concern, so it’s been put on pause for review. She says, it’s going to die because he has an ax to grind, and he says, it’s Aurora’s project. Curtis is the CEO and it’s up to him to clear up the issues. Curtis says, Aurora will be fine without the esplanade, and Drew says, there you have it. Curtis says, Drew is screwing them over, and Jordan says, it was a project for the constituents that was supposed to carry on the name of the man who gave Drew a seat in congress. (Good point!) Drew says, Curtis seems tense. What does he say to them working it out in the ring?

Diane says she hates to admit it, but Ric had good points. It’s of public record that the penthouse fire was deliberately set. Sonny says, Avery was at Carly’s, and Diane says, that’s the only reason Sonny still has custody. As for Kristina, she was magnificent back there. Kristina thanks her and says, hate is a powerful motivator. Diane says she has to advise Kristina, no matter how cool and calm she is on the witness stand, Dex’s assault is going to count in Ava’s favor. Sonny says, Ric is all about money. The only reason Ric is representing Ava is to hurt him. He’s going to use Kristina to do that. Kristina says, let him try. She can’t allow Ava to have Avery. Diane says she knew Kristina would say that. She’s going to let them talk. Take all the time they need. She leaves and Sonny says, Diane is right. Ric is going to hammer her on the stand like last time. Kristina says, let him. Ava’s not going to win this case. She doesn’t get to have her daughter back after she took Kristina’s from her.  

At the MetroCourt bar, Ava says, Sonny is itching to take them to court, but Ric says he’s not so sure. Ava says, he has enough money to drag this on forever, and Kristina, with her hair trigger temper, didn’t take the bait. Ric says, no matter. It comes down to Sonny. If he doesn’t want to move forward, it’s all over. She says, too bad he and Diane are determined to do that, and Ric says, maybe he’s wrong, but he thinks something is going on with Sonny.  

On the phone, Anna says, come back to my office and we’ll go over your allegations about Cyrus. There’s a knock at the door, and she says, it’s open. Cody comes in and asks if she’s seen Mac, but she says, he’s out on a call. Is everything okay? He says he needs to get a message to Mac’s brother and doesn’t have a way to reach him, and she says she can reach him. He says, it can wait, and she says, is he sure? It seems urgent. He says, it is… It isn’t important. It’s not like they need to contact international law enforcement. Anna tells him, just say it, and he says, Sasha is in trouble and it’s Jason Morgan’s fault.  

Brook tells Dante that she’s sorry, and he says, the minute he found out Sam was murdered, he wanted to hunt down the piece of garbage who did this. He’s a cop. She says, the best, and he says, Anna told him under no uncertain terms that he’s too close to the case. She says, maybe he is, and he says, obviously. He went to Anna’s office to show her how he’d handle it, and instead, he proved her right. He lost it on her. He yelled at his boss, and she sent him home. Brook says, Anna made the right call, and he says he knows that. For Sam to die like that, in a hospital bed, confined, unable to fight… If she could have gotten up, she would have fought tooth and nail. Brook says, damn straight, and he says, Sam was there because of him, and she’s gone because of him. He doesn’t know how to live with that.

Lulu asks Laura, how does she not feel responsible? The only reason Sam was in a hospital bed was because of her. Laura says, it’s human to feel like it’s her fault, but it’s completely untrue. She’s not responsible for Sam’s death. Only one person is – the murderer. Lulu says she knows that. It’s just so hard to silence the voice telling her that it’s her fault and to think about how Dante sees her. Laura says, he’s grieving, so she can’t assume to know how he feels, but she could ask, and Lulu says, just like that. Laura says, with the connection they have, yeah. It may not be the best time to tell him the full breadth of her feelings, but she can love him as friend.

At the hospital on his phone, Brad orders the deluxe spa package, while Portia tries to quietly go past him. He trots after her and asks if she has any idea where Dr. Jones is. She says, he switched his shift. She can imagine why. He says, speaking of schedules, is there any chance he can get an extra vacation day in Miami?

Curtis says, Drew wants to see him in the ring? and Jordan says, she brought them together hoping they could compromise like the adults she assumed they were, and Curtis says, it was a noble thought. But they both know Drew makes decisions based on what Drew wants. Drew says, and Curtis never misses the opportunity to get on his high horse. Curtis says, it must be real difficult for Drew to see that high up, being so damn lowdown, and Drew asks what Curtis says when the common denominator of the people keeping secrets from him is himself.

Anna asks how Jason is involved with Sasha, but Cody says, forget it. She says, he doesn’t barge into her office saying Robert’s daughter is in trouble and then drop it. He says he wants to talk to Robert directly, but she says, they’re close. What happened? Is Sasha in danger? He says, no. It’s not a crime or a legal thing. She tells him, just say it, and he says, Sasha is pregnant, and Jason is the father.  

Ric tells Ava, the thing about having a brother as an enemy is, they can read each other. He has a strong feeling something was off with Sonny just now. She asks how he can tell, and he says, Sonny may talk tough, but he has the sense Sonny doesn’t want to see this through. She says, when he dreams, he dreams big. Sonny doesn’t give up. He says, Sonny knows cutting her out will hurt Avery. Maybe he’s starting to care a little. She says she hopes he’s right. She needs to have Avery with her. The sooner he can make that happen, and the sooner she’s back on her feet, the sooner she can pay him. Once he gets paid, maybe after that they can see where things stand between them.

Kai tells Trina that he figured out how to put the brace on and it’s an accomplishment. He appreciates Trina coming, but he needs time to himself. She says, okay. She’ll leave him to it. She goes to the door and says, just so he knows, he doesn’t need to do this alone. She leaves, and he gets on the bed with his phone. He puts on an old game, and the announcer says, PCU is down three and going for a Hail Mary pass… They win, thanks to the golden arm of quarterback Kai Taylor! He puts the phone down, and Trina sees him through the window. She takes out her phone and makes a call. She says, when you get out, come and meet me at GH. Nothing is wrong. I just need help.  

Portia says she’s made accommodations for Brad, and he knows why. Brad says, just because he forced her doesn’t mean it’s not appreciated, and she says she does have limits and if she sticks to them, they shouldn’t have a problem. He says, understood… That said… She says, if he starts asking too much too often, people will start to notice. Don’t push his luck any further than he has. He says, so… is that a yes? and she says, enjoy your vacation day. She jets, and he says, thank you.  

Curtis says, his friendship comes with loyalty and wonders if it’s too much to expect in return, and Drew says, so his friendship is transactional. He’s not applying undue influence to sink Aurora. They’re not in court. Curtis says, let him remind Drew that he’s brand new to congress. He’s alienated his backers by seducing his nephew’s wife. He overextended himself and left himself wide open. Curtis and Jordan walk out.

Sonny asks what Kristina wanted to see him about. Is everything okay? She says, actually, no. The hospital investigated Sam’s death, and it turns out it’s not an accident. Sam was murdered. He asks if they know who, and she says, no, but they know how. She was given a drug she wasn’t supposed to have. Digitalis killed her. He says he’s going to ask a question she might not be able to answer. Does Dante know? She says, probably. The police are looking into it. Should she worry? He says he doesn’t want her to worry. Let him worry. Everybody has a breaking point and she’s carrying too much.

Brook says, it’s not Dante’s fault. She knows he can’t see it, so she’ll let him get there on his own, and he will. He says, she’s right, and she says she knows he’s saying that to get her off his back. She’s here if he needs anything. He says, she’s a pretty good friend when she tries, and she says, don’t tell anyone. He says, they wouldn’t believe him anyway, and they hug. Lulu walks in.  

On Monday, Laura tells Lucky that she has some news; Gio tells Emma that he has a bad feeling about something; Maxie tells Sasha that the more she stonewalls, the more it looks like she has something to hide; and Lulu tells Dante, nothing can be further from the truth.

🧼 All the Soap News Fit To Print…

Looks like a good time. Especially for that random dog who’s probably been stealing food all night.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/gallery/general-hospital/gh-star-tabyana-ali-celebrates-her-birthday-see-the-party-pics

Sage advice for any condition you might be suffering from: If you are suffering, you have to be your own advocate to keep going… If your doctor doesn’t get it, find a new doctor that listens to you and believes in you, and doesn’t just want to stick you on an antidepressant.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/gallery/general-hospital/gh-star-tabyana-ali-celebrates-her-birthday-see-the-party-pics

Side gig. I still say Adam Huss was the best Nikolas and they should bring him back.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/adam-huss-wraps-a-movie-with-tuc-watkins

💉 A Dose Of Reality…

Below Deck Sailing Yacht

In making a sushi dinner for multiple people who don’t eat fish, Cloyce said he had nothing to do but laugh, bang his head against the wall, and innovate. It must be tough for any woman who dates Cloyce to get past him giggling like Anderson Cooper. Captain Glenn joined the guests for dinner and was impressed. Glenn said he still believed in Gary, which is beyond my scope of understanding. In his interview, the captain said, if Gary wanted to step up the ladder, he’d have to grow and mature. Good luck with that. Mixing his metaphors, Captain Glenn said, the crew knocked it out of the park and suggested they put this baby to bed. He’d seen growth and thought they finished the season on a high. The tip was $21K or 2000 euros each, and they’d made a total of $188K for the season. Gary told Daisy that he wanted them to live a fairytale life. She was like, hard no, and wondered why they couldn’t get to a level they could agree on. After the crew night out, Gary waited alone at the jacuzzi while everyone else went to bed. He had a lightbulb moment in his interview, where he said if he was going to be in Glenn’s position, he’d have to start taking more responsibility for his actions. I still can’t figure out what the problem was with the stews and Daisy, except that she wanted them to work. Gary thought there was still hope for him and Daisy, and we flashed back to them over the years. He was intrigued to see what the future held. Glenn said, it was a crazy season and it was done. Margarita time.

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

In Kyle’s interview, she said she was alone in the house more often because the kids wanted more time away from her. Um… yeah, that’s how it works when kids get older. Boz and Dorit have gotten tight, which surprises me, since Boz doesn’t seem like she’d suffer fools or rambling talkers gladly. Garcelle pointed out that Kyle saying she’s never shared anything PK has said to her sounded like it was more than memes, but Kyle insisted that they’d never discussed PK and Dorit’s marriage. Kyle apologized to the group for yelling and leaving, but in Sutton’s interview, she wanted Kyle to apologize for acting better than everyone else and not being accountable. Kyle used the old it’s not who I am backpedal. I hate when people say that because, if not you, who? It was who you were in that moment and to say that is distancing yourself from accountability.

Dorit and Kyle went for a walk on the beach, and Dorit asked where Kyle’s loyalty lay, with her or PK. Dorit wanted the same respect from Kyle that Kyle would expect from her. In her interview, Kyle said she understood and if it was what Dorit needed, she’d do it, but IMO, she should have understood it without Dorit having to tell her. Dorit was also wrestling with Jagger having asked if she and PK were divorced, since he’d gleaned it from social media. In Erika’s interview, she said it was impossible to shield children in this day of the internet, but I wonder if you even should in the first place. By all means you should explain things at their level and make sure they know you’re there for them (and your partner too, if that’s a factor), but I’m not so sure kids should be shielded from negative situations entirely. God forbid they hear it from someone else like this poor kid. The show ended on an up note for once.

Real Housewives of New York City

It was the Reunion Part 1, so… There’s never a lot to say about these, since it’s just a rehash of the season’s arguments and them getting mad all over again. There was Jenna coming out in robe and turban, which was… original. Brynn spoke more about her assault, and sad to say, it’s someone she’s required to inhabit the same space with on a regular basis. It seemed hard for Erin to understand how difficult it is to out someone like that when it’s a he said/she said situation. There was a big deal with Brynn having said Pavit wasn’t the love of Jessel’s life, when they’d been talking about crazy hook-ups. Jessel was pretty upset about her family seeing the show. It looks to be a lively Part 2.

Real Housewives of Salt Lake City

Ugh. The Reunion Part 2. In a word, tedious. Meredith almost walked off because… Okay, I lost track of the whole thing, but it had to do with something she said or didn’t say and who said she said or didn’t say it. You see how I could get lost, right? Angie said that for a new Housewife, Bronwyn put herself out there and that’s why everyone loved her. Agreed. Seth was a jerk, trying to explain away why he called Whitney a bee-yotch during a dinner. No excuse for that, dude. As NeNe so succinctly put it, stay out of women’s business. Period. End of story. With the exception of RHONJ, where the men should have their own show, the husbands need to stay quiet. It’s not called Real Househusbands. Still this season’s MVP, Mary was the exception. Lots of tears over Robert Jr.’s story, even from Andy. And it shut the other women up for once. That’s quite a feat. Whitney said it helped her kids understand why they didn’t have a grandpa as she hasn’t spoken to her (addicted) father since Season 1.

Southern Charm

Poor JT. I almost have to feel sorry for him. Almost. He’s so clueless as to how he’s going wrong. Although Venita doesn’t see it. She admitted to having a crush on him and I thought, oh, just do it already. Craig called Austen and wanted to hang out, which surprised me, but it didn’t seem to surprise Austen. Shep hadn’t heard from Sienna, who texted that she needed a moment. It made Shep nervous, which made me laugh. He said he wanted beautiful babies and a Bahamian house, making me laugh harder. Patricia and Madison had a pajama party, complete with caviar in bed, making me rethink my friend group, and Patricia said Sienna had approached Whitney on Raya before meeting Shep. Venita invited JT for dinner, and he told her that he was seeing someone. It wasn’t the answer either one of us was hoping for. I don’t like him, but she does, so I felt bad for her. He professed faithfulness, but IMO, he’d been leading Venita on. Not a gentleman.

I don’t remember this guy from Summer House, but I’m not always paying attention.

Southern Hospitality

I tried to watch this. I really did. But it’s just a bunch of relationships that are more complicated than they need to be. I’ve seen enough to know Emmy is a drama queen, so I can just imagine when she finds out her boyfriend has been cheating on her. Red flags have been thrown her way before, which she’s put her fingers in her ears and gone la-la-la about, but this seems to be irrefutable evidence. Rut-roh.

There was this priceless quote though: Even though I’m 33, that’s like 50 in gay years, so I’m basically dead. – TJ

I feel the opposite. While the diversity is commendable, the personalities aren’t so diverse. We even have Maddi being James Kennedy 2.0. Sans the alcoholic rants. Wait for VPR’s reboot if you want to relive the glory days. Or actually watch the original glory days on several streaming services.

Random Reality

The latest in Atlanta. Twirl on, Kenya. Twirl on.

Why not? And I actually don’t mind Slade. They seem to be a good match. Maybe he’ll marry her on his deathbed.

Get your lemons ready.

I’m sporadic in watching this, and like with Survivor, I get lost with the challenges, but when I see it, I enjoy it. Alan Cumming is the best host, all theatric and Scottish.

Take the tour.

https://ew.com/the-traitors-host-alan-cumming-season-3-castle-tour-exclusive-8766966

👀 Last Weekend’s Watch…

Sleep. Hulu et al. I was a fan of Korean cinema long before it was popular, and Netflix had a Korean for beginners category. While this wasn’t one of my favorites, that didn’t make it less intriguing. A story of possession masked as a sleep disorder, it has creepiness a plenty. I wasn’t thrilled with the ending, which left me kind of hanging, but the style and atmosphere were worth the time spent. I hadn’t thought of it as a metaphor for a deteriorating relationship, but there’s that too. Those of you who feel, if I want to read, I’ll get a book, be forewarned; this one has subtitles.

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/sleep-korean-film-review

https://nofspodcast.com/sleep-review-new-korean-horror-is-a-methodical-slow-build-of-simmering-scares

Saturday Night. Netflix. This is the telling of the story of the first episode of SNL, and how no one thought it would get on the air, much less stand the test of time it has. A dramatization for sure, but the real-life drama may have seemed heightened since there were so many roadblocks. From John Belushi refusing to sign his contract while ice skating in a bee costume to Milton Berle flashing his legendary junk, it’s a fun watch.

https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/saturday-night/

https://www.purewow.com/entertainment/saturday-night-netflix-review

The truths and the nots.

https://people.com/how-much-of-saturday-night-is-true-8725801

Some of this is a stretch to connect to SNL, but six degrees and all that.

🎸 Who’s Playing For Who…

The Super Bowl performers.

https://ew.com/super-bowl-2025-performers-kendrick-lamar-halftime-sza-jon-batiste-8779483

The Grammys performers.

https://ew.com/everyone-performing-at-2025-grammys-charli-xcx-sabrina-carpenter-more-8779877

🐾 Send In the Furbabies…

🐶 It’s always nice to see a celebrity using their powers for good. This must have been incredibly rewarding. I’ve loved Paris since Tinkerbell wrote her book.

https://people.com/paris-hilton-reunites-her-foster-dog-from-l-a-fires-with-the-dog-s-family-8781373

🐎 What would the Super Bowl be without the Budweiser Clydesdales?

https://people.com/super-bowl-2025-budweiser-clydesdale-horse-commercial-8780322

🐕 And don’t forget the best Bowl of all.

https://www.discovery.com/shows/puppy-bowl/see/2025/pb-xxi-gallery

https://www.discovery.com/shows/on-tv/puppy-bowl/see/2025

🐐 Quotes of the Week

Anyone who wants to achieve a dream must stay strong, focused and steady.Estée Lauder

A dead end street is a good place to turn around. – Naomi Judd

Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read. – Groucho Marx

If your dreams don’t scare you, they are too small. – Richard Branson

Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working. – Pablo Picasso

You can’t help getting older, but you don’t have to get old. – George Burns

Words are the clothing of our thoughts.Jonathan Swift

A ship in a harbour is safe, but it’s not fulfilling its potential. – Susan Jeffers

If you carry joy in your heart, you can heal any moment. – Carlos Santana

I don’t know why they say alcohol is a depressant. It fixes everything. – Joyce (Swoosie Kurtz), Mike & Molly

🍫 Like a Box Of Chocolates…

Until next week, stay safe; stay being adaptable in social and professional settings; and stay managing your expectations, setting reasonable goals, and not getting ahead of yourself.

April 22, 2024 – Sonny Tells Carly This Is It, Lowest Tip Of the Season On Deck & Mercy

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Sonny comes into the MetroCourt, and Carly says, if they’re going to do this, they’re not doing it in the middle of her restaurant. He asks if that’s it, and she says she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. He’s going to have to tell her more. He says she had months refusing any help, and she promised – no, she insisted – that she was going to get the hotel back on her own. He wanted to help her; she said no. Jason comes in, gets it back, gives it to her, and she’s like, thank you, Jason. She says, yeah. That’s pretty much it.

Taking off Jason’s jacket, Danny says he’s sorry. Jason says he doesn’t have to be sorry, and Danny asks if Jason is mad that he’s here. Jason says, never.

Kristina asks if Sam has seen much of her dad since Dante’s been home, and Sam says, a couple of times. Kristina says, alone or… and Sam says, once with Ava and Avery. Kristina asks how he seemed, and Sam asks what she means. Kristina says, how is he? and Sam says, considering everything he’s been going through, she’d say he’s pretty angry. Kristina says, and paranoid? but Sam says she wouldn’t go that far. Maybe a little on edge. What is Kristina thinking? Kristina says, he’s not acting like himself lately. He’s pushing everyone away. Sam says, she means Carly and Michael, and Kristina says, and Nina. Sam looks at her, and Kristina says she’s not okay with what Nina did. She does really love Kristina’s dad and he was happy with her. And now, apart from her, Donna, and Avery, and Sam and Dante occasionally, the only person he lets close to him is Ava.

At The Savoy, Lois asks if Maxie can believe they have this whole place to themselves. Brook is going to freak out when she sees it. All the decorations, her name in lights, and she’s got her own signature cocktail, the Brook Lynn Chaser. It doesn’t get any cuter than that. Maxie says, mm-hmm, and Lois says, anybody there? Maxie says, sorry, and Lois says, she lives for this stuff. Maxie says she did… she does. She’s sorry. It’s just, all the stress at work lately has been a lot. Lois asks if she wants to talk about it, but Maxie says, no. Lois shrugs, and Maxie says, Lucy has been insufferable. Lois says, gotcha, and Maxie says, she’s trying to make herself Deception’s spokesmodel, and they saw how well that went on Home & Heart. Lois says, did she ever, and Maxie says, all she can do is talk about herself. And because her followers are blowing up her social media, she’s convinced she was a success. Maxie doesn’t know the final numbers, but she’s pretty sure Lucy was not. There’s just no reasoning with her. And now that Sasha’s gone and Brook is understandably… Lois says, Maxie has to deal with Lucy all on her own, and Maxie says, yeah. And they have this new skin care line coming out, the Disruptor Nourishing Moisturizer that was debuted on Home & Heart. Lucy’s been holding up the release date and she would like to rename the product Lucy’s Luminous Skin Serum. Lois makes a face and says, hard pass, and Maxie says, right? Marketing is about to lose their minds – Lois puts centerpieces on the tables – and she’s right there with them. Lois says, why don’t they just call it Deceptive, the skin care that hides what you want, and no one’s got a clue.

Nina strides into Crimson and asks Madison to call her lawyer immediately. See if there’s way she can get out of a contract that she signed under false pretenses. Madison says, right away, but Nina says, actually, no. Madison says, of course (🍷). Is there something she should do? Nina asks if she wants some advice, and Madison says, please. Nina says, when people tell you who they are, believe them. Say someone is treacherous with an agenda and they suddenly become your friend. Guess what? They still have an agenda. Maybe it gels with yours for the moment, but as soon as it doesn’t, said friend will betray you in a heartbeat. She sits down and Madison asks if she’s okay. Nina says, she can go, when Ava comes in and asks if Nina has a minute. Nina says, for a friend like her, always.

Jason says, Danny is always welcome here, and Danny thanks him. Jason says he didn’t see Danny downstairs. How’d he get in? Danny says, the fire escape. It looked like Jason and Carly were busy, so… He doesn’t want anyone to know he’s here. His mom said he couldn’t see Jason anymore and this has to be a secret, just like the boathouse. Jason says he’s grateful Danny helped him, but Danny says, it was no big deal. Jason says, it was a big deal. And what he did, getting Danny involved and especially asking him to keep it from his mom, wasn’t fair. At the time, he didn’t see an alternative, but it shouldn’t have gone down like that. Danny asks if Jason is saying he’s sorry Danny found him.

Sam says she’s sensing Kristina doesn’t like that Ava’s living with Sonny, and Kristina says she just doesn’t understand why. Sam asks what Sonny had to say about it, and Kristina says, not much. Just that Ava and Avery were moving in because of a safety concern. But if her dad were really at risk, wouldn’t he want Avery as far away from him as possible? She remembers plenty of times as a young kid, she would go long periods without seeing her dad and it was always for her own safety. Sam says, maybe it is for security reasons. Sonny’s is the best. Kristina says she guesses. She was fine with Ava and Avery moving in there initially. She even asked Ava to keep an eye on her dad because she was so worried about him after Spencer died. Sam says, she’s clearly not okay with it now, and Kristina says, Ava Jerome living there permanently is a different story. Sam says she knows it’s an interesting development, and Kristina says she feels like he’s really starting to rely on Ava, like he really needs her in his life. And Ava played such a major role in Morgan’s death. She tampered with his medication, and that basically forced him into a manic spiral, so how is she not responsible that he did something reckless and died? She understands the concept of keeping Ava close for Avery’s sake, tolerating Ava, going along to get along. But every once in a while, she’s around Ava and she’s hit with this full sensory memory of being at Morgan’s funeral. The dress she was wearing, the way the flowers smelled, a mental snapshot she can’t get rid of. And her dad is the one who uncovered that. So how does he go from loathing someone to totally trusting her?

Sonny says he offered to buy back the hotel for Carly, and Carly says she remembers. He says, and she refused, and she says she remembers that too. He says, then what the hell? Why would she take it from Jason and not him? She says, because he made the offer out of guilt, but Sonny says, that’s not true. She says, it is true. He wanted to make himself feel better for bailing on their marriage. Like it was some kind of consolation prize or something. He says he didn’t bail on the marriage. She’s the one who ended things. She says she hit pause for about five minutes, and he took that opportunity to jump in bed with Nina. He says, she’s rewriting history, and she asks, which part is the lie? He says, all parts, and she says, he wanted Nina, and he got her. Look at him now.

Nina asks Madison to make sure they’re not disturbed, and Madison leaves, closing the door behind her. Nina tells Ava, have a seat, and Ava says she’s so sorry. Nina says, for what? and Ava says she had no idea Sonny would react that way to Nina selling Jason the hotel. She knew he was under a lot of stress, but that was over the top, even for him. Rest assured, she’s going to do whatever she can to smooth things over, but she hopes Nina understands. Nina says she understands… how transparent and manipulative Ava is. She’s so embarrassed that she ever believed one word that came out of Ava’s mouth. She of all people should know better with their history. All the ways Nina has admittedly wronged Ava and all the ways Ava wronged her, how could she have ever trusted Ava? That’s not just being naïve, that’s borderline deluded. How long? Ava asks, how long what? and Nina says, how long has Ava been working her agenda? Does it go all the way back to when Ava told her to turn in Carly and Drew to the SEC? Ava says she never told Nina to do any such thing, and Nina says, how long has Ava been playing her for a fool?

Maxie says, Lois might not have saved the future of Deception, but Lois definitely saved her a headache. Lois says, her pleasure, and Maxie says, there are four products in this new line: the Deceiver Serum, Defiance Toner, Defender De-cleanser, and the Disruptor Nourishing Moisturizer. Lois says she’s excited to try every one of them. Consider her a focus group of one. Maxie asks if she’s used their products, and Lois says she was a big fan of Deception back in the day. Her best friend was the Face in the 90s, but that version of the company folded. Maxie asks if she’s used any of the products recently, and Lois says she thinks the Deceptor is a homerun. Maxie says, yay, and Lois says she uses it while doing her Sudoku. Maxie says, as good a time as any she supposes, and Lois says, why not, right? Willow and Josslyn come in carrying boxes, and Willow says, sorry she’s late. Maxie says she sees Willow brought back-up, and Willow says, Joss was nice enough to not only help her put together the favor bags, but also lug the boxes over. Lois thanks Josslyn and says, she’s a lifesaver. Josslyn says, of course (🍷). Whatever they need help with, she’s happy to help, and Maxie tells her, be careful. They might take her up on that. Lois says, all right, ladies. It’s showtime. She tosses a boa around her neck and over her shoulder.

Jason says he’s sorry he put Danny in that position, but would never be sorry for that time with him. Danny says he really liked talking, and Jason says, him too. Danny says, it turns out, he’s pretty good at getting in places and staying under the radar. He was even at Jason’s arraignment. Jason asks if his mom knows, but Danny says, she was busy at the hospital with Dante. The only person who saw him was Elizabeth and she was cool about it. Jason says, he can’t keep doing stuff behind his mom’s back, but Danny says, she doesn’t want him to see Jason, and he won’t let her keep him away from his own father. It’s not fair.

Carly tells Sonny that after what happened with Nina, she’d rather wait tables for the rest of her life than take anything from him. He says, but she’s got no problem taking it from Jason, and she says, none. Because Jason’s offer was genuine. Sonny was just trying to buy her off. He says, that’s not true. Why would she say that? She says, Jason gave her back her hotel because he believes in her, he supports her, and he’ll always have her back. Sonny says, they all know she has his, and she says, of course (🍷) she does. That’s not news. She’ll always be there for Jason, and he’ll always be there for her. She refuses to apologize for that. He says he can see that, and she says, does he? Does he see? Because he accused her of rewriting history, but he’s the one who seems to have lost his grasp on things. This is Jason they’re talking about. Obviously agitated, Sonny says he knows who they’re talking about. Jason is the one who tried to kill him.

Ava says, Nina is the one who made the decision to turn Carly and Drew in all on her own, and Nina says, that’s true. Ava never came out and said, turn them in. She would never be that obvious. They were more like suggestions and insinuations. Metaphorical layups so she could slam dunk. And boy, did she ever. Ava says she told Nina all along that it was a mistake. Nina made the call, not her. Nina says, now she can sit back, play innocent, and watch her hard work pay off. Ava asks why she’d do that, and Nina says, that’s the question of the day, isn’t it? And she can only come up with one answer. Ava says she’s all ears, and Nina says, by Ava encouraging her to turn Carly and Drew in to the SEC, then saying she’d work on Sonny for Nina, help get them back together, but actually not do any of that. Then Ava was all in about her selling Jason the MetroCourt, but oops. Jason is no longer Sonny’s best friend, but his sworn enemy. All under the guise of having her back, being her best friend, so Ava could have Sonny for herself.

Lois says, it really is so sweet of Josslyn to help out, and Josslyn says, of course (🍷). And after the day she had, doing something fun is great instead of… Lois says, the opposite of fun, and Josslyn says, exactly. Lois says she’s really sorry Josslyn had a crapola day, and Josslyn thanks her. Lois says, you know what could turn that around? and Josslyn says, a bachelorette party? Lois says, bingo. You get to eat, drink, be all sorts of merry, and dance the blues away. Josslyn thanks her and says she appreciates the invite, but she has plans tonight. Lois says, they can’t be any better than this, and Josslyn says she knows, but she’s having dinner with her friend Trina and Trina’s Aunt Stella. Lois says, perfect. Have dinner, then afterwards, bring them back here. The more, the merrier. Lois jets off, and Willow says, Lois is living her best life, isn’t she? Maxie says she’s definitely met her match in the party planning department, and Willow says she’s guessing they all bring their own individual styles to said planning. Maxie asks how she could tell, when Drew comes in carrying a box. He asks if anyone was looking for this. It was by the entrance. Maxie says, those must be the party hats Lois ordered. She’ll take them. She takes the box, and calls, Lois, delivery! Lois runs out and says she’d hoped they’d deliver them on time. Drew asks if Willow has seen Curtis. He wanted to run something by him. Willow says, no. He’s giving the club a wide berth since they’re taking over for Brook’s bridal shower-slash-bachelorette party. Drew says, so he’s afraid of girls. Maybe he should be too. He’ll get out of her hair. He starts to leave, but she says, actually, since he’s here, could she get his advice on something? He says, always. As long as it’s not related to the bachelorette festivities. She says, it’s about Amelia. She and Michael want her to learn how to swim. He says, that’s great, and she says, really? Because she’s terrified.

Sam tells Kristina, who Sonny chooses to be part of his life is his decision. If that’s Ava, that’s Ava. Kristina says, she’s not a good influence on him, and Sam says she doesn’t disagree. Kristina says, and she thinks her dad is really hurting over Nina so much more than he wants to admit. And then Jason’s mysterious return. She feels like he’s in a vulnerable position right now. Sam says, maybe he is, but like she told Kristina, it’s her father’s choice who he wants to have in his life. Repeat after her. It’s not your choice. Kristina says, it’s not your choice, and Sam looks at her. She says, it’s not my choice, when there’s a knock at the door. Sam opens it to find Jason with Danny.

Carly says, Jason did not try to kill Sonny, and Sonny says, he was with the sniper on the roof. Carly says, the sniper who missed because of Jason. Again, Jason stepped up to save his life. he wouldn’t be standing here right now if it weren’t for Jason. He says, listen to him. This is serious right now. Jason is working with the Feds, right? It’s a scary thing. He said it himself. That’s proof. Carly says, proof of what? and he says, that Jason is working against him. Maybe he made a deal with the Feds to save his own skin. She says, so he thinks he’s part of Jason’s deal? and he says, she doesn’t? She says she thinks if Jason’s job is to get evidence against him, then he’s really bad at it, because here he is a free man. Sonny looks like he has a headache and says he’s had a target on his back for over a year. Jason’s been MIA through it all. Why couldn’t he pick up a phone? Why couldn’t he pick up a phone and say, hey, I’m alive. I can’t tell you anything, but I’m alive. Carly says, if he could have, he would have, but Sonny says, Jason betrayed him, and she betrayed him.

Nina says, it sounds obvious now that she looks back on it, and Ava says, obvious to her maybe. Nina says, Ava kept Sonny away from her so she could move on in, but Ava says, Sonny moved her in, for her safety and the safety of her daughter. And that was before the two of them even separated. Nina says she stands corrected. Ava did get a foot in the door before she was even evicted. What about now? Why is she still there now? Ava says, for Avery, and Nina says, and herself? Ava says, yeah, for herself too, because selfishly, she’d like to be on good terms with her child’s father. Nina says, maybe at first, but Ava’s grown to like being in Sonny’s orbit, drawn into his circle of trust. It feels good, doesn’t it? It makes her feel seen, loved, like they’re the only two people in the whole world. Is she getting close? Ava says, this is absurd, and Nina says, the only thing she’s curious about now is, how does Ava think Sonny is going to react if he finds out not only is she the mastermind behind Nina narking – Ava says, stop it – but she knew the truth the whole time and she kept quiet. How does she think Sonny’s going to react to that? She’s guessing not well.

Drew says, Willow is going to be doing Amelia and herself a huge favor by getting her in the water as early as possible, and Willow says, he did that with Scout. He says, and look at her now. She’s like a little fish. Willow says, that makes her feel better, and he says, she’s not going to regret it. She tells him that when he says it, she believes it.

Ava says, if it will make Nina feel better to blame her, go ahead. Tell Sonny her little story about how Ava convinced her to turn in Carly and Drew. Nina says, maybe she will, and Ava says, and she can tell him how she thought it was a fabulous idea to sell the MetroCourt to Jason. It does not matter. He won’t believe her. Nina asks, why is that? and Ava says, because Sonny considers her a traitor, and he knows Nina will say absolutely anything to get him back. That’s how desperate Nina is. Nina says, not desperate, hopeful. Because Ava told her to be. Ava asks if she hears herself. Ava told her. Ava convinced her. How about thinking for herself once in a while and then maybe Sonny would have just a little respect for her. Nina says, and he has respect for Ava? and Ava says, not only does Sonny respect her, he counts on her. Nina says, poor Sonny, and Ava says, face it. She knows and understands Sonny in a way Nina never could.

Carly says, since when is Sonny so quick to think the worst of her? He’s family, and he says, not all his family. Just the ones who… She says, who betrayed him. She knows. He’s like a broken record. He’s cherry-picking history to make it line up with his version of events. He asks what pieces he’s ignoring, and she says, the one where Michael didn’t turn him in. Where he gave her the evidence instead and she destroyed it to protect him. What about those pieces? If it weren’t for her and Michael, he would be in jail right now. He says, if it wasn’t for Michael and her, Dex would never have been planted in his organization to spy on him and that evidence wouldn’t have existed. (He’s not wrong.) She says, okay. Michael made a bad choice, but he turned it around, and Dex was put in his organization then to protect him and watch his back, and that’s exactly what Dex did. He saved Sonny’s life multiple times. Doesn’t that count for anything? Sonny says, not to him.

Sam says, so Danny went to his father when she explicitly told him not to, and Jason says, they should talk. Sam says, they’ll talk later. Danny is her first priority. Jason says, Danny is his too, and she tells him that she said they’ll talk later. Danny tells her to listen to what Jason has to say. Please. Kristina says she has an idea. Why doesn’t Danny come with her to get a cup of coffee? Danny says he wants to stay, but Kristina says, come on, dude. They haven’t spent time together in a really long time, and she’s all up in her feels as a pregnant woman. He doesn’t want to make his aunt cry. She starts to whimper, and he says, fine. She goes to get her bag, and Sam thanks her. Kristina says, of course (🍷). Just text her with the all-clear and she’ll bring him back. She tells Danny, let’s go, and they leave. Sam asks how Jason could do this to their son.

Ava says, Nina doesn’t understand Sonny. She never has. Nina says, really? and Ava says, really. He is a powerful, turbulent, and yes, violent man. Meanwhile, Nina wants to sit by the fire and grow old with him, dandling grandkids on their knees. Nina asks, what’s wrong with that? and Ava says, nothing, she guesses. But if that’s the kind of life Nina wants, perhaps don’t choose a notorious mob boss to live it with. Nina says, Sonny chose her. He loves her and she does understand him. Does Ava want to know why? Because Sonny showed her a side to him that he never shows anyone. Ava says, yeah. Mike from Nixon Falls. She laughs and says, come on. Mike was never real. Nina has to face it. She saw what she wanted to see. In Nina’s defense, he encouraged her. he kept the darkest parts of himself hidden as best he could so her fantasy could live on. And that’s exactly what it was – a fantasy. She couldn’t really know Sonny because she didn’t want to. Not the real man anyway. Nina says, and Ava knows him, and Ava says she and Sonny are similar creatures. Nina asks, what’s her endgame? and Ava asks what that means. Nina says, Ava is living there, raising Avery under the same roof. She knows Ava. What does Ava get out of this?

Sonny says, Carly knew the risk of keeping Dex in his organization, just like she knew what was going to happen when he found out the truth. There are no surprises here. Carly says, everything he does surprises her lately. Writing his son off, almost killing Dex, his attitude toward Jason. He says, add it to the list, and she says she hardly recognizes him anymore. He says, right back at her, and she asks if this is really how it ends for them, after all these years, after everything they’ve been through. This is it? He says, this is it.

Danny spoons sugar into his coffee, and Kristina asks if he doesn’t want a ninth spoonful. That might do the trick. He says he hates the taste of coffee, and she asks why he’s drinking it. He says, everyone at school does, and she says, that’s great. She’s just going to be here with her sad, decaffeinated, herbal tea, living vicariously through him, while he sips what she considers to be the nectar of the gods, and he doesn’t even enjoy it. He says, sorry, but she says, don’t be. She’s only teasing. Does he want to talk about anything? They don’t have to. He says, all he wants to do is see his dad and hang out for just a minute. Why can’t his mom understand that? She asks how it’s been, having him back, and he says, good. She asks if it’s been weird or anything, since he’s been gone for so long, but Danny says, it’s been easy. His dad treats him like a person. He doesn’t get all parental. She says, like his mom does, and he nods. Kristina says, she is his mom and by definition, she wants to protect him. He says, from his own father? and she says, maybe, yeah. He says, she doesn’t let him do anything. It’s like he’s a prisoner. When is his mom going to realize, he’s not a little kid anymore? She asks if he’s thought of it from her side. Jason is his father and of course (🍷) Danny wants a relationship with him, that makes sense. But it also makes sense that his mom just wants to protect him and keep him safe. And it’s hard, it’s confusing, and it’s not that cut and dried. He tells her that his mom said she was afraid he was going to get hurt. She doesn’t want him hanging out with his dad because she’s afraid he’s just like him. Kristina asks, how? and he says, going fast, taking chances… It’s hard to explain, but his dad understands.

Jason says, he’s Danny’s father and nothing is going to change that, so they just have to try and figure out a way to handle this. Sam says she thought she had handled it when she told him to stay away from their son, but he says, it’s not working. Danny is going to come look for him. He already did. She says, then tell him to leave, and he asks if she thinks that’s going to stop Danny. She says, where he goes, danger follows. Danny is too young to understand the risks or control his impulses, so they’ll have to control that for him. Jason says, you mean control him, and she says, if they have to, yes. Danny is just like him, except he doesn’t have the maturity or the experience to guide him. What if he finds himself in a dangerous situation and he’s not able to get out of it?

Danny says he doesn’t want to worry his mom or lie to her, and Kristina says, of course (🍷) not. He says he bets his mother wishes he was just like Rocco. Steady, safe, he never gives mom or Dante a reason to freak out. He’s not like that and he won’t pretend that he is. She says, his mom loves him for who he is. She can guarantee his mom doesn’t want him to pretend, but with Jason back, it is confusing. And his mom, like the rest of them, is just trying to figure it out. He says he gets that, and she says, of course (🍷) he does. He’s smart and empathetic. He has very questionable taste – he doesn’t like coffee – but she’s willing to overlook that. He asks what he’s supposed to do, and she says, about Jason? He says he’s sorry his mom is confused and whatever else, but he won’t give up on his dad.

Sam says, it’s not only about the physical danger, and Jason says, okay, then what else? She says, what about the next time he disappears? And don’t say it’s not going to happen again, because it already did. He was here with Danny, then he’s gone. He says he wishes he could make promises, but she knows he can’t. She says, so how does she let Danny invest in him? How does she let him see a future with Jason when he might not even be around for it? Jason says he’ll set boundaries with Danny. He’ll make sure Danny never comes to the warehouse. She says, ever, and he says he promises he’ll be honest with her. If she calls and asks if he’s there, he’s going to tell the truth, and he’s going to encourage Danny to do the same thing. Sam says, because lying to her is definitely not okay, and Jason agrees. But he doesn’t believe cutting Danny off from him helps or protects their son. She says she guesses this part of the conversation is over, and he says he’s sorry this is hard. She says she’s sorry about a lot of things, and he goes to the door, hesitates a moment, then leaves.

Drew asks if Willow going to make that call, and she says she will. He tells her that he’s been spending more time with Nina lately because of Crimson, and Nina’s been talking about her a lot, her and the kids. He thought maybe she’d like to know. He leaves and she ponders this.

Ava tells Nina that what she gets is a strong relationship with the father of her only living child. What she gets is a partnership with Sonny. So instead of being grudgingly tolerated for Avery’s sake, she and Sonny have formed an alliance. Nina says, how nice, and Ava says, it is nice. They help each other. They lean on each other. And it comes naturally because they had a short end. Nina says, because of their mob ties, and Ava says, they both understand how the world works. He doesn’t have to explain things to her. Nina says, like he does with poor, naïve her, and Ava says, he doesn’t have to hide things either. In simpler terms, she and Sonny are compatible in ways he and Nina never were, and never could be. Nina says, well, have at it, tosses the divorce papers on her desk, and signs them. She holds them out to Ava and says, Sonny’s all hers. Ava takes them and leaves.

Carly says, she tried to protect Sonny, then Sonny calls her a traitor. Fine. They’ll go their own ways. She’ll focus on her life, and he can focus on his. He says, sounds good, and starts to walk away, but then says, you know, out of all the people he thought would abandon him, he never thought she would. He leaves, and she looks like she might cry.

Nina sits at her desk and looks at the wedding set still on her hand. She flashes back to her life with Sonny, falling in love in Nixon Falls, getting married in Puerto Rico, dancing, getting busy, and Sonny’s proposal. She takes off her rings and calls Madison into the office. She asks Madison to find an appropriate box for these and have them shipped to Mr. Corinthos’s address at the Harbor View Towers. Madison looks sadly at Nina and leaves.

Tomorrow, Brook says, they’re going to have to catch Willow up tonight; Curtis tells Jordan that he has a new opportunity for a reset; Sasha asks if Maxie is going to take the next step with Spinelli; and Tracy asks Spinelli if she’s clear, and he says, crystal.

Below Deck

Anthony looks for an ice cream scoop and the guests call for Paris. Chocolate lava cake is served and is a surprising success. Surprising because nothing else has been a success. Guest Clifton says he needs grilled wings, and in Anthony’s interview, he says he f***ed up lunch and dinner and feels heartbreak inside. We flash back to that, and he says he needs to be happy to make amazing food. He’s sad and his food says it. Fraser says, it’s one hot mess of an evening, and some of the guests get in the hot tub. Primary Ray says, they need lobster grilled cheese, but Barbie says, the chef is asleep. She can’t cook even the basics, but she can bring them some snacks. This doesn’t go over too well, so she suggests hot sandwiches. Primary Carmen says there had better be some sh*t she likes, and Barbie says she’ll do her best. In Barbie’s interview, she says, they’re rude and it’s not cool. The crew is here to serve, but this is so extra. These guests are batsh*t crazy. She hopes they choke on the sandwiches. She and Kyle go to the galley, and she says she grew up with nannies who cooked. He checks out her sandwiches and pronounces them not great, but not bad. Barbie tells the guests that the panini is disappointing, but the BLT is better, and Roy says he wants napkins. Barbie tells Kyle, it’s tragic, tragic thing, and in Kyle’s interview, he says, Barbie is different from the girls he’s liked in the past. She’s so high stung, she’s vertical, while he’s so laid back, he’s horizontal. He tells Barbie that he’s not going through that sh*t again, and in Barbie’s interview, she says she likes Kyle, but she’s too afraid to act on it, so it’s kind of a game.

Ben overhears Dylan telling Paris that Sunny got lead deckhand because she’s f***ing him, and he tells Sunny. In Sunny’s interview, she says, they had a relationship before Ben became bosun. It’s ultimately the captain’s decision, and Dylan needs to stay in his lane. Dylan wants to know who squealed on him, and Xandi tells Dylan to just tell Ben that he didn’t mean it. In her interview, she says, she’s happy to be there for Dylan. He has a good heart, but needs to maneuver it to get his message across. Fraser asks Anthony about lunch on the beach, and Anthony says he’s making mac and cheese and lobster tail. Fraser says, they can’t afford to challenge themselves in any way, and asks if Anthony can precook it ahead for the grill. At breakfast, Carmen asks if they have duck or turkey bacon for the eggs benedict, but Anthony tells Paris that he doesn’t have it. Paris relays the message, and Carmen bitches that she’s the primary and doesn’t eat pork. It’s disappointing.   

Paris tells Anthony that the primary is upset, but he says, it’s not his fault. He ordered it, but the provisioner can’t find it. He mumbles that even if he doesn’t give a sh*t, he has to smile, and serves Carmen personally. He apologizes about the bacon and explains that he tried to order it, but it wasn’t available in the Caribbean. Carmen says he’s forgiven, and we get a big dose of eggs benedict… food porn! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more scrumptious looking egg. Fraser tells the captain that he’s going to heat up the barbecue at the beach, while Ben talks to Dylan. He says he heard what Dylan’s been saying, that he has more experience, and Sunny got the job for opening her legs. Dylan tells Ben that he said what he thought. He should have been named lead deckhand because of his experience. Ben says he assumes Ben has more experience, but it’s not necessarily about going off experience. And it’s not about him and Sunny sleeping together. It’s all about attitude and Sunny knows more about the boat. It sucks that it had to come through others. Dylan says he’s sorry if he offended Ben and Ben suggests they leave it there.

Fraser says, Barbie is coming with the guests, and Anthony says he’s running out of time, but he’s not an octopus. He opens a refrigerator, and a bunch of stuff falls out. As the guests have a drink, Xandi and Paris get grossed out doing the cabins. Anthony comes to the beach with the food, and in his interview, Fraser wonders if anything he said registered. Anthony didn’t cook the lobster. He tells Anthony that it should have gone in a while ago, but Anthony says he had no time. The guests try to play pickleball, but there’s too much wind. Paris radios, wondering when the guests will be back, and Fraser says, the food is still on the grill. They’re behind schedule by at least a half hour. Barbie tells Fraser that she doesn’t like these people. They drove her nuts last night. The food totally looks worth waiting for, but the guests grumble that the mac and cheese isn’t like the dish in the south. We see a clip of Anthony breaking linguine, and I imagine that’s not like the mac and cheese anywhere. Fraser tells Ben that the guests aren’t happy with the food, but Ben thinks it looks tasty. Ben would be right, but Carmen says she’s not wasting calories eating that. Fraser tells Ben that they need to get the guests back to enjoying themselves, and in Fraser’s interview, he says, it’s not just affecting his team; it’s affecting the boat. He knows this tip is going to be sh*t. He’s spending most of his time with chef, making sure he’s doing his job correctly and keeping him in line. He has no space for looking after him. He doesn’t have time for that. He radios for the stews to have the welcome drinks ready, and they decide to put a gummi bear in each drink. At first, I’m kind of against this, but when I see it, I change my mind. Captain Kerry asks Fraser, how was the beach? and Fraser says, they didn’t enjoy the meal. The mac and cheese was questionable, but they made do. The captain says, he might have to make a change. It’s a schoolboy error. In Captain Kerry’s interview, he says he tried to give Anthony guidance, but if one person isn’t running at the same speed as the rest of them, they’ll get behind. He tells Fraser, the pressure’s on.  

Barbie wonders if Paris has someone waiting for her at the end of the season, but Paris says she’s just got a post break-up glow. In Paris’s interview, she says, her last relationship was a nightmare. He cheated on her with his ex, who stole from Paris, then posted photos of herself online wearing Paris’s clothes. The boys on the boat are nice, but she’s good. Um… that thing about the clothes is really weird. Creepy weird. Anthony says, the guests want simple stuff, and makes chicken and fish, with chicken for the guest who doesn’t eat fish. Fraser says, chicken for the starter, chicken for the main, and chicken for dessert, and Anthony promises a beautiful potato au gratin. It’s movie premiere night, and the decorations look amazing. The guests dress like characters from movies: Sandy from Grease, Jules from Pulp Fiction, Jasmine from Aladdin, guest Brandon as late 90s Michael Jackson, clearly having forgotten his costume, and the final entrance is King Ray and Queen Carmen. The crew plays paparazzi, and in Fraser’s interview, he says, it’s such a tacky request. Clearly the guests don’t feel important in their lives and need to pay them to feel loved. Does that not speak volumes? Agreed, it does. While doing cabins, Paris tells Xandi that someone shaved something, and I don’t want to know. Ray suggests Anthony start preparing some lobster grilled cheese now for later. They’d wanted that last night. This sounds like an awful sandwich to me. Cheese and lobster are both great, but not together. Fraser tells the guests that the hot tub is ready and tells Anthony that they’ll have to sit down after every charter meeting and come up with a menu. Barbie serves the grilled cheese sandwiches, but there’s no lobster, and Ray tells her that he had a conversation with the chef. This is melted bullsh*t cheddar.  

Barbie says she wants the guests to be happy and tells Kyle that the chef promised them lobster grilled cheese. She thinks they’ll be in trouble if they don’t wake him up. In Kyle’s interview, he says, here we go, and wakes up Anthony. He says, the primary is saying he’d asked to have lobster grilled cheese. Can Anthony make one? Anthony says, yeah, and Kyle says, sorry to wake him up. Brandon calls the other guests bougie bitches, and Anthony tells Kyle that the guests said they wanted grilled cheese, but never told him they wanted lobster. We flash back to a minute ago where they clearly asked for lobster, and Anthony says he knows what they asked for. He makes the sandwiches, and Barbie thanks him, apologizing for waking him up. He says, anytime, which is probably the wrong thing to say in response to anything on this boat.

In the morning, Captain Kerry prays to the wind gods that it’s not so windy today. The anchor is put in the pocket, and the yacht heads to Port Louis Marina. At breakfast, one of the guests wants a crepe with no chocolate, and I wonder, what’s the point? Sunny tells Dylan that she knows he wanted to be lead deckhand, but Dylan insists he doesn’t care. In Dylan’s interview, he says he doesn’t think Sunny’s a bad person. There’s no point in firing it up more. In Sunny’s interview, she says, it’s supposed to be a team, not an ego war. In his interview, Dylan says, where there’s a will, there’s a way, and when bad egos are in play, I’ll stay away. He gets very pleased with himself when he discovers he made a rhyme. The boat docks and as breakfast finishes, Ray says, that sh*t was delicious. While these definitely sound like words that would come out of my mouth, I’d try to class it up just a little on a superyacht. Captain Kerry says, everyone did a fantastic job on the docking, and the crew changes to their whites. Ben says he looks good, but smells, and spritzes on cologne. There are the usual hugs and goodbyes, and Carmen says, Fraser has been her best friend this whole time. She was the primary and as a non-pork eater, you’d think the chef would have had more options. She’s head bitch, but didn’t get that. The tip envelope is given, and the guests leave. Anthony says, f*** me, and some cleaning is done. Ugh. Xandi wonders what that is on the pillow, and Fraser says, after a while, all fluids look the same. That cinches it. This would not be the job for me.

The captain calls the tip meeting, and they toast to new stew Paris and to Sunny as the new lead deckhand. Dylan couldn’t look more begrudging if he tried. Captain Kerry says, the guests were demanding in their own way, and they expressed their joys and their not so much joys. And it was reflected in the tip. The tip is $17,259, or $1326 each, the lowest one this season. In Fraser’s interview, he says, it’s embarrassing. Is it because of the food? He says, yes. The captain asks if Fraser wants to rumble in the cage, and Anthony thinks it’s his turn next. Fraser tells Captain Kerry that the guests didn’t enjoy the food. The preferences weren’t considered, and he thinks Anthony has lost his sense of standard with the meals. The captain sighs, and radios for Anthony to see him. Anthony says, of course. F*** my life. Captain Kerry tells Anthony, have a seat.

Captain Kerry says, Anthony is an incredible chef. His food is amazing, but he’s starting to nosedive. Anthony says he doesn’t know what the captain is talking about. He doesn’t see where he’s going wrong. The captain says, he didn’t realize that the crew food is priority, the guests’ food was late, and he’s making mistakes because he’s not prepared. We flash back to all that, and Captain Kerry says he’s seeing the guests not satisfied with the elements of what he’s doing. Anthony says he made a mistake. He’s human. The captain says, he’s not flourishing in this environment, and Anthony embarrasses himself further by basically blaming it on the guests. Captain Kerry says, he’s an amazing chef, but superyachts need more than that. He’s doing Anthony a favor. Anthony says, it’s the first time he’s been fired, and in his interview, he says he’s in shock. It’s not real. It’s not possible. Captain Kerry says he has a lot of respect for Anthony, and they shake hands and bro hug. In Captain Kerry’s interview, he says, it’s heartbreaking and he doesn’t like doing this at all. The crew is noticing, and if it keeps going on like this, the morale will be terrible, and he can’t have that. Anthony cries in the galley, and Fraser asks what the captain said. Anthony says, he’s not good enough. He feels destroyed. He worked hard and never complained. Fraser says, it’s got nothing to do with him. It’s difficult to work in yachting. In Fraser’s interview, he says he sees Anthony’s in pain that he feels like he aided. It’s difficult. He’ll love that boy forever, but right now, the job is more important and he’s not right for the job. Anthony sniffles that he wasn’t enough, and they hug, while Anthony cries. Captain Kerry looks at resumés. Barbie spreads the news and says, the next chef will probably be batsh*t crazy, since they usually are. Fraser says, they need to pray the next chef fits in. Ben says, it will be hard for him to get used to someone new. Captain Kerry texts yacht services to get the new chef on a plane. They’re hired. Anthony says he’s a terrible chef, and the captain tells Fraser that a new chef is coming in. They’re going to smash out the next three charters. The crew gets ready to go out, and Captain Kerry radios that the chef is leaving. In Anthony’s interview, he says he loves everyone and he’s going to miss them so much. The crew gives him a group hug, and in his interview, he says, the only thing he needs is cooking for people. It’s the only thing that makes him happy. He’s going to come back a crazy motherf***er. He’ll be back in the game for sure. I don’t think it’s his cooking at all, but he’s too depressed to recognize it. He’s just not meant for the yachting world. He needs to go the restaurant route.

The crew toasts to the chef and heads out. In the taxi, Barbie tells Sunny and Ben that they can’t use her bed tonight. They go to Island Fever restaurant, and order dinner. Dylan asks Sunny what three things would make her happiest, and she says, living on an island, having her own boat, and growing her own food. He points out that his mom and dad have a farm. If she comes to South Africa, she should visit them. She says, for sure, and he kisses her cheek. Ben watches the whole exchange. The food arrives and I want it all. There are random dogs and cats hanging around and a pool, and I can’t see one thing not to like about this place. Barbie sits at a picnic bench with Kyle, and Dylan says he’s going to the pool. Kyle says he respects where Barbie is at, and she says, what if she hooked up with someone else? In Barbie’s interview, she says she and Kyle definitely have chemistry, but the guys she’s dated are Jewish, hardworking, and stable. Kyle’s not modest and free-spirited. She has a guard up where she cares about image or doesn’t think her dad would support the relationship. It’s a weird situation to be in. Ben goes in the pool, and Barbie goes back to the table. Fraser says, Truth or Dare? and Paris dares Fraser to do a shoey, which is apparently drinking from someone’s shoe, although I’ve never heard that term before. In Fraser’s interview, he says he’s already regretting suggesting the game 100%. He does his dare, and Barbie says she’s game for one. Dylan tells her to choose a guy to kiss, and Fraser adds that it’s got to be a full make out session.

Barbie asks, what if she’s not down with that. They tell her to drink, and she says she’s not hooking up with anyone. Cheers. Kyle tells Ben to swap dresses with Xandi, and they change behind a blanket. In Xandi’s interview, she says she’s going to want that back, by the way. In the taxi on the way back, Dylan laments that normally, Anthony would be next to him. On the boat, Kyle hugs Barbie and she leads him away to the bar. In her interview, she says, her mom’s a sex therapist and she has a conservative father. It’s her life problem. She wants to be modest, but she’s not. It’s something she’s figuring out in the world. Dylan asks Sunny, what’s with her and Ben, and Sunny says, they’re having fun once in a while. He says, so she’s not taken? and she says, definitely not. He says, if she’s free, then… He goes to kiss her, but it’s a hard no. He says, what about her cheek? but that’s also a no. In Sunny’s interview, she says, Dylan has no game. He doesn’t know how to flirt. If being mean and trash talking her behind her back is flirting, it’s a bit of an ick. In Barbie’s interview, she says, Kyle got a new side of her from the other guys she’s been with. She often needs a prerequisite, like looks, a job, or her father’s approval. They get in bed and get busy. Man, does this guy have a pineapple tattoo. A humongous pineapple under his hip. In her interview, Barbie says she’s falling for Kyle in a real and different way she’s never felt. He’s been her rock, her escape. They go in the bathroom, and we hear the shower running… and moaning. Alrighty then.

Next time, a Christmas party; a guest has a thing for Fraser; and Barbie disappoints herself for disappointing her father.

🍔 Have It Their Way…

Join me tomorrow for soap and VanderWTF. Until then, stay safe, stay being thankful for at least three things every day, and stay believing them when people tell you who they are.

February 8, 2024 – Commissioner Devane Is Reinstated, Jagger, Very Soon, 80s Fun, Her Message, Leaving Atlanta, Joining Us, Dragon New Year, Rescue Bowling & What

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Michael goes to Sonny’s office and asks if he can come in. Sonny says, sure. What’s he doing here? Michael says, they haven’t spoken since New Year’s. The longer they wait, the harder it will be to have this conversation.

Nina goes over some business with Trish at the MetroCourt, when Carly comes in. She tells Trish, dinner for two, and Trish says, her guest is waiting. She brings Carly to a table where a man introduces himself as Bryson Somebody-or-Other, and they shake hands. Obviously familiar with Bryson, Nina wonders what Carly is up to.

Drew comes to the gatehouse with paperwork for Michael, and Willow says, he’s not here, but she’ll let him know Drew dropped it off. He tells her to have a good evening, and starts to leave, but Willow says she’s glad he and Michael are on good footing again. He says, him too, and he hopes things are better between her and Michael. She says, they’re working through it, and he says, he was just trying to protect his family. Drew’s not condoning anything. He’s just saying he gets that. She says, so does she. Michael’s impulse is always to control a situation, but she would rather know the truth than be protected from it. She thinks Michael understands that now. He says he’s really glad Michael was able to put Nina behind him, and she says, from the sound of things, Drew hasn’t been able to put Nina behind him.

Gregory, Chase, and Finn sit at a table at Charlie’s discussing basketball, and Lois approaches. She says, who knew the Chase boys were such Knicks fans? She thinks they were heard all the way to the Garden. Chase says, actually, his dad was rooting for Boston, and Gregory tells him, keep it quiet. They’re in a home team bar. Lois says she doesn’t mean to interrupt their post-game wrap-up, but can she steal their dad for a minute? Chase wonders if it’s about the rehearsal dinner, but she says, that’s none of his beeswax, and they sit at another table. Chase asks why Finn is watching their dad so close, but Finn says he’s not. Chase says, Finn was sneaking looks at him the whole game. What’s going on? Finn says he thinks their dad might be worse off than he’s telling them.

At the station, Jordan says, it is with great pleasure she reinstates Anna Devane as Commissioner of the Port Charles Police Department. Welcome back, Commissioner Devane. She gives Anna her badge, and everyone applauds. Anna thanks Jordan and Dante asks if she has any words for the crew on her first official day back. She says she’s very grateful to the mayor’s department for entrusting her with this role, and she’d like to acknowledge the fact that the baton is being passed by two great Commissioners, Jordan Ashford and Mac Scorpio. It is a profound honor to guide and support the hard-working officers of the PCPD. They all share the same goal, which is to protect and serve the good citizens of Port Charles. John walks in, and Anna says, and anyone who’s not with them is against them.

Dante wonders if they can trust John, and Jordan says, Anna seems to. Let’s take our lead from her.

In the interrogation room, John says, nice office, and Anna says, hers is being decorated. He says, of course (🍷). She took the job on short notice. She says, let’s get to it, shall we? She wants him to know, the PCPD is officially running an investigation on the cache stolen from the WSB and their buyers. He says, there’s still an FBI investigation, and she says she’s aware, but the way she sees it, the crime was originally committed here in her jurisdiction, putting the community of Port Charles in harm’s way. And a possible conspirator was apprehended, here, again in her jurisdiction. So the FBI can accept a partnership with the PCPD, or respectfully get the hell out of her way.

Lois tells Gregory that the rehearsal dinner used to be referred to as the groom’s dinner, so she wants to make sure her future son-in-law is well taken care of. He says, it looks like she’s going all out. Be careful or she might upset a lifetime of him and Chase’s mother trying not to spoil him. Lois says, a little spoiling never hurt anyone. Besides, she wants to take advantage of this. It’s been a while since she’s lived so close to Brook. You never know how much time you get to spend together as a family. Gregory tells her, you can say that again.

Finn tells Chase, after Spencer’s funeral, Gregory had trouble breathing. That wasn’t the first time he had an incident. The first time was with Tracy, and it’s got him wondering, what happens when he’s alone, or what could happen. What if he falls down? What if he needs an ambulance? Chase says, all that is very concerning, but it hasn’t happened yet. They’ve been lucky. Finn says, so far. He was wondering if it’s not time for their dad to stop living on his own.

At the MetroCourt bar, Martin tells Nina that he hasn’t got long. He’s leaving town today. She says she needs his legal help, and he says, his ears must deceive him. He was unaware he’d won back her trust. She says, he hasn’t, but he owes her.

Carly says she’s glad Bryson could meet on such short notice, and he says he agreed to this dinner as a courtesy. His firm has been advertising in Crimson for years. She says, and she’d like to show her appreciation. She knows that Windsor and Golden and Crimson have both enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship, and she sees no reason for that to end. He says, here’s a reason. Her relationship is garnering bad press.

Willow asks if it isn’t enough that Drew has taken Crimson away from Nina and given it to Carly to run. Nina lived for that magazine. He asks if she’s feeling sorry for Nina, because Nina doesn’t deserve that. She says she can’t help feeling partly responsible. She didn’t tell anyone about her diagnosis, and of course (🍷) the second Carly found out, she admitted Nina was her mother, but Nina blamed Carly for keeping the secret, which is what triggered Nina to do what she did. Willow set everything in motion, now everyone is suffering. Just as the family was finally coming together, they’ve completely fallen apart. He says he’s going to stop her right there because she doesn’t need to take responsibility for Nina. Nina brought this on herself. She deserves to pay the consequences. She says her concern isn’t for Nina. Her concern is for him. Carrying a grudge, meting out punishment? That’s not him. The Drew she knows is kind and forgiving. Is that man lost forever?

Michael says he started to call Sonny a dozen times, and Sonny asks, what stopped him? Michael says he wasn’t sure Sonny would answer, and Sonny says, so he thought he’d come here, where Sonny could throw him out? Michael says, it hasn’t happened yet, and Sonny tells him, that depends on what he has to say. Michael says he came to tell Sonny that he’s sorry and he hopes Sonny can forgive him.

Drew tells Willow, people change. Maybe the old Drew died in Pentenville. Willow says, Drew didn’t deserve what happened to him, and she hates that Nina’s vengeance put him in that position, especially after he saved her life. He says, all that matters is that she’s healthy and well, and he’d do anything for her in a heartbeat. She says, that sounds like the Drew she knows and loves. Please don’t let what happened to him in Pentenville change who he is. He says, maybe everything just caught up with him. Pentenville isn’t the only time he was put behind bars under terrible circumstances. The guy she knew with the rosy outlook took work to cultivate after everything Victor did to him for years, so that people wouldn’t be uncomfortable around him, so they wouldn’t worry about him. He just was so happy being back with his family and friends, he didn’t want to look back, but the joke was on him. He just went from one hellhole to another. And the thing about the attack, he didn’t see that coming. The threats were right in front of his face, and he missed them, and that’s not him either. How did he end up on the floor of a prison shower, bleeding out? Because he let his guard down. He literally turned his back, and she can trust him that it’s never going to happen again. She says, he’s been through a lot. She has too, not as extreme as him of course (🍷), but despite all that, she still believes in the power of forgiveness. And not just for the people who wronged us, but for ourselves. He says, good for her. He’s not there yet.

Nina says she’s considering starting her own magazine, and Martin says, no doubt, something to rival her old publication. She wants to go toe to toe with Crimson. What inspired this? She says, actually, Valentin suggested it. She’s warming to the idea, but only if she can use the best features of Crimson, those she developed when she was Editor-in-Chief. He asks how she proposes to do that, and she says, that’s where he comes in. She calls hello to Brook, who comes over. Brook says she’s going to do Olivia a favor by not telling Nina exactly what she thinks of her in the middle of the restaurant she co-owns. She walks away, and Martin asks, what just happened? Nina says, her attorney couldn’t keep his big mouth shut.

Bryson tells Carly that they’re aware of public sentiment. There was already concern when their highly regarded Editor-in-Chief Nina Reeves was replaced, suddenly and without cause. You add to that the controversial article about Carly and her publisher boyfriend, at this time, they’re not convinced their brands align with where this new Crimson is going. Carly says she appreciates straight talk, so she’s just going to respond in kind. Crimson magazine has just changed hands. Their editorial mission statement still remains the same, a celebration of style, art, and provocative journalism. And the publisher and owner of Aurora Media, Drew Cain, shares her mission to maintain the impeccable quality that their readers are familiar with. And she’s confident the public is going to understand this. She knows he said he wanted to suspend advertising with them, but she wants the opportunity to explain to him why she thinks he should reconsider. They want to take what’s working with Crimson and elevate the rest. He says, that’s all great, but how is she going to do that if her photographers and designers are booking other gigs rather than staying loyal to Crimson or to her?

John says, his superiors see the benefit of working with the PCPD, and Anna says, but he doesn’t. Well, it’s not his call, is it? He says, whether he agrees or not is irrelevant. Information will be provided – Jordan and Dante come in – on a need-to-know basis, and he’ll be the one to determine what qualifies. Anna says, Detective Falconari is one of her most senior officers and she trusts him implicitly. Deputy Mayor Ashford will be reporting to Mayor Collins about all of the federal operations here in Port Charles. John says, fine, but this circle of trust doesn’t get any wider. Any leaks could have deadly applications. Anna says she thinks they all understand that. Does he want to bring them up to speed? He says, her first. What information did she go to jail to hide from him?

Sonny says, Michael told him that he withheld the truth about Nina because he didn’t want to hurt him, but he doesn’t think that’s the only reason. Michael says, Sonny is the only reason he kept quiet. When he found out Nina was the SEC informant, it was after Sonny and Nina exchanged vows. How could he say anything in that moment? It would have affected everybody there. Not just Sonny and Willow and Nina, but Wiley, Kristina, Donna. And honestly, would Sonny have believed him, or given his history with Nina, would he have thought Michael was trying to sabotage her? Sonny says, they’ll never know because Michael didn’t say anything, and Michael says he needed to get evidence first. Sonny says, Michael could have pulled him aside and tried as hard as he could, but he didn’t want to do that. Why? Michael says, because once he decided to keep quiet about what Nina did, he needed to find another way to protect his family, and Sonny says, protect them how? Michael says he leveraged the truth against Nina to keep her away from them.

Anna tells John, O’Neal claims he sold multiple weapons from the stolen WSB shipment to a single buyer. One of the weapons was the rifle used to shoot Curtis Ashford. O’Neal also claims that this client is based here in Port Charles. John says, so this shooter could be right under their nose, and Dante says, this alleged client could have resold the weapons or maybe he’s part of a larger group. John says, at this point, they lack the evidence to rule out either scenario, and Jordan says, then start with what he knows. Anna says, his turn to share information with them, and John says, four individuals have been targeted for assassination since the unmarked weapons were stolen, and there’s a common denominator. Dante says, which is what? and John says, all four individuals were high-level organized crime figures.

Michael says he recorded Martin Grey admitting Nina ordered him to turn in Carly and Drew in to the SEC, and he intended on playing the recording for Sonny, but he pleaded for Nina instead. He gave her two options. Either she admitted what she did and face the consequences, or she let him decide when and how she got to see Willow and the kids. Sonny says, he blackmailed her? and Michael says, Nina had every chance to come clean about what she did, and she didn’t. That is on her. Then Ned remembered and started to push Nina, but Nina came to him to buy Ned off. That was his second mistake. He should have just called Ned’s bluff and let him expose her if that’s what he wanted. He struck a deal with Ned to keep the peace, but it didn’t matter because Lois found out anyway, and the whole thing blew up. Sonny asks why Nina didn’t come to him instead of living a lie, and Michael says, because bottom line is, she’s guilty. And she was desperate to keep the truth from Sonny and Willow because she thought neither one of them would forgive her. Sonny says, what about Michael? Where would Michael stand with him if he did?

Carly tells Bryson not to believe everything he hears. Crimson still boasts the most sought-after collaborators in the industry. He says, they enjoyed a long and profitable relationship with Nina Reeves, but Carly is untested. He’ll be frank, they have doubts. She says she can assure him this transition will be seamless. She’s already elevated her Senior Editor to Managing Editor. The Crimson he knows, and loves is only going to get better. His phone rings and he says he has to take this. He gets up and says, they can discuss terminating their current agreement when he gets back. He leaves, and Brook comes by. She says, Carly doesn’t seem to be enjoying her dinner companion, and Carly says, it’s really hard to enjoy dinner when it can cost her 2.1 million annual. Brook says, ouch.

Martin tells Nina, to be fair, long before she had him alert the SEC to Carly and Drew’s insider trading, she had a knack for alienating people. Bryson comes over, and Nina asks how he is. What’s going on? He says, it’s a complete waste of time. Crimson without her? Unthinkable. They give each other a Hollywood kiss as Carly watches. Carly says, well, that explains it.

Lois tells Gregory that she’s happy Brook found her independence, but to be honest, that’s not how she grew up. In their house, family was a generational thing. Brook grew up with her grandparents just like Lois did, with her aunt, her uncle, her two cousins living two doors down. It’s what they call the Bensonhurst Brigade. Gregory says he’s familiar with the term, and there’s a lot to be said for that. But he’s curious. When she was growing up, did she ever find that intrusive? Lois says, waiting for the bathroom was like waiting in line for the Cyclone in Coney Island. And there were eyes on you at all times. They were loving eyes, but they were there to keep you honest. But family is family, right? And looking back, she’s got to say she’s so glad she got to know her parents and her grandparents as well as she did. Violet must really appreciate him living so close by.

Chase asks if Finn is thinking about putting their dad in a long-term care facility, and Finn says, what is he talking about? No. Chase says, Finn doesn’t want their dad to live alone. He lives in a one-bedroom apartment with Brook, so he assumes Finn is talking about his place. Finn says, things will be tight with Violet there, but he thinks he can move his office to the small bedroom. Chase says he doesn’t think their dad would care about the amount of space. The main challenge would be their dad feeling like Finn is taking away his independence.

Chase says, their dad has his challenges; there’s no two ways about it. But he’s still able to navigate them. He sees what Finn is saying about all the things that can go wrong with him living alone, but for now, that hasn’t happened. They’ll get him a watch that will send an alert when he falls. Finn says, he wants to rely on a watch, but Chase says he wants to rely on their dad. He thinks there’s a way they can keep a close eye on him without being too intrusive. Then they can step in if they see a problem. But they should let him keep his independence for as long as possible and get him a watch.

Gregory asks Lois, how was it living with her grandparents? Does she think they felt infantilized by having their kids taking care of them? She says, is he kidding her? They loved it. It kept them young. He knows the saying, it takes a village? Well, that only works if you actually have a village. And as they got older, they knew somebody was always going to be there to help them out. They really loved that, especially when it came to the TV remote and the microwave. Anyway, she has to go, but she’ll keep him posted on everything about the rehearsal dinner as soon as the vendors confirm. He says, vendors? and holds out his hand. She says, stop it with that. They’re almost family. She kisses his cheek, wipes the lipstick off, and leaves.

Brook says, Carly just took over. She’ll make her mark and then everyone will forget all about Nina Reeves. Carly says, unfortunately, she’s not off to a great start. Advertisers and contributors are threatening to cut ties with the magazine, and if she loses Bryson’s account, it could really affect the bottom line. They see Bryson tell Nina goodbye, and Brook asks what she can do, but Carly says, nothing. She doesn’t need to worry about this; this is not her problem. Brook says, of course (🍷) it is. Nina is doing everything in her power to undermine Carly. (Apparently, it doesn’t take much, since she really hasn’t done anything.) This is the same woman who let everyone believe Brook’s father turned Carly over to the SEC when he had a head injury and couldn’t even defend himself. Is she over it? Not even a little bit. Let’s do this. They can get Windsor and Golden back. They just have to be a little creative.

Nina says, as Martin can see, she’s the one with the relationships, and he says, the gentleman certainly seemed to hold her in high esteem. Nina says, Bryson is an ad rep for Windsor and Golden. For years, they were Crimson’s top advertisers, but no more. Which positions them beautifully to be one of the first ad buys in her venture. What she needs now is her staff getting compete clauses waived. Can he get around that?

Michael says, if Sonny decides to forgive Nina or if he doesn’t, it’s not for him to judge, but Sonny says, that wasn’t an answer to his question. Michael says he thinks they’re all better off without Nina in their lives, but he won’t pursue any further action to drive her away. If Willow wants to let her back in, he’ll have to live with that. Sonny says, all right. What about him? Michael says, no matter who Sonny is with, he’ll always have a place in Wiley and Amelia’s lives, and Sonny says he loves those kids. He hated being estranged all those months. Michael says, it’ll never happen again, and he hopes Sonny will choose to be a part of his life too. He can’t promise to like or trust Nina, but he can’t allow Nina to cost him his wife or his father.

Anna says, it seems to her that whoever is ordering these hits is cutting a swathe across the country. Would this be mafia power grabs or what? John says, that’s what’s puzzling. No one is stepping forward to claim responsibility. There’s been no resulting turf wars. Anna says, that would suggest it’s not business, it’s personal, and Dante asks what they’re doing to protect those who’ve been targeted. John says, they’re not in the business of protecting criminals. If they’re going to nail this perp, they can’t tip them off that they know the pattern. Dante says, so what John’s telling them is, he just wants to get his guy and to hell with saving lives?

Finn says he understands Chase’s point, but he’s still uneasy about this. Gregory comes back and says, uneasy about what? Finn says, the Knicks chances of making it to the finals, and Gregory says, good luck with that. Chase asks if everything is okay with Lois, and Gregory says, yes. She was telling him about how she grew up in a multigenerational home and it got him to thinking. He’s had a couple of health scares recently. Nothing to be alarmed about, but enough to make him wonder if it’s wise to live alone. He doesn’t want to intrude on Finn, but it might make sense to be near a doctor (and Finn gets free babysitting!). Finn says he’s sure they can work something out. It would be nice to have Gregory in the apartment, someone to keep an eye on Violet in case he has an emergency at the hospital. But only if it’s something Gregory really wants. Gregory says, yes, he does. I wonder why they don’t they pool their money and get a big-ass house for everybody.

John says, sounds to him like Dante’s personal connection could be a problem, and Dante says, sounds to him like John’s personal animosity toward Sonny could be a problem. (Touché!) Anna says, everyone in this room has a personal connection to Sonny. Let’s just get that out of the way. But she thinks they also share a determination to bring whoever is behind these shootings to justice. That should be their one and only focus. Jordan says she agrees. Whoever is behind this is organized, calculated, and doesn’t care about collateral damage. Anna says, they need to be stopped before they hurt anyone else. She asks if she can have a word with John, and Jordan says she has some calls to make. She’ll be right outside if she’s needed. She leaves and Dante starts to follow, when John says, what Dante’s been told is classified. Dante leaves, and Anna asks if that was necessary. John asks if she doesn’t think he’s going to warn his old man, and she says, of course (🍷) he wants to, but he won’t. John should be the one to do that. John says, no. Tipping off Sonny Corinthos just gives him a pass for vigilante justice. Anna says, or it enables him to check in with his security and figure out how to protect himself. She understands there’s no love lost between him and Sonny, but he shouldn’t let that cloud his judgement. He asks, what’s that supposed to mean? and she says, despite his disapproval, Sonny means the world to a lot of people. Tell her. What would he think Stone would want him to do? That’s kind of what I was thinking. Why is John so pissed at Sonny when Sonny was so good to Stone?

Sonny tells Michael that sometimes he looks at Nina and still sees the woman he married. Then he thinks of Donna and how close she came to losing her mother to a prison sentence, and Drew getting close to being beaten to death in Pentenville. And Nina set all that in motion. Michael says he realizes it’s not his right to make decisions for the people he loves. So if Sonny wants to forgive Nina and let her back into his life again, it won’t affect their relationship. That is, if they still have a relationship.

Drew stares into the fire, and Willow comes downstairs. She says, sorry it took so long. Amelia is still adjusting to the sippy cup. He says he can’t believe she’s one now, and she says, her neither. She and Michael didn’t want to have a big birthday celebration, especially with everything going on. They kept it just them and the kids. Drew says he gets that. He missed out on so many birthdays with Scout. That’s time he’ll never get back. She says, but they have the rest of their lives now, and he says, her outlook is remarkable. She says she realizes some people might find her too forgiving, but she doesn’t view that as a weakness. Actually, it’s been the key to her survival. Forgiveness and gratitude have helped her over the worst things that have happened to her. She’s just so thankful to be alive and well, everything else takes a backseat to that. He says he thinks she’s one of the strongest people he knows, and she says, same. She’s standing here raising her children thanks to him. He says, she did all the work. She’s standing here because she’s a fighter. She says she didn’t fight alone. He flew across the globe and put his life on the line to bring her bone marrow donor home. Would he still do that today for her? Or would punishing Nina take precedence? He says he wouldn’t think twice. He would never turn his back on her. She says, even if she let him down, and he tells her, like he said, people change, but some things don’t. There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for the people that he loves, but Nina is not one of them.

Martin says, Nina doesn’t need a lawyer. She needs a magician. Aurora’s contracts are ironclad. He’d have to be Houdini to get anybody released from something like that. Then again, it is her money, and if she wants him to waste time and energy… She says, forgive her, but he’s going to do this pro bono because she did him a favor. He broke attorney/client privilege. She could have him disbarred. He asks exactly how she’s going to do that, prove that privilege was breached. Is she going to get Michael Corinthos to sign an affidavit? Once again, she’s doing this all wrong. She’s going about it the wrong way. If she starts the conversation like that, he’s not inclined to help her. He’ll peruse the contracts and look for a loophole, some way to get her staff released. But not because of her threat… Stop grinning at him. Not because she threatened him, but because he accepts responsibility for the part he played in what happened. She says she’s glad he recognizes that. She’s focused on two things. One, she wants her staff back. He says he’s got that part, and she says, and two, she wants Crimson to eat her dust.

Brook says she’s sure Salvadore will be thrilled to accept. The entire team at Deception is thrilled with how seamlessly Carly has taken control. Bryson approaches the table, and Carly thanks Brook so much. Brook asks if she’s in his seat, and he says, is she at Deception? Carly says, Brook is Deception. She and her grandmother Tracy are the majority shareholders. Brook says, and he is? and he says he’s Bryson Daugherty. They shake hands, and Carly says, he’s Crimson’s longstanding advertising rep with Windsor and Golden. Bryson asks if he just heard her mention Salvadore, the photographer. That guy’s a phenomenal talent. Brook says she thinks so too, and he says he heard Salvadore was boycotting Crimson. Carly says she told him not to believe everything he hears. Does Brook mind if she shares the good news about the Face of Deception? Brook says, by all means, and Carly says she offered Sasha Gilmore the cover to be designed by a top designer and to be shot by Salvadore. He says, that is exciting, both for her and Deception. He tried to make a marketing deal with Lucy Coe, but they just could never agree on terms. Brook says, just like Crimson, Deception is under new management, and Carly says, which means, new opportunities. Would he like to join them and throw around some ideas? Bryson says he’s all ears and sits with them.

Nina sees Bryson shaking hands with Carly and ducks around the corner. Bryson says he looks forward to working with Carly and goes to the elevator. Carly approaches Nina and says, she’s right. The magazine industry is tough. Good thing she’s tougher. She gets in the elevator with Bryson and Brook, tossing her head like a circus pony. Martin tells Nina that he has to get going. He’s got to catch a flight, but if she needs any more legal advice, rub the lamp and he’ll be in touch. She says, wait. She just realized what she wants him to do.

Gregory says, it will be nice moving in with Finn and Violet. It will give them more time together as a family. Chase says he’s not going to lie. He’s feeling a little FOMO right now. Gregory laughs and asks if Chase is impressed that he knows what that means. Violet hipped him to it. Chase says he was impressed until Gregory said hipped, and Gregory tells Finn, if he moves in, Violet is going to start asking questions. They’re going to have to tell her about his disease. Finn says he knows. Maybe they can tell her together. Gregory says, together sounds good.

Willow walks Drew to the door and says, Michael seems more at peace now that he’s dropped his vendetta against Nina. She just wants the same thing for him. Drew says, maybe Michael’s a better man than him right now, and she says, still, she won’t stop wishing. He says, she probably won’t, tells her to take care, and leaves. Willow calls Michael, who asks if everything is okay. She says, everything’s fine. Drew brought over some paperwork for him. He thanks her and says he’ll pick it up later when he comes by to tuck the kids in. She says, or he could just stay here at the gatehouse tonight. There’s plenty of room and the kids would like waking up to him in the morning. He asks if she’s sure, and she says she’d like it too. He says, okay. He’ll see her at home.

Dante tells Anna that he’s sorry if he was out of line. He doesn’t want to be taken off this investigation, but he also doesn’t want to undermine it at the same time. They’re talking about information that could be the difference between his father living or dying. Anna asks if there’s any way around this, and Jordan says, not unless she wants to start her tenure as Commissioner under fire, but Dante says he’s not asking her to compromise herself. He’ll deal with it. Anna says, don’t. He’s worried about his father. She is too. That’s why she just pressured John to do the right thing. He says he’s not going to hold his breath. The thing is, he had information to offer up before Agent Cates took off. Jordan asks, what’s going on? and Dante says, Sonny thinks the shooter could be known to him. Jordan says, part of his organization, and Dante says, possibly. The shooter’s getting information from inside his organization. He doesn’t want Sonny left in the dark. He doesn’t want Sonny overlooking the real threat while he’s off chasing shadows.

There’s a knock at Sonny’s office door and Frank comes in. He says, there’s a federal agent here to see Sonny, and Sonny asks if he has a warrant. Frank says, no. He said he just wants a word. Sonny throws up his hands, and Frank lets John in. John says, long time, no see, Sonny, and Sonny says, Jagger Cates, and smiles. John asks if he has a minute.

Tomorrow, Brick says, Jordan needs to consider the much bigger picture; Drew says, it’s up to Carly; Willow tells Michael that maybe she doesn’t believe in lost causes; and Sonny tells John to take his best shot.

🚓 Returning From the Night Shift…

Funny. He doesn’t look like Antonio Sabato, Jr.

🚴‍♂️ He’s This-Close…

Monday, March 4th. Be there or miss Jason’s entrance.

👖 A Flock Of Gearys…

Good times in the 80s.

Check Out a Vintage Commercial Starring Multiple Anthony Gearys!

❤️‍🩹 Sharing Her Heart…

Wise words from a beautiful soul.

Kristina Wagner Shares a Beautiful Message About Grief

🍑 Atlanta’s Loss…

I can’t say I blame her. She’s too talented for this.

https://people.com/kandi-burruss-departs-real-housewives-of-atlanta-ahead-season-16-8558560

Those with the feels.

📋 Casting a Character…

No doubt she’ll be interesting.

https://people.com/the-last-of-us-catherine-ohara-joins-season-2-8558192

🐉 Year Of the Dragon…

Read all about it.

https://chinesenewyear.net

The condensed version.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/lunar-new-year-2024-illustrated-guide-intl-hnk/index.html

🐾 Tail Wagging Bowls…

Another Bowl worth watching. I got one of my cats from North Shore Animal League. I went in for a kitten, and came out with the biggest one there. He grabbed my coat and cried as I was walking by. How could I leave him? He was a great cat too. RIP Kipling.

https://ew.com/great-american-rescue-bowl-meet-precious-puppies-and-kittens-8549899

https://ew.com/watch-adorable-kittens-displaced-hawaii-fires-8558122

🏒 A Hockey Game Broke Out At This Fight…

U-turn it back tomorrow for soap and pre-Bowl shenanigans. Until then, stay safe, stay being fully present in your interactions, and stay considering belief in the power of forgiveness. Not just for the people who wronged you, but for yourself.

April 3, 2023 – Walking the Nurses Ball Red-Carpet, Chris Is Initiated Into Awfulness, Another Return & Mercy

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Describing fashion isn’t one of my talents, so let’s just say there were a lot of sequins. So. Many. Sequins. All the men are wearing tuxes.

Maxie gets everyone’s attention backstage, and Bobbie says, the doors are open, and the show’s about to begin. We see the infamous llama, and Brook says she doesn’t want to freak anyone out, but she doesn’t think the accompanist has the updated sheet music. Bobby gives it to Brook, who hugs her, saying, they might pull this off after all. Maxie’s phone rings, and it says, crazy person – do not answer. Maxie says, wherever she is, she’s sure Lucy is smiling down on them.

All dressed up with no place to go, Lucy says, Bobbie and Maxie will never pull it off. They’re in over their heads. They have no idea of everything that could go wrong – and surely will – tonight at the Nurses Ball without me to guide them. She makes a call.

Maxie says, excuse her; she needs to take this. She steps away, and tells Lucy that she doesn’t have time to talk right now, but Lucy says, do not hang up or ignore her, or else… Maxie says she’ll talk to Lucy after they wrap, and she and the llama lock eyes. Frustrated, Lucy calls again, and says she will not be ignored.

Michael says, their little girl can sleep through almost anything… until two am, and Willow says, then they should be able to watch the Nurses Ball. They sit on the sofa, and Michael says, it’s okay too, if Willow falls asleep on his shoulder. Tomorrow’s a big day, and she needs all her strength. She says she doesn’t want to think about tomorrow and the procedures. She just wants to watch their friends and family dressed to the nines and performing for a great cause. He turns on the TV.

Sydney Val Jean introduces herself as co-editor of Crimson, and says, they’re live on the red-carpet at the 2023 General Hospital Nurses Ball. She’s back and flying solo tonight to talk to the arrivals, critique their fashion, and get the downlow on their personal lives. But first, she wants to pay tribute to General Hospital itself, which opened it’s doors on April 1st, 1963. That’s right, our beloved General Hospital is 60 years old. This place has meant so much to so many over the years, herself included, and she’s honored to be here to celebrate it’s 60th anniversary. On a more somber note, tonight is dedicated to the life of head nurse Epiphany Johnson, and the late Lucy Coe, whose time here at the Nurses Ball was more than an event; it was her life’s work. In the safehouse, Lucy says, they love me; they really love me. She raises her glass of champagne, and Sydney says, don’t touch that dial, since she lives in 1973, and promises we’re in for a night of thrills, excitement, and mystery. Victor watches on his laptop from a limo as Sydney says, at the Nurses Ball, anything can happen, and probably will. He chuckles, and says, you have no idea.

Sydney says, now to get this party started is the dynamic duo, the driving forces behind the Nurses Ball; her former colleague at Crimson, Maxie Jones, and the one, the only, the awesome nurse, Barbara Jean Spencer. Lucy asks if Bobbie thinks this is really her best look. Did she even think of consulting a stylist? Sydney greets Bobbie and Maxie, and Maxie thanks Sydney for being here. Sydney tells the audience that she was supposed to be in Milan, but when Maxie reached out and told her that the date had been moved up to sync with the hospital’s anniversary, Milan had to wait. There was no way she was going to miss this. Bobbie says, they’re glad Sydney could adjust her schedule. Tonight is a very special evening, and she makes it even more special. They talk about who they’re wearing, and Sydney says, they should be congratulated, both for their spectacular fashion, and for coordinating this in record time. That’s quite an achievement. Maxie says, they followed the example of Lucy Coe after many successful years of the Nurses Ball. It’s safe to say, Lucy’s spirit is guiding us tonight. She only hopes they can make Lucy proud. Lucy thanks her, and says, that’s so sweet. Sydney says, credit where credit is due. It’s their extraordinary talent and commitment that are making tonight happen – Lucy makes a face – and Bobbie says she’s just happy and grateful to be here tonight. Sydney says, since they’re staying humble, she’s going to brag. She’s been told by multiple sources that this is going to be the best Nurses Ball ever. Lucy laughs, and says, really? The best Nurses Ball ever – without me?  I don’t think so.

Michael says, next year, he and Willow are going to walk down this red-carpet, and she’s going to be the envy of every fashionista from here to Manhattan. She says she doesn’t want to think that far ahead. Tonight, she’s just where she wants to be. They kiss, and there’s a knock at the door. Michael says, come in, and Drew walks in. Willow says, she heard they were looking for a new James Bond, and Michael says, that’s high praise coming from his fiancé, but he has to agree. Drew thanks them, and says he didn’t want to go to the Nurses Ball without telling them that they’ll be missed. Michael says, he and Willow were just talking, and they’re right where they want to be. Willow takes Drew’s hand, and tells him to have a wonderful night tonight.

Maxie thanks Sydney again for hosting, and says she’s got to get backstage. Maxie leaves, and Sydney says, it’s a red-carpet reunion, as Josslyn and Carly walk in. Three generations of Spencer women are here with her tonight. It’s Bobbie’s daughter, Carly Spencer, the ex-Mrs. Sonny Corinthos, and her gorgeous daughter Josslyn Jax. Drew tells Michael that his mom looks gorgeous tonight.

Sydney says, there have been some changes for Carly in the last year, and Carly says, a few. Sydney says, she seems to be weathering them in style, and Carly says, with her mother and daughter by her side, and the love and support of her family and friends, she’s up for any challenge. Sydney says, everyone knows Carly is a fighter. Any interest in reclaiming what was once hers? Carly says, to quote a great man, success is not final, and failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts. (Since Carly couldn’t be bothered to say who the great man was, I looked it up; it’s Winston Churchill.) Sydney says, poetic, but short on details, and Carly says she’s truly always gotten what she’s wanted, and doesn’t expect that to change. Sydney says she’s heard Josslyn is a lot like her mom and grandmother, and Josslyn says she hopes so. Sydney asks if Josslyn always gets what she wants, and Josslyn says, so far, so good. Sydney tells them to enjoy the show,  and the three of them go over to the photo op. Sydney says, the night keeps getting better. Sonny Corinthos has just joined them. Sonny comes in with Dex, and Josslyn and Dex sort of smile at each other.

Michael says he hopes he didn’t need to be there to run interference for his mom and sister. Like Sonny has really been bothering them. Drew says, they don’t need anyone to stand up for them. He tells them he has to get going, and Willow tells him, have so much fun. Michael says, give everyone their best, and Drew leaves. Willow says she knows Drew and Michael’s mom have to keep their relationship a secret because of the insider trading thing, but she hopes his mom is better at hiding her feelings than Drew is. Michael says he likes that Carly and Drew don’t have to hide their feelings around them, and Willow says, because they’re family. He tells her, you said it, and they settle in to watch the show.

Bobbie says, let’s all play nice tonight, and Carly says she will on her end. They get their photos taken, and Sydney greets Sonny. She says, this is the highlight of her evening. He gets handsomer every year. He tells her that she just gets more gorgeous, and she says she appreciates a man who knows how to give a compliment- with dimples, even better. She asks who Dex is, and Sonny says, Dex is his bodyguard. She tells Dex to do a good job guarding Sonny; he’s very valuable to a lot of people. Dex says, understood, and Sydney says she’s surprised Sonny is here with just his bodyguard. Where is her former red-carpet co-host, the gorgeous Nina Reeves? She sees Nina come in with Curtis, and says, there she is, with a very fine, unexpected guest.

At the hospital, Austin confers with Portia at the reception desk, when Ava approaches, carrying a garment bag. She says she’s sorry to interrupt, but Austin seems to have forgotten he has plans tonight; her, him, and the Nurses Ball? He says he doesn’t know how he’s going to manage this. Dr. Robinson just asked him to do a consult. Ava says, no, handing him the bag. Go make himself handsome. They have to walk the red-carpet and make a splashy entrance. They don’t want to be late. Portia says, it’s okay; she can hold down the fort. He leaves to change, and Ava asks why Portia isn’t ditching her lab coat and slipping into her sexiest gown, but Portia says she won’t be going. Curtis will be there, and that’s why she picked up another shift tonight. Ava says, Curtis filed for divorce? but Portia says, not that she knows of. Ava says, then he’s still Portia’s husband, and Trina is still her daughter. So she made a mistake… a big mistake, but it’s not like she burned the city to the ground. Her unsolicited advice; use that ticket. Ava always looks great, and right now, she’s wearing a pair of the most fabulous silver/gold earrings I’ve ever seen.

Sonny tells Sydney, always a pleasure, and moves on to the photo op. Sydney greets Nina, and says she was sorry to miss Nina at both New York and Paris Fashion Week. Nina says she hated missing out, but Sydney represented Crimson brilliantly, and Sydney thanks her. She says, Nina is dressed beautifully, as is her escort, Curtis Ashford, the hottest nightclub owner in Port Charles. The last time she and Nina were on the red-carpet together co-hosting, this was Carly’s hotel and she was married to Sonny. Now the hotel is Nina’s, and she heard the man is too. Comment? Nina looks over at Sonny.

Backstage, Brook is jotting something down, and Chase says, it’s a little late to change anything, doesn’t she think? She asks if it’s really too late, and he says, it’s her music. It matters more to her than anything. She made that clear. So if she wants to change anything, she has every right. She says, he’s right. She’s just second-guessing herself like she always does. It wouldn’t be fair to him or Blaze to change anything now. It’s too late. Go out there and have fun. Break a leg. She starts to leave, but he says, wait. He thinks she’s incredible. They way she’s thrown herself into the rehearsals, helping Bobbie and Maxie out. She has a special touch. For most of the performers, this isn’t exactly their day job, and she’s convinced every single one of them  to perform to the best of their ability, and have fun doing it. She says, anything for the Nurses Ball, when Linc comes in and says, tonight’s the big night. Brook’s music, Chase and Blaze in the spotlight. It’s going to be an incredible win-win for everybody. Chase says he’s going to change, and leaves. Linc asks if it was something he said, and Brook tells him, yes. It’s always something he said.

Curtis and Nina’s photos are taken, and Sydney says, ladies, this next arrival is just for you, as Spencer walks in. In his limo, Victor says, that’s my boy, and Sydney says, hitting the red-carpet is Port Charles’s most eligible young bachelor, the one and only Spencer Cassadine. Spencer tries to walk past, but doubles back, and says he doesn’t know about most eligible young bachelor, but he’s certainly happy to be here to represent his family. Victor says, that’s more like it. tell everyone what character and good breeding looks like. Spencer’s father may have failed them, but not Spencer. Show those good people of Port Charles a glimpse into what the future is going to look like.

Sydney says she understands the Cassadines are one of the Ball’s biggest underwriters. Is that his doing? He says, his grandmother always taught him that being an important member of this city and this community is being of service to others, and that means giving back. Lucy says, well said, Spencer, and might I add, you look good.

Curtis and Nina run into Sonny and Dex, and Curtis says he’ll leave them alone. Sonny says, damn. She looks good, but she always does. She thanks him, and says he looks pretty good himself. He says, it’s a long way from the firehouse dance in Nixon Falls, and she says, yeah. She misses that old firehouse and the simplicity of that dance.

Bobbie and Josslyn tell each other how amazing they look, and Bobbie says she has no regrets about agreeing to be co-chair, but after this week is over, she’s going to sleep for another whole week. It was a huge amount of work. Josslyn catches Dex’s eye for a moment, and she says she can only imagine. Carly says, Bobbie outdid herself, and Bobbie thanks her. Bobbie notices something, and says, one minor adjustment. She’ll be right back. She leaves, and Carly asks if Josslyn is thinking about a certain someone who has to work, so they can’t be together tonight. Josslyn says she doesn’t know. Is Carly thinking about someone who isn’t here tonight?

Sydney says, Spencer comes from a fascinating legacy. Rumors about the Cassadines range from serious and ruthless to… He says, megalomaniacal, and she tells him, so they say. Meanwhile, his uncle is Sonny Corinthos, and his grandmother is one of her personal heroes, the legendary Laura Baldwin Spencer Collins. Any chance she’ll be joining Spencer tonight? He says, unfortunately, Laura got held up on official business, but she wants everyone to know she’s with them in spirit, and hopes tonight is a huge success. Sydney asks if someone will be joining Spencer tonight, and he nods to Trina, who smiles at him. Trina comes over, and Sydney says she looks nothing short of spectacular. Spencer says she took the words out of his mouth, and Sydney says, just between the three of them, are they an item? There’s certainly been online buzz. Trina says, they’re just friends, and Spencer says, good friends. Sydney says, now that Spencer has graced the red-carpet, will they also be seeing his father, the elegant and mysterious Nikolas Cassadine? Ava walks in with Austin, and tells him to play his part, and she’ll play hers.

Ava goes over to Sydney, who says, hopefully, she can answer the question, and introduces her as Ava Cassadine. Ava says, Sydney is behind the times. She and Nikolas divorced months ago, so she’s back to Ava Jerome. But please give her ex-husband her regards… if she can find him. It’s not her job anymore to keep track of his comings and goings. Sydney asks who this inspiring gentleman is, and Ava says, this is Dr. GH himself, General Hospital’s Dr. Gatlin-Holt. After the tumultuous year she’s had, she’s just grateful to be here. She feels so lucky to have a friend like Austin to lean on. Sydney asks if Austin has anything to add, and he says he’s the lucky one, and as they leave, Sydney says, yes, about six thousand times. Spencer and Trina, and Ava and Austin get their photos taken.

Lucy says, this is the Nurses Ball red-carpet, not an episode of The Bachelorette. Sydney is fabulous, but they don’t want the gossip to overshadow the cause. Maxie would have known this had she just asked Lucy, but no, she had to do it her way.

Sydney says, look who it is, PCPD Commissioner Jordan Ashford, looking dazzling and glamorous, and Jordan thanks her for the kind words, but says, tonight she’s off the clock. She’s just here as one more fan of the Nurses Ball and its efforts to make money for a terrific cause. Sydney admires Jordan’s professional dedication, as well as her killer gown, and Jordan says, on the rare occasion she gets to dress up, she jumps at the chance. Her phone rings, and Jordan says she has to take this. She leaves, and Sydney says, so much for off the clock.

Jordan asks if they’ve heard from the Medical Examiner… So it’s almost certain Eileen Ashby died from a fall?

Sydney says, speaking of gorgeous, it’s General Hospital’s own Dr. Portia Robinson. She says, Portia has something in common with her last guest, Jordan Ashford, and Portia says, they do? Sydney says, they’re both committed to public service, and Portia says she thinks that’s a good thing to have in common. She walks over to Jordan, and Jordan says, she knows that woman did that on purpose. Jordan says, that woman is fierce, but she makes for some good television. They get their photos taken.

Josslyn says, Trina looks amazing, and Trina says, so does she. It looks like a certain bodyguard is looking at her from across the room. Josslyn says she’s surprised Trina noticed, with all the looks going on between her and Spencer, and Trina says she was just behind him on the red-carpet, but Josslyn says, it looked like Spencer was waiting for her. Trina says, he wasn’t. It was just… Josslyn says, coincidence? Manipulation? She’s sorry. She gets that Spencer is different when he’s with Trina, and she’s in no position to judge. Just be careful. Trina says, if she gets hurt, it’s not going to be because… She sees Portia, and switches positions with Josslyn. She asks what they were talking about, and Josslyn sees Portia. She says, their performance, and how there’s nothing to worry about because the number is perfect, and they have it down cold. Trina says, right, and they hug.

Portia goes over to the bar, and she and Curtis both reach for the same glass of champagne. He says, sorry about that. After her. She says, no, she’s sorry. She didn’t look where she was grabbing. They both look over to see Jordan.

Sydney is thrilled to introduce the next guest. One of Port Charles’s most dynamic couples, PCPD Detective Dante Falconari, side by side with his lady love, Private Investigator Sam McCall. Sam almost trips coming in, and tells Sydney that she’s a little nervous. Sydney says, it’s proof she can scale buildings and dodge bullets, but there’s nothing more dangerous than the red-carpet. Sam says, lucky for her, she has someone to catch her fall, and Dante says, for the record, Sam’s the one catching his heart. They go to the photo op, and Sydney says, they’re a living, breathing relationship. Drew walks up, and Sydney says, welcome the President of Aurora Media, publisher, Mr. Drew Cain. Drew says, it’s nice to see her, and she says, it’s always nice to see him, and she’s not just saying that because he’s her boss. Did he really come here alone? Is he waiting for a special someone? He says, you never know, and keeps walking. Sydney says, the ladies are in for a treat. Please help her welcome one of their signature performers tonight, former PCPD detective turned pop star, Harrison Chase, and his equally dreamy brother, world renowned Dr. Hamilton Finn.

Brook messes with a microphone backstage, and Linc slithers up, saying, a nice night for a Nurses Ball, wouldn’t she say? She tells him to leave her alone; can’t he see she’s busy? He says, there’s no need to be hostile. They can play nice together, can’t they? She signed that non-disclosure agreement. She got her songs back, and gave them to her boyfriend to sing. She says, Chase isn’t her boyfriend. Those songs came at quite the high price; never telling the world what kind of serial predator he really is. He grabs the mic, and says, be careful,  but she says, don’t worry; it’s not on. He says, that’s a good thing… for her. Because if she breaks their agreement and breaks her silence, she loses everything. I still don’t get why Brook never considered what Maxie told her; that the NDA didn’t apply to that.

Sydney says she’s all for family togetherness, but these two handsome unattached bachelors could be making better use of their time. Isn’t there someone besides their brother that they’d want to be with tonight? She shoves the microphone at Finn, who says, uh… and looks over to see Elizabeth come in. Chase says he’ll wait for Finn over here, and leaves. Sydney says, everyone wondered if Nurse Baldwin would be making an appearance tonight, and here she is. She tells Elizabeth that she looks lovely, and Elizabeth thanks her. Finn says, beautiful, and they leave together.

Finn says he wasn’t sure Elizabeth would come tonight, and she says, he’s not the only one. He asks if he can escort her, and she asks if he’s sure he wants to be seen with her. He says, it would be his honor, and she takes his arm. They watch Chase have his photo taken, then get theirs done.

Sonny asks Sam and Dante how they’re doing, and Dante says, it’s a special night; they wouldn’t have missed it. Bobbie tells Carly, at least Sonny had the good grace not to walk the red-carpet with Nina. Or is there another reason he showed up with a bodyguard and no date? Carly says, Sonny’s got a situation, and Bobbie says, Sonny’s always got a situation. He’d better not bring it to the Nurses Ball. Carly says, Sonny wouldn’t do anything to mess up the Nurses Ball; Bobbie knows it’s important to him. Bobbie says she’ll give him credit for that, but that’s all she’ll give him credit for. Carly says, Bobbie doesn’t have to be mad at Sonny on her account, but Bobbie says she’s not mad on Carly’s account. She’s mad on her own account… and maybe a little on Carly’s. It’s actually hypocritical. She’s actually glad Carly’s away from Sonny. She wishes Carly would find somebody who treats her with all the love she deserves. Carly says, she just might get her wish.

Lucy stuffs candy in her mouth, and Sydney introduces the Face of Deception, Sasha Gilmore, arriving solo… Oh, too soon. She’s being escorted by… Lucy says, Cody Bell. She’s being escorted by Cody Bell. Sydney says, Cody Bell, and Lucy says, her producer should have prepped her; she would have prepped her for that. She props her fuzzy slippered feet on the coffee table, and swigs champagne from the bottle.

Willow dozes against Michael, and he reaches for the remote. She tells him not to turn it off, but he says he’s just muting it during the commercials. Although he’s wondering why they don’t just record it and go to bed. She says she wants to stay up and see it. It’s exactly what the doctor ordered.

Sydney says, they’re just a few minutes from the start of the 2023 Nurses Ball. It’s been her pleasure to serve as host and catch them up on the movers and shakers of Port Charles. While the glitz, the glamour, and the gossip was smokin’ hot, this night is really about raising money to fight HIV and AIDs. Whatever you can give, a lot or a little, it all helps.

Everyone is schmoozing, and drinking champagne, when Maxie’s voice announces that the 2023 Nurses Ball is about to begin. 2023 marks the 60th anniversary of General Hospital. Think about it. Our beloved GH has been a home and haven for 60 incredible years. And since 1994, the Nurses Ball has been a way to support the life-giving work GH does. The Nurses Ball is a night of music, dancing, and laughter. Okay, and maybe a tear or two. So let’s open those doors, and have a celebration to remember. The doors open, and everyone files in.

Watkins knocks on the limo window, and Victor lowers it. He says, well? and Watkins says, they traced the car that the late Lucy Coe recently hired.

Lucy says she refuses to let tonight turn into a total disaster. She gets up, and says, what do they say? The show must go on. And I’ll be damned if I let it go on without me.

Victor says, now they know where to find Lucy Coe. And where they find Lucy, there they find Anna and Valentin. Time to teach them a lesson, doesn’t Watkins think? Watkins says, Victor’s the boss, and hands Victor a gun. Victor says, that’s right, he is, and puts the gun in his suit jacket pocket. It’s showtime, folks.

To Be Continued…

Tomorrow, Maxie says, this year they’ve turned things up a notch; Curtis suggests he and Nina make a deal; Cody tells Gladys that he’ll stay out of it if she tells Sasha the truth; and the Ball is dedicated to Epiphany.

🏖 On the God awful Summer House, Danielle nagged Lindsay about not drinking, and insisted she was pushing Lindsay to be a better person. A better person by drinking more. See why these people are awful? In Lindsay’s interview, she said, compromise went along with being in a relationship. She was doing the best she could for Carl, and still trying to have fun. Danielle operated like she was single because her boyfriend was nowhere to be found. While the girls were out, Carl told Chris that he had to take something from each girl’s room that they would need to pack for the week, and he had three minutes to do it. After lingering over a particular thong (ew), he brought a bunch of stuff to the living room, and Kyle pointed out that Chris included his hairdryer. At the restaurant, Paige said, before they moved on, did anyone feel like they needed to say anything? I’ve seen this move at Bravo dinners before, and I don’t get why they always think now – on a night out when they should be having fun and bonding – is the right time. Gabby said she and Ciara had never had a one-on-one, and she didn’t know where she stood. Ciara tended to stick to established friendships. Ciara agreed, but thought Gabby was only trying to get to know her on a surface level, and it came off as arrogant. She wanted to know Gabby on a deeper level. In Gabby’s interview, she said she wasn’t sorry. She wasn’t sacrificing how she felt about herself to make someone else comfortable. Danielle said she hadn’t been afforded this years ago, when she and Ciara weren’t clicking. We flashed back to Ciara throwing a glass of wine at Danielle during dinner, and Danielle says she’s mad that they wasted time. She’d never even had beef with Ciara. They headed to a bar to meet the guys, and meanwhile, Carl said Chris had to kiss Ciara as soon as they got there. If he accomplished his tasks, they could be brothers in the South Hampton Awful Brotherhood.

As soon as they got to the bar, Chris took Ciara’s shoe off and kissed her foot. She asked, what the f*** is going on? He didn’t even say hello. She felt like the others had something do with it. Lindsay told Carl that the night went different than she thought it would. The housemates were back by 12:30, and in lieu of a bar, Sam danced on the kitchen island. Danielle thought Lindsay took her for granted, and Amanda said Danielle was like a supporting character. Danielle said, in her life, she was a main, but she was down for being supporting in friendships. That actually seems like it would be normal procedure. Why would you be the main character in someone else’s life?

The next day, everyone stumbled around, and tried to get it together to set up Kyle’s birthday party. Chris said he’d enjoyed the hazing. It was the reason he’d joined the marines at 18; it was in his blood. This was just a different version. Okay… Ciara called Mya, who said she gave a wedding speech, but didn’t know what she said since she was blacked out. Gaby told Lindsay that Danielle was upset about the state of their friendship, and Lindsay said she accepted responsibility for half of that. Danielle had to make a trip to the city now and then. Gabby said, Danielle claimed Lindsay was the common denominator in the house fights, and Lindsay said she’d never questioned Danielle about her job or her boyfriend. She’d supported Danielle no matter what. Yet Danielle didn’t seem to think she was a capable, smart adult. Sam said, it felt more accusatory than tough love, and in Sam’s interview, she said, if Lindsay was trying to support her partner who was battling a demon, who the f*** is she to have an opinion? Danielle and Lindsay needed to find another way to navigate their friendship. If they needed to party for it to survive, that said something else about their friendship. Packing for the week commenced, and when Sam couldn’t find her slippers, Chris thought it was reveal time. He asked if anyone was missing anything, and Paige said she was missing her toothbrush. Chris gave out the missing items, and in his interview, he said, somehow, Ciara’s thong was missing, and he didn’t know where it was. A producer asked if he’d stolen it, but he insisted he had no idea where it was at. In Danielle’s interview, she said she’d never left the house feeling not sure of what was happening between her and Lindsay. She wasn’t sorry about how things went down. It was the opposite. She was upset about how Lindsay was treating their friendship; what she thought was a sisterhood for many years.

Back in the states NYC, Amanda visited Paige, who presented her with some colorful cupcakes. Amanda said she needed help with some crafty stuff for Kyle’s party. She was making haybales and a couch. In Amanda’s interview, she said, Kyle was turning 13 40, and the party was going to be a western theme inspired solely and only by Kyle’s mullet. Paige asked how Amanda felt about Kyle turning 40, and Amanda said she didn’t feel any way, but Kyle did. Paige said she thought new decades were scary, but Amanda said, Kyle was no less energetic, and Paige said he didn’t look like he was 40; he was aging backward. Amanda asked if things were good with Craig, and Paige said, he’d asked for more closet space. Things were crumbling.

Ciara walked with Mya, who was walking her dogs, and Mya said she couldn’t relate to the western party theme. Ciara said she loved it, and lived for the day everyone wore cowboy boots and listened to country music. She told Mya that Craig and Kory were coming for the weekend. Mya hadn’t met Kory, and Ciara said, Kory was a good time. She thought she could hook up with him, but that was for another day. Mya suggested a day this weekend, and in Ciara’s interview, she said she allowed herself to throw the possibility around… in her head strictly.

Danielle and Robert threw out all the expired stuff in their fridge, and Robert said, it was sad; there were starving kids. I could relate, since I hate throwing food out. He wished they could spend more time at home, and Danielle pointed out that his job was the core reason they weren’t there. She loved their place, but when they were continuously in Montauk or Aspen, it didn’t make sense. In Danielle’s interview, she said, when she and Robert met, he was living out of a gargantuan duffel bag. She unpacked even if it was one night in a hotel room. She’d started creating homes for them, and Robert seemed to gravitate to that. He loved it, but still had a chef mentality and wanted to be everywhere. Danielle said she wasn’t pushing for getting married, but thought they should buy property. Mortgage over marriage. Robert said he wasn’t much of a long term decision maker, so it was hard to say. In other words, he’s a fence sitter. I see why she wanted out.

Everyone returned to the house for Kyle’s birthday weekend. I love how they greet each other every weekend the same way your dog greets you after you’ve been gone for five minutes; they act like it’s been a year. Danielle said it was the first time she and Lindsay hadn’t spoken in a week, and in her interview, she didn’t know what to think about it, since it had never happened. Kyle told Ciara and Gabby that he hadn’t thought about being 13 40 right at midnight. Amanda had some wine and fell asleep. Then the clock ticked down, and he got nervous about turning 15 40 by himself. He was in tears, and didn’t want to make Amanda feel weird when she woke up. He hasn’t gone out during the week in a long time. I swear, these people are on a different planet from me. Even in my 20s, I rarely went out on a weeknight unless it was to a class. It’s called work, and I had to get up early for it. Ciara told Kyle that he had to find a work/life balance; he could die tomorrow. He wondered if he might die at his party, and Ciara said, enjoy the life he was living. The three joined hands and vowed to be more social.

Kory arrived, totally harried, and said he thought it was going to be a 20 minute drive and it was three hours. Wow. This guy must never drive to the Hamptons, or anywhere else in or near NYC. An hour’s drive can take you four on a bad day. He told Kyle that his mullet looked amazing, and asked how long Kyle was going to let it go. Kyle said, until Amanda cut it off when he was sleeping. Sam told Lindsay that she thought Kory was cute, and she liked that his first instinct was to be funny. Lindsay said she only knew him for a couple of days in Vermont, but he seemed like a good guy. She was trying not to ruffle Danielle’s feathers, and they hadn’t spoken all week. Danielle had been amazing, being Lindsay’s backbone during her last bad news relationship. Now she was with a guy who legitimately made her happy, and she makes him happy, and Danielle’s not supportive. Nothing else should matter.

The housemates went out to dinner, and Sam chattered to Kory, while Ciara didn’t look happy. They toasted to Kyle, and Amanda suggested they all say something about him. Danielle said he was the best house dad and late night warrior, and Chris said he was making 4-0 look like 3-0. Craig talked about his and Paige’s long distance relationship, and said it made their time together more important, but it had been a year, and he was getting lonelier quicker. In Paige’s interview, she said, he just wanted her around more, but she didn’t want to go to South Carolina. You couldn’t even get Uber Eats after 10 pm. I can relate to this too. It’s better now, but when I first moved here, the local diner closed at 7 on the weekend. Kory said he was seeing Jess – we flashed back to them flirting in Vermont – but he was staying 100% single.

After dinner, Kyle asked Carl how things were going with Lindsay, since he hadn’t been around them. He’d known them for so long, when Carl told him they were together as a couple, he broke down. Carl said it was nerve-wracking in the beginning, figuring out what they were doing, and Kyle said he’d thought they were just having fun. Carl said they were a couple of years ago, but it wasn’t what Lindsay wanted. Kyle said it was beautiful, and Carl said he appreciated Kyle saying that, since he was going to propose be the end of the summer.

On the awful meter, this episode was relatively low key, but that doesn’t mean it’s not brewing beneath the surface. We have a party to get through. There was also that mullet. That alone is pretty awful.

This season, parties; a food fight; dancing in strobe lights; Sam and Kory hook up; Paige doesn’t want to go to South Carolina; Carl doesn’t know how to recover from this; Lindsay says she’ll marry Carl 1000 times; Danielle says, they’re beyond crazy; and Danielle tells Kyle, there’s nothing left to salvage.

👠 This Couldn’t Wait…

GH is certainly pulling out all the stops for its 60th.

Playing Among the Stars…

Join me tomorrow for soap and the appalling side of New Jersey. Until then, stay safe, stay using as little plastic as possible (I live near a beach; it really does wash up there); and stay remembering that success is not final, and failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts. And that Winston Churchill said it.

February 24, 2023 – Heather Has One Condition, New Wife, All By Herself, Sharing, Trial Desire, Two Pairs, Shady Scheana, First World Problems, Edit Err, Pets (!), Teetering On 10 Quotes & Mountain

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Esme holds her baby, who looks suspiciously like Baby Amelia. She says she doesn’t remember much, but she knows she’s his mommy. They have each other and that’s all that matters. Heather comes in, wearing an orange jumpsuit, and says, there’s her baby girl and her new baby. Esme says, Heather shouldn’t be here, but Heather says she’s Esme’s mother; where else would she be? Esme picks up the nurse call button, but Heather stops her, and says, Esme doesn’t want to interrupt family time. She can’t wait to start spoiling her little grandson. In fact, she’s starting right now. She reaches for the baby, and Esme sits up with a start. The guard lets Laura in, and she asks if Esme is okay. Esme asks, where’s Heather? and Laura says, she’s in custody at the police station. Esme says, please don’t let her take my baby away.

Spencer points to a baby through the nursery window, and tells Sonny, that’s his baby brother. He’s handsome, isn’t he? Sonny asks if the little guy has a name, but Spencer says, not yet. Sonny asks if Spencer is still suing for custody, and Spencer says he may not have to now that his father has disappeared.

Dex tells Josslyn that he was hired to find evidence that would put Sonny away once and for all, but he’ll tell his employer that he’s out if that’s what she wants. She says, it’s not her decision to make, but he says, let’s not make this about Sonny; let’s make this about you and me. (Huh? It’s all about Sonny.) She hates that he’s working for Sonny. How does she feel about him working against Sonny? (What I said.)

Elizabeth looks at a photo of the boys, and remembers Scotty chastising her for letting Nikolas talk her into his cockamamie plan. Cameron comes in, and she says she wasn’t expecting him this morning. He asks if she’s as freaked out as he is about Esme.

Ava asks the reception nurse if Austin is allowed to have visitors, and Mac asks why she wants to see Austin. She says, why would she want to see the man who nearly bled to death on her living room floor? Does that really seem so strange? He says, that depends. Felicia said Ava encouraged her to leave Austin behind when Heather said they could go. She says, so they could get him help, and he says, but instead, she went after Ryan with a gun. (Really, Mac? Does any of that sound strange?) She says, Austin didn’t need both of them to get him help, and she needed to confront the man who made her life a living hell. Mac’s the one who ultimately killed Ryan. He says, the world’s a better place now that Ryan Chamberlain’s dead, and she says, they agree on something. Is Mac done? He says he has a few more questions. Why don’t they start with why Austin was on Spoon Island in the first place.

Robert congratulates Jordan on catching Heather. He can assure the public that their safe, that The Hook killer’s been caught, and that she’s going away for good. She says, her people have already made progress, when Dante walks out, and says, Heather is ready to make a statement. Scotty walks in, and says, hey, Mr. D.A., but Robert asks if it can wait. Scotty says he’s about to make Robert’s life a whole lot easier.

Jordan and Robert go into the interrogation room, and Jordan says, Dante told her that Heather wants to make a statement. Heather says she does. She’s done some very bad things that she’s ready to confess. Jordan says, Heather wants to confess to The Hook attacks without a lawyer present, and Heather says she only wants to unburden her soul. Dante sets up the recorder, and tells Heather, it’s her right to have an attorney present, but she says she doesn’t want an attorney. She just wants to tell the truth. Jordan tells her, start talking, but Heather says she does have one condition.

Scotty tells Robert that he has a client with information about The Hook attacks, and they want to make a deal.

Cameron asks how long Elizabeth thinks Esme has known Ryan and Heather are her parents, but she says she has no idea. He says, she realizes, if Heather is Esme’s mom, that makes her Franco’s half-sister. When Esme moved to Port Charles, he really tried to give her a chance because Spencer was so into her. Does Elizabeth think she was working with Ryan when she was interning at Spring Ridge? Elizabeth says, before she lost her memory? and he says, what if she’s been faking this whole time? He wonders if Joss knows about everything that’s happened.

Josslyn tells Dex, Sonny was in her life for a very long time. Not as a father – she had one obviously – but as a stepfather. They were a family. Dex says, he was good to her, and she says, he was, when she was little and didn’t know about his business. He says, Sonny still considers her family. It’s one of the reasons Sonny thinks he’s not good enough for her. She says, like he has the right to judge anyone after what he’s done? He had Dex beaten and tortured, and Sonny’s hurt so many people, she can’t even count. Where does he get off thinking he’s better than anyone else? The hypocrisy of it all. He asks if that means she wants him to see it through, and see that Sonny goes to prison.

Sonny asks what Spencer means, and Spencer says he doesn’t know what to think anymore. How can someone just walk out on their child? He doesn’t even mean himself at this point. How can someone walk out on an innocent baby? Sonny says, Spencer’s not responsible for his father’s actions. Spencer can’t fix his messes. Spencer says, someone has to. His baby brother has an absent father, and a mother who’s in police custody. That little guy must feel all alone in the world. Sonny says, they can fix that.

Laura tells the guard that he can leave them alone, and tells Esme that she had a nightmare. Esme wishes that’s all it was; that she hadn’t been forced to break out of Spring Ridge, and her parents weren’t serial killers. Laura says, unfortunately, that is true, but she told Esme, Heather is in custody, and can’t hurt her. Esme asks, where’s her baby? and Laura says, in the nursery. He got a perfect bill of health despite his impromptu entrance into the world. Esme says, thank God, and thank Laura and Dr. Collins for helping bring her baby into the world. Laura says she feels lucky that she could be there for her grandson’s birth, and Esme says she just realized, she has a son. Laura asks if Esme wants her to arrange for the baby to visit, but Esme says, no; he should stay away. Laura asks, why? and Esme says, it’s not safe. Her parents are killers. For all she knows, she could be a killer too.

Heather says, what she wants is pretty simple, and Dante says, if she cooperates fully, they’ll see about her request. She says, he knows that’s not how it works, but he says, she doesn’t know how anything works, and grabs the recorder. Jordan gets up, and says, waste of time, but Heather says, fine. What do they want to know? Dante puts the recorder back, and asks if she attacked Ava in August, and she says, yes. He asks if she attacked… She says, it’s going to take all day. She’s The Hook, okay? Anyone stabbed with a hook, it was her. Jordan says, they need details, and Heather says, Ava Jerome, with a hook, at the Quartermaines. Brando Corbin, behind Charlie’s with a hook, except that was a mistake; she was really after Josslyn Jax for making her daughter’s life so miserable. Diane Miller, in the garage. The bartender, Oz Haggerty, at the docks. Nikolas Cassadine, with a hook… Dante says, wait a second, and Jordan says, she attacked Nikolas Cassadine?

Ava tells Mac, that’s one of the reasons she’s here. She wants to ask Austin how he’s doing, and why he came to Windymere last night. Mac says he didn’t know they were friends, and she says, friendly perhaps. Austin treated her after Heather attacked her at the Quartermaine picnic, but she wouldn’t say they bonded over it. He thanks her for her time, and she says she just can’t wrap her head around the fact that Spencer’s girlfriend from boarding school is Ryan and Heather’s daughter. He says, quite a coincidence, but she says, it isn’t at all. Ryan told her that he sent Esme to that boarding school specifically to ensnare Spencer. Ryan was intent on splitting her and Nikolas up, and he succeeded. Mac says, maybe now that the truth has come out, she and Nikolas can find their way back to each other.

Dante asks when Heather attacked Nikolas, but she says she doesn’t know. In the fall? It was breezy. Jordan asks where it happened, and Heather says, at Windymere. It wasn’t her finest hour; he escaped without a scratch. He’s still breathing, unlike that doctor on New Year’s Eve. Dante asks if Britt was a target, but Heather says, no. She appeared out of nowhere, and decided to play hero, and again, Josslyn Jax escaped. Everyone stood between her and protecting her little girl. Jordan says, about Officer Cabrera. A keepsake from one of Ryan’s victims was found on Rory’s person. How did it get there?

Mac asks if Ava has heard from Ryan, but she says, no, and she doesn’t expect to. Things between them had gone too far, and she’s accepted that she’s lost Nikolas for good. Ryan’s destroyed her life, again. Mac says, at least it’s for the last time, and she says she has him to thank for that. She’s just sorry she didn’t kill the bastard herself. He says, after everything Ryan has put her through, killing him would be self-defense under any circumstances, and she says, he has no idea what Ryan has taken from her.

Obviously not having read The Invader, Scotty tells Robert that his client has information on the PCPD’s number one suspect, the one and only Esme Prince. Robert says, keep going, and Scotty says, his client knows Esme’s whereabouts before she showed up at the Haunted Star, soaking wet, with child and no memories. Robert says, so this client will only divulge said information if Scotty makes deal? and Scotty says, that’s why he’s here. Robert says, if this client knows what they know because they’re an accomplice to the crime, he should be telling them to turn themselves in, and he walks away.

Elizabeth asks if Cameron has spoken to Josslyn recently, but he says, no, and he doesn’t plan to. She says she knows the break-up really hurt him, but they’ve been friends their entire lives. He says he feels like that makes it worse, and she asks if he’s hoping they can be friends again someday, but he says, with what Josslyn did… She’s not the person he thought. Maybe she never was.

Josslyn says, it would be easier to figure out how she feels about this, if Dex would tell her who he’s working for, but he says he can’t. She asks, why not? and he tells her, all he can say is, he trusts his employer. She says, and this mystery person wants to take Sonny down, and he says, it’s the whole reason he’s here. She asks how close he is, and he says he doesn’t have any solid evidence yet, but Sonny’s about to get involved with some people in arms trafficking. The plan is for him to get some evidence and turn it over to his real boss, who will turn it over to the Feds. She says her first instinct is to tell him, do it. No one’s forcing Sonny to break the law, and he’d just be reporting what he saw. But if this goes wrong, and he gets caught, that’s on him, not his mystery boss. What happens if he calls the whole thing off? Does he have to work for Sonny for real? Sonny’s not going to let him just walk away.

Esme tells Laura that Heather and Ryan want her baby for themselves. They were talking about all of these plans… Laura says, Heather is locked up, but Esme says, Heather has a revolving door in and out of Spring Ridge, and Ryan… Laura says, Ryan is dead. She’s sorry. He died last night on Spoon Island. Esme says, good. He was a monster, and she’s glad he’s dead. She was terrified of that man. Laura says, what about Heather? and Esme says, Heather kept saying she wanted to protect her, but she’s so crazy. She’s the offspring of two monsters, so she must be a terrible person. Oh my God. She did all of those things she’s accused of; the revenge porn and trying to kill that man. Laura asks if she remembers doing those things.

In the nursery with the baby, Sonny tells Spencer that his family has every right to meet this baby. Spencer says, all he wants to do now is protect him from the world, and Sonny says, it’s the most amazing thing. Spencer asks if Sonny thinks his father felt like this when he was a baby, and Sonny says he guarantees it. Spencer says, that’s good. That means he has to come back now that his new son is here. How could he stay away knowing what he’s missing? Sonny asks if Spencer is changing his mind, and Ava peeks in the window.

Laura asks if Esme remembers her past, but Esme says, no, sorry. Her memory of before she showed up on the boat is still a blank. Laura asks why she said she was guilty, and Esme says, with parents like Heather and Ryan, how could she not be? Laura says, you’re not destined to be bad no matter who your parents are. Does she think her baby is bad? Esme says, no, he’s completely innocent. She doesn’t know what’s going to happen to him. If she’s found guilty, she’s going straight back to prison. Laura says she hasn’t stood trial yet; let’s not jump to conclusions. Esme asks, where’s Nikolas? Why isn’t her baby’s father here?

Heather says, when she discovered she was pregnant with Esme, she left Ryan. She took this chain of trophies he had as insurance, in case he ever decided to come after her. Dante says, that was twenty years ago. How does Cabrera end up with it? She says she wore the chain during The Hook attacks because she was getting justice for their daughter. She just thought it was fitting. Dante tells Jordan, that’s the sound Josslyn heard when Brando was attacked in the alley, and Jordan says, Brando heard it too. Heather says, Cabrera surprised her. They tussled a bit, and in the struggle, he managed to grab one of the trophies off the chain, but she didn’t realize it until she got back to Spring Ridge. Jordan says, so she’s confessing to murdering six people, and attacking four others? but Heather says, it was five, not six. Brando, Oz Haggerty, the venom guy, Rory Cabrera, and that doctor, whatever they said her name was. Dante says, what about Corrections Officer Williams, who was stabbed to death when she and Ryan escaped? but Heather says, she didn’t kill him; that was Ryan. He stabbed Williams. He planned the escape. He forced her and Esme to go with him. They can’t pin this on her.

Dex says he can’t just tell Sonny that he’s not cut out for this, not without him getting suspicious, and Josslyn says, if Sonny had any idea Dex was working against him… He says, Sonny would kill him, and she says, he’s right; Sonny can never know. He says, so either he keeps working for Sonny, or he has to leave Port Charles. She asks if Dex’s mystery boss would be okay with him quitting, and he says, not okay. He’s gone to a lot of trouble to set this up (what trouble; the occasional phone call to Dex?), and he’s close to getting what he wants. But if Dex tells him that he wants out, he’ll let Dex go. She says, but that doesn’t solve anything. He wouldn’t have to spy on Sonny anymore, but he’d still have to work for Sonny; smuggle arms and commit crimes, hustle coffee or whatever it is. And if he gets caught… Dex says, he goes to prison, and she says, as long as he stays in Port Charles, he’s trapped. I guess Dex can’t possibly get another job? Like a normal one?

Cameron tells Elizabeth that he couldn’t have predicted in a million years that Josslyn would hurt him the way she did. It makes him feel like he never knew her at all. She says, it always hurts when someone you love lets you down, but it doesn’t negate what the two of you had. People make mistakes all the time – big ones – but all you can do is come clean, and deal with the consequences. He asks if they’re still talking about him and Joss.

Scotty tells Robert, his client got involved in a crime that was already in progress, and they would like to make things right, and testify against the real perpetrator. Robert tells him, say more, but Scotty says he needs to hear the deal. Robert says he needs more information, and Scotty says, his client is a good person, not a criminal. They got mixed up in some bad business. So Robert can go after a person who made a mistake, or go after the real felon.

Spencer comes out, and says, Ava’s not here to see… He doesn’t mind if she is; he’s just surprised. She laughs, and says, actually, she’s here to see him. She saw him with the baby though. Cute. He’s a natural. He thanks her, and asks what she wanted to see him about. She takes it he knows Ryan was Esme’s father, and he says, yes, and Heather Webber was her mother. Odd how something can come as a perfect shock, yet make perfect sense. She says she thinks they all felt that way, and he says, is that it? but she says, not quite. Esme and Ryan knew who they were to each other. He says, since Esme came to Port Charles? and she says, since before he met her. Ryan sent Esme to that school in France to get close to him. He asks if she’s saying Ryan sent Esme to France to seduce him in some long game to break up her and Nikolas. That’s good. She says, think about it. Whose idea was it to come to Port Charles and stalk her? Was it his, or was it Esme’s?

On the phone, Mac tells Jordan that he spoke with Ava, and he’s about to question Esme Prince. Jordan says, check Esme’s answers against what Heather told them, and he says he thinks once he talks to Esme, they’ll have a clearer picture about what happened on Spoon Island.

Laura says she doesn’t know where her son is, and Esme says, he came to see her at Spring Ridge to try and get her to sign her rights to the baby over. Why isn’t he here now? Laura says she wishes she knew, when Mac walks in, and Esme says she remembers him from the roadside outside the prison. He stopped to help them, then Ryan hit him over the head. Is he okay? He says he’s fine, thanks. He’s Chief of Detectives Mac Scorpio, and he has some questions. Esme says, Heather and Ryan kidnapped her. They forced her to escape. Ryan even killed a guard right in front of her. He asks if Heather helped him, but she says, no. The guard was questioning her and Heather, and Ryan snuck up behind him and stabbed him in the back; it was horrible. Then Heather told her that she had to do what Ryan said, or he’d hurt her. He asks if Heather seemed scared of Ryan, and she says, not really. He asks, what happened next? and she says, Heather let them out of the prison. Laura asks, whose idea was it to escape? and Esme says she’s not sure. She thinks Heather and Ryan were planning it together, but Heather was the one who knew her way out of Spring Ridge.

Dante says, they know Heather and Ryan were working together. They were planning this escape for months. Heather says, no, no, no, no. She didn’t even know Ryan could walk and talk until Esme showed up at Spring Ridge. He never even told her that he could. They’ve got to believe her. He showed her that he’d been faking his condition when Esme showed up just because he wanted her help with getting Esme out. Dante says, which she was more than happy to provide, but she says, Ryan terrified her. She had to do what he said. Jordan tells her, he isn’t saying anything; he’s dead.

Spencer says, Esme was always going on and on about how Ava pushed him out of his father’s life, and said he should push back. She encouraged him to get revenge. Ava wonders if he ever asked himself why Esme cared so much. She was no one to Esme, and they had the kind of life teenagers dream of. They had Europe at their fingertips. Wouldn’t living his best life have been the best revenge? He says, apparently not. Esme was determined to get him back here. Ava says, because Ryan ordered her to do all of that, and look what happened. She and Nikolas are divorced, and he and his father are more estranged than ever. It was Ryan. Ryan played them all. (Way to get Esme and Spencer off the hook. No pun intended.)

Heather says, thank God, and Dante tells her, give it a rest. She wanted Ryan gone so he can’t contradict her narrative. They know she gave Ava a gun, and sent Ava after Ryan. Heather says, Ava killed Ryan? and Jordan says, no, but she shot him in self-defense. Heather says, of course (🍷) it was self-defense. After everything he’d done to her; running her life, killing her daughter. Ryan was a cold-blooded murderer. Dante says, unlike her, and she says she was just a mother protecting her child. Jordan says, a child she abandoned, and Heather says, because she wanted to give her a better life. But she never stopped missing her. When Esme arrived in Port Charles, she was overjoyed. Then she saw what Esme’s life had become. She saw Trina Robinson’s attempts to humiliate and destroy her. What else could she do? She had to defend her family. Dante says he feels for her, and she says she’s told them everything she knows; she’s confessed to The Hook murders. Can’t they just grant the one little thing she asked them? Otherwise, she can always recant. Who’s going to trust the word of a crazy person anyway?

Laura asks what Sonny is doing at the hospital, and he says, looking after her grandsons, both of them. Congratulations, by the way. She thanks him, and he asks if she was with Esme. She says she was, but now Mac’s questioning her, and he asks if there’s anything he should know. She says she doesn’t think so; not yet. Is Spencer at the nursery? He says, yeah. Spencer’s been here all morning doing the big brother thing; he’s good at it. She says she doesn’t know if he heard, but Ryan died last night, and he says he heard the good news. He also heard Heather Webber killed his cousin Brando. She says, it would appear that way, and he says, that’s a mistake going after his family, but she says, let the justice system do what it does. He says, she knows him. He just protects the people he loves.

Dex tells Josslyn, option one. Say he disappears from Port Charles. Sonny might come looking for him, but he can cover his tracks. She says, if Sonny can’t find him, neither can she, and he says, not for a while anyway. She says she’s not liking option one, and he says, him neither. He says, option two. He tells his real boss that he’s out. He keeps working for Sonny, legitimately following his orders, but Sonny told him that he can’t go near Josslyn. They would have to hide that they’re together indefinitely. She says, marginally better than option one, but not by much. He says, option three. He sticks with the original plan, and gets evidence on Sonny. He turns it over to his real boss, who turns it over to the Feds, Sonny goes to prison, and he’s in the clear. She doubts it will be that easy, and he says, probably not, but it’s the only option that gives him what he really wants; a chance to stay here, a chance to be with her, free of Sonny. She says, option three it is, and he says, option three, kissing her. He says, no matter what happens, he can’t walk away from her, and she says she doesn’t want him to. Um… For all Josslyn’s talk on how she cares so much about her sisters, how come Donna and Avery, and the effect this might have on them, hasn’t been mentioned once?

Elizabeth’s phone rings, and she asks what he said… Yeah, she’s sure. She’ll be right there. She tells Cameron that she has to go, and he asks if everything is okay. She says she loves him, and jets.

Spencer admits he didn’t think Ava knew him so well, but she’s right. He didn’t want any of this to happen until he met Esme, and she used his resentment toward Ava to talk him into stalking her. He owns up to what he did, his part of it, but the escalation – putting the bear on Avery’s bed, setting Ava’s car on fire, putting Kiki’s hospital ID badge next to the wreckage – that was all Esme. He didn’t even know it was done until it happened. Ava says she believes him. All that misery because Ryan couldn’t stand her being with someone else. He says he can’t believe he was so blind, and she says, they all were. They were all blind, and used, and manipulated… He says, manipulated or not, he did Ryan’s dirty work for him. Spencer suddenly looks terrified, and says, he drove his father away, but Ava says, no, it wasn’t him. Nikolas would still be here if not for Ryan Chamberlain.

Mac asks, when was the last time Esme saw Ryan? and she says, he was in the woods with Ava Jerome; she had a gun on him. He was focused on Ava, so she made a break for it. Is she okay? He says, Ava’s fine, and she asks Mac to tell Ava thank you for helping her get away from Ryan. he says he’ll pass along that message. He thanks her for the information, and says, if he has anything more to ask… She lifts up her arm, showing she’s cuffed to the bed, and says, he knows where to find her. He congratulates her on the birth of her son, and she says, before he goes, maybe he could tell her what’s going to happen to her and Ace. He says, Ace? and she says, her baby. He says, she named her baby Ace? and she says, it just came out. Sounds right to her for some reason. Ace? Where did that come from?

Jordan asks if Dante believes Heather, and he says he does. Robert joins them, and says he may have additional answers on this hook business. Baldwin has a client who says she knows what Esme was doing at the time she went missing. Jordan asks, who? when Scotty walks in with Elizabeth, and says he thinks they all know his client.

Laura tells Sonny, she’s glad Spencer is spending time with his baby brother, because he really needs something positive to focus on right now. Sonny says he feels Spencer needs the baby as much as the baby needs him, and Laura’s phone dings. He asks if everything is okay, but she says, no. She’s got to go. She jets, and he follows her.

Josslyn tells Dex that she’s got to go back to her family, and needs to talk to Trina. It’s been a crazy couple of days. (Boy, does she have some news to catch up on.) He says, people need her, and she says, she needs him. So do whatever he has to do, but watch his back. Option three only works if he’s alive at the end of it. He promises to be careful, they kiss, and she leaves.

Laura and Sonny go to the nursery, and Laura asks Spencer, what’s wrong? He says he messed up, and she says, take a deep breath, and tell her what’s going on. He says, because of him, he and his baby brother no longer have a father. It seems even in death, Ryan Chamberlain wins. Laura says, they’ll find his father, and when they do, they’ll explain to him what took place here, and she’ll talk some sense into him. Until then, take a look around him. He’s not alone. Sonny’s here, she’s here… Sonny says, always, and she says, he and his brother are going to have more support than they know what to do with. Ava slips away.

Mac goes into Esme’s room, and asks if she’s sure about this. She nods, and the guard brings Heather in. Heather sort of smiles, but Esme just looks at her blankly.

On Monday, Dante tells Molly that they need to start that search immediately; Laura tells Spencer to think before he acts; and Curtis asks how long Jordan has known Trina might be his daughter.

👠 For Now…

She’s the only one I like at this point on RHONJ, but give it time.

https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/rachel-fuda-from-rhonj-husband-family-instagram-bio

👰🏻 All About the Love, But Alone…

Are you kidding me? She had the option of her brother walking her down the aisle, and decided to be the turd that she is. My father passed away before I got married too, and my sister walked me down the aisle. Teresa just wanted to give Joe #2 another slap in the face and get more attention for herself.

🧉 The Unending Grope…

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Anyone who could slap LVP in the face could do anything. I wouldn’t be surprised if she drank the blood of virgins to help her face fillers last. Although I would be surprised if she could find one in L.A.

💎 What Victims…?

You can’t squeeze blood from a turnip, but I’ll bet she has bags that cost more than my house. And being an entertainer with a 12th grade education doesn’t mean you don’t know how many zeros are on the check.

🏖  Summer Lovin’…

Paige might be close to one of the normal ones if she wasn’t attached to ticking time bomb Craig.

Great. The only genuinely normal one. Let’s hope Austen isn’t her rebound. Or anyone else who enters the house for that matter.

🍸 Passing the Shade…

She is clueless when it comes to Girl Code. And did she watch this week’s episode? She pushed.

🎰 Showing Her Cards…

Gambling has never been my jam. I went to Atlantic City once to see a show, and played the slots for a few hours first – back when they were actual slot machines and somewhat exciting. I’d gotten a certain amount of rolled coins from the bank, and decided that would be the only amount I’d play with. I came home a quarter shy. Yeah, it was cool on the spins when a bunch of money came out, but I didn’t feel the need to play any more when I had to get going. Or ever.

Geez. I take better pictures for eBay.

🛣  In Last Week’s Last…

I have to admit, I didn’t even notice.

https://people.com/tv/the-last-of-us-fans-point-out-hbo-editing-error/

My favorite reply.

🐈 Prosperous Pets…

I’ll bet they all still poop on the floor.

🎯 Quotes of the Week

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.)

A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world. – Oscar Wilde

What I did or said should never be more important than why I did it or said it.Andrea Kelly

There is only one way to avoid criticism: say nothing, do nothing, be nothing. – Elbert Hubbard

Just knowing you don’t have the answers is a recipe for humility, openness, acceptance, forgiveness, and an eagerness to learn – and those are all good things. – Dick Van Dyke

Each day we are given the opportunity to choose between that which is easy and fast and that which is more difficult and slow. The fast and easy track is attractive, but doesn’t bear fruit. The slow and hard track is intimidating, but has the most potential. – Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein

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

Renew, release, let go. Yesterday’s gone. There’s nothing you can do to bring it back. You can’t “should’ve” done something. You can only DO something. Renew yourself. Release that attachment. Today is a new day!Steve Maraboli

There is no room for mediocrity in karaoke. – some obviously Drunk Kid I met there

🚶🏽‍♀️ Walking It Off…

Come back fresh on Monday really Tuesday for soap and the return of Captain Lee, which might offset the middle aged adolescents in that House. Until then, stay safe, stay keeping your head in the clouds, but your feet on the ground, and stay letting living your best life be your best revenge.

February 8, 2021 – Peter Confesses To Valentin, AKA Alex, the Other Shoe Falls, IMO, Today’s Fact & Blues

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Terry tells Franco, the technician will make sure his head is immobile. The treatment is painless, but some people experience side-effects, like fatigue or nausea. Franco says he could stand to lose a couple of pounds. Holiday baking. She says he may lose his hair, and he says, now she’s going too far. Elizabeth says, whatever it takes, they’re doing this.

Valentin tells Peter, Franco is channeling Drew’s memories, which means they’re resurfacing. Peter says all he knows is that Franco’s tumor has returned, which makes him a potential threat. Valentin says, Peter didn’t feel like that when burst into the OR to save Franco, and Peter asks what he’s getting at. Valentin says he’s just playing with puzzle pieces to see what fits. Not long ago, Peter came to him concerned that he’d crossed Jason. Peter’s life is about to unravel, and he’s acting like he doesn’t realize it.

Anna asks Britt where her mother is, and Britt says, she’s in prison, where Anna can’t shoot her. She’s sure Anna has plenty to do other than sic Finn on her. Doesn’t she have wedding plans? Anna asks if Britt was in contact with Obrecht through a phone call or a letter, and Britt says she has a hospital to run. She has nothing to do with her mother. Anna says Britt was convinced Obrecht was guilty when she was convicted, but she told Finn she didn’t know, and thought Obrecht might be innocent. She’s wondering what changed Britt’s mind.

Josslyn puts flowers on Mike’s grave, and says, they’re for him, so he knows she loves and misses him. Carly puts flowers on Morgan’s grave, and says she’s sure his dad and Mike are with him, and she hopes they’re happy together. They’re missed so much. Say a prayer for them tomorrow. It’s Sonny’s funeral, and it’s hard to say goodbye.

Sonny answers the phone, Tan-O, Mike speaking, and Nina asks if he said it was the Tan-O. He says yeah. What can he do for her? She asks what he said his name was, and he says, Mike. She asks, Mike who? and Sonny looks puzzled.

Josslyn asks if Carly really thinks Morgan, Sonny, and Mike are together, and Carly says she does believe that. It’s the only thing that makes it bearable. What about Josslyn? What does she believe? Josslyn says, Oscar told her to look up at the night’s sky, and he’d be there, but they don’t know much about the afterlife, do they? Carly says, all they can do is hope for the best, and Josslyn says she likes thinking of them all together. She hopes someday, years from now, she and Carly will see them again. She and Carly hug.

Sonny asks if Nina would like to place a delivery order, and she says, no. She’s looking for Phyllis Caulfield. Is she there? It’s Nina Reeves calling. He tells Phyllis, and she takes the phone. Nina thanks Phyllis for taking her call, and Phyllis says she can’t tell Nina how often she thinks of her. How is she? Nina says, fine, but she has some news. She thinks she knows who has the other half of the necklace. Phyllis says, she found her daughter? and Nina says, she’s almost certain. Phyllis says, wonderful!

Elizabeth tells Finn that she was hoping to see him, and he says it’s good to see her and Franco. He asks if everything is okay, and Elizabeth says she just wanted to let him know they can’t go to the wedding. Finn says, okay, but they’ll be sorely missed. Do they want him to pass their regrets along to Maxie and Peter? Or are they the reason for not coming? Elizabeth says, obviously, and Franco says, mostly Peter. Elizabeth says they wish Finn, Anna, and Maxie well, but she can’t say the same for Peter. He published Franco’s medical records, and now people think Franco is a maniac. Finn says he understands. He hopes everything turns out all right. Elizabeth says she still can’t figure out how Peter got records he never should have had access too. In all her years there, she’s never seen it happen. Finn says, it was a security breach, and Franco says he knows who did it.   

Peter tells Valentin, he’s about to marry the mother of his child, and Valentin says that’s why Peter can’t be in denial any longer. He knows Peter arranged for Drew’s abduction, and if Franco remembers more, the memories will be like dominos tipping. Then Maxie will be forced to learn the truth about him.

Britt says she lets her guard down for one second and Finn runs to Anna like Chicken Little. Anna asks what convinced her of Obrecht’s innocence? When Obrecht left, Britt thought she was guilty. Britt says her mother didn’t leave; she was hauled off because of Anna. Anna says, semantics. Britt must have made contact with her, and Obrecht pleaded her case. Britt asks if Anna thinks she’s not capable of coming to her own conclusions, and Anna asks, based on what? Britt says she doesn’t have to answer; she has a hospital to run. Like she told Finn, she doesn’t know where Obrecht is. Anna says, that implies Obrecht is no longer in prison, and they’ve made contact. Where is Obrecht now?

Someone looks over The Last Will and Testament of Alexandra Merrick.

Phyllis says she’s prayed for this, but Nina says she’s not 100% sure she found her daughter. Before she goes further, she’d appreciate Phyllis’s input. She has pictures of her daughter’s possible adoptive father, and some other bits of information. She’d love to run them by Phyllis, and can arrange to fly Phyllis to Port Charles, whatever time works for her. Phyllis says she’d love to help, but it’s not a good time for her to go away. Can they do it online? Ava stands quietly by the door, and Nina says she wanted to talk to someone face-to-face; someone who remembered and knew her daughter as an innocent baby, who won’t judge her or her daughter. Phyllis says she hears Nina, but things there are a bit complicated. Nina says, of course (🍷). She realizes what she’s asking is very presumptuous, and an imposition. She didn’t think it through. Phyllis says, it’s okay; Nina doesn’t have to apologize. Nina says she’ll figure out something, and thanks Phyllis, telling her to enjoy her evening. Ava knocks on the door, and says she came by to see if Nina wanted to get a drink at the MetroCourt, but Nina says she thinks she’s going to avoid the MetroCourt for a while. Ava asks if Nina wants to tell her what’s going on, and Nina says, she didn’t hear? She thinks she found her daughter. Ava tells Nina that she’d say congratulations, but Nina doesn’t seem like she’s celebrating. Nina says, her daughter was Nelle Benson.

Josslyn asks if Carly has ever been to Nelle’s grave, and Carly wonders why she’s asking. Josslyn says she knows Nina put Nelle in Woodlawn. She hates the idea of Nelle being in proximity to their family, and Carly says, she does too. Nelle is buried on the other side of the cemetery. Josslyn says she knows Nina had the best intentions. She obviously believes everyone has the right to a decent burial, even people like Nelle, but no matter how far away Nelle is, it seems like their family can never escape her. Carly says she understands how Josslyn can feel that way after what Nelle did to their family. Josslyn says, she’d never wish death on anyone, but she’s glad Nelle is out of their lives. She’d be relieved if she never heard Nelle’s name again. Carly says, she will. She’s going to hear Nelle’s name over and over again, because of her and Jax.

Britt says she thought WSB agents were trained to be dispassionate, analytical, and cool-headed, but Anna’s pursuit of her mother has been personal, including the trumped up charges. Why? Anna says Obrecht poses a threat to her family, and she needs to know where Obrecht is. Britt says, if she’s missing, wouldn’t Anna’s own agency provide the answer?

Peter says, it’s been months since he told Valentin about the part he played in Drew’s abduction. Why bring it up now? Valentin says, all he knows is, if Obrecht is in town, she’s going to maintain Peter framed her for Drew’s death and the attempted murder of Franco. Peter killed the assassin, which begs the question as to why Peter needed to silence him. Peter says he should go, but Valentin says he’s trying to help Peter. If there’s any merit to Obrecht’s proof that Peter framed her, Peter’s life is going to explode. He’s going to lose Anna and Maxie. Peter says, yes. Obrecht is telling the truth. He did frame her.

Phyllis looks out the window at the rain, and Sonny asks how it’s going. Phyllis says, fine; there’s a storm tonight. He says, ever since she took the phone call, she’s been in another world. Does she want to talk? Before she says, no, she’s always checking in on him; he’s just returning the favor. She says, he might not remember who he is, but he sure knows how to use those dimples. Okay, she’ll tell him. The call was from a former patient; a woman she took care of long ago when she worked in the city. She was in a coma, and pregnant with a baby girl. Her mother told Phyllis that the patient’s husband was responsible for her coma, and she didn’t want him to know about the baby, since he was abusive. She’d arranged for a private adoption, and had Phyllis take the infant to the adoptive parents. She recently learned it was all a lie. Nina’s own mother had put her in the coma. Sonny says he’s sorry, and she says she feels terrible for her role in depriving Nina of her daughter. Sonny says Phyllis was lied to; it’s not her fault. He hasn’t known her long, but he knows she’d never hurt another living soul.

Nina tells Ava, that Jax and Carly said they were protecting her; that’s why they stayed quiet so long. Ava says, that old song, and Nina thanks her for not saying, I told you so. Ava told her that Carly and Jax had an unbreakable bond, but she was hoping to prove Ava wrong. Ava says she doesn’t know Jax, but what she knows, she doesn’t like, and she trusts Carly about as far as she can throw her. When the Corinthos clan turned against Nelle, Ava gave her a job. Nelle reminded Ava of herself, and she was pregnant at the time. Nina says, that’s right; Nelle worked at the gallery, and Ava says Nelle was motivated and competent. She was fond of Nelle until Nelle blackmailed her. Nina says she hired Nelle against Carly’s wishes too. She was engaging, and so intelligent. Nina didn’t think it was an act, but that Nelle was being the person she wanted to be. Ava says, of course (🍷) those attributes were part of who Nelle was, or who she would have been, but keep in mind what Nelle could do, and what she did.

Elizabeth asks if Franco thinks he knows how his records were accessed, and he says he knows for sure. He went to confront Peter, and Britt was accusing Peter of using her to access his files. Finn says, maybe, but he doesn’t trust them, and Elizabeth says she doesn’t either. Finn says Elizabeth’s instincts are usually good. He’s sincerely sorry about what happened, and wishes Franco good luck with the radiation. If he can do anything to help, let him know, but Franco is in good hands with Terry. He leaves, and Terry joins them. Elizabeth tells her that they need a few minutes, and Terry says, it’s not going to be a problem. The technician scheduled is refusing to treat him.   

Peter tells Valentin, he’d made a mistake hiring the hit man. He tried calling him off, but couldn’t, so he saved Franco and Andre. Valentin asks, why Peter needed them dead. Why were they a threat? Peter says, Andre wanted to recover Franco’s memories, but said the procedure would risk reinforcing Drew’s memories instead. Valentin says, then he could reveal Peter’s pivotal role in Drew’s disappearance. Peter wasn’t an innocent pawn; he was an integral player, and responsible for Drew’s death. Peter says, Obrecht is sadistic, and held him captive, and Valentin tells him to answer the question. Peter says, yes. He had Drew killed. He made arrangements for Drew’s plane to be sabotaged. Valentin says Peter is right to be afraid of Jason. He stole years of Jason’s life, and Peter is responsible for the death of Jason’s twin brother because he got too close to the truth. Peter says, yes. He did that all of that and more.

Anna tells Britt, the WSB wasn’t forthcoming about Obrecht’s whereabouts; there’s some level of secrecy about Obrecht’s release she has yet to comprehend. Britt says, they’ve shut Anna out. Wow. Interesting. Anna has always been a hot shot at the WSB; their go-to agent. What does their silence tell her? Maybe they don’t trust her anymore. That’s tough, but instead of using her for intel, why doesn’t Anna look at herself, and figure out why the WSB left her out in the cold.

The mystery person sets the will down on the desk, and picks up a flashdrive. They pick up an envelope that says, For Peter, and put it into a manila envelope, along with the drive.

Ava tells Nina, Nelle was a broken person who couldn’t be fixed. She was violent. She killed her fiancé, and tried to kill Michael. People tried to love her, but she took their love and twisted it, making something ugly out of it. Nina had to tell the court to protect an innocent child. Nina says, who protected Nelle? She was an innocent child. She was raised without love, and had an abusive father. Whatever role her mother played, she was out of the picture by the time Nelle’s father sold her kidney. She and Ava both know what it’s like to be physically and emotionally upended by their mothers. Ava says Nina’s mother was a nightmare, and Nina wonders if the drugs her mother gave her while she was pregnant with Nelle didn’t impact Nelle’s brain development and cause her psychosis. Ava says, there’s no way to know, and Nina says, because her mother gave Nelle away. If she hadn’t, Nina would have had Nelle, and maybe there was a chance she would have gotten help. Ava asks if Nina has heard a word she’s said. There was nothing Nina could have done. Nina says, it’s too late for Nelle, but it’s not too late for Wiley. She’s going to be a constant presence in his life. She failed her daughter, but she’s not failing her grandson.

Carly tells Josslyn that she and Jax wanted to spare Nina the pain of finding out her daughter was dead. Josslyn says, and grew up to be Nelle. Carly says, it’s a lot for Nina to process, and she’s furious they didn’t tell her they’d found the necklace. Josslyn says, her poor dad. He’s crazy about Nina. Can’t he make her understand? Carly says, he’s trying. Carly prays once Nina has calmed down, she realizes he was just trying to protect her because he loves her. Josslyn says, no matter how hard you try to keep your loved ones safe, sometimes you can’t.

Sonny says Phyllis has no reason to feel guilty, and she tells him, Lenny says she’s gullible. It really bugs her, but in this case, he was right. She took Madeline’s word, and handed off Nina’s baby to a total stranger. A few months ago, she was contacted by a P.I. Nina recovered, and was desperate to find her child. Nina wanted to see her, but she couldn’t tell Nina much. Now Nina thinks she found her daughter. Sonny says he saw Phyllis light up at the news, and she says, it makes her so happy. He says, so why doesn’t she want to see Nina? Is it because of him?

Terry tells Franco and Elizabeth, the technician has a cousin out west who read the article, and the article brought it back. Elizabeth says, brought what back? and Franco says, when he was the other guy, he hurt someone they care about. Terry says, the technician refuses to come near Franco. It’s unprofessional, and unacceptable, and she’s already filed a report with HR. There’s another tech on the way. Elizabeth says she’ll wait there, and Terry says, she’s got this. She’ll take good care of him. She leads Franco away.   

Elizabeth sees Britt, who says she heard about the problem with the radiation tech. Elizabeth says, no thanks to Britt.

Valentin asks, why? What did Peter hope to accomplish? Peter says, originally he wanted to beat his father at his own game. Acquire his father’s wealth and power, and leave him with nothing. He didn’t care who he used, Valentin says, Peter redeemed himself, but Peter says, the past caught up to him. He kept putting fires out, and doing damage control. Valentin says, now Franco is hearing his voice. Drew’s memories aren’t another fire he has to extinguish. Why did he put Franco’s medical records in The Invader? Peter says he wanted to discredit Franco, so anything he said would be the raving of a madman with a brain tumor. Valentin says, discredit? and Peter says Valentin wanted answers, and he gave them. It feels good to let it all out. Now Valentin has to be honest. What is he going to do with the information?

Finn runs into Anna, and says he didn’t know she was there. She says she was just rattling Britt’s cage about Obrecht, and he asks why she’s the one who looks shaken. She says Britt implied the WSB doesn’t trust her and that’s why she can’t get information. He asks if they’d do that, and she says, perhaps, because of her closeness to Peter. He says, that means they suspect Peter of something, but she says she doesn’t need them. She’s not waiting for Obrecht to strike. She’s going after Obrecht herself. He asks, when? and she says, right now.

Phyllis asks Sonny how they’re fixed for ice, and Sonny says, everything is good. He’s taking his medication, and doesn’t need her to supervise him. She tells him, the doctor said to watch how he reacts, and he says, it’s been good so far. He’s been a little down, but other than that, he’s fine and doesn’t need her to hover. She asks what if his depression gets worse, or he gets energized? He tells her to deal with her patient; it’s a day, not a week. The last thing he wants to do, is keep her from what she does best; taking care of people.

Ava tells Nina, take it from her, getting access to a Corinthos child is easier said than done. Nina says, Wiley is her family, the only part of her daughter that she has left. They can’t keep her from family. Ava says Nina needs proof, and Nina say she was just on the phone with the nurse who delivered her baby to the adoptive family. She’s going to have her ID a picture of Nelle and her father. Ava says, that’s not enough to prove Nelle is Nina’s daughter, but Nina says, it’s enough reason to have a DNA test done on Wiley. Ava says, this could be the beginning of a long ugly fight. Before Nina pursues this further, think about who Nelle was and the things she did, and ask herself, does she really want to know if Nelle was her daughter. Nina’s phone rings, and it’s Phyllis.

Elizabeth says, it’s all Britt’s fault; she gave Peter access to Franco’s medical files. Britt says she’d never do that, but Elizabeth says Britt was definitely angry when Franco saw her in Peter’s office, and Franco was under the impression she was responsible for the information being released. Britt says, there was a security breach, and as Chief of Staff, she’s ultimately responsible for what happened. Elizabeth says, how convenient. She’s taking responsibility while distancing herself. Britt says she’s truly sorry for the pain and chaos Peter caused, but she wasn’t willingly involved. She’d never wish what happened to Franco on anybody. Elizabeth asks if that’s an apology, and Britt advises her to take it before Britt takes it back. Terry comes out, and Elizabeth asks how Franco is.  

Valentin tells Peter, when everything comes out, it will destroy Anna. She may even be considered an accomplice because of her association with him. Peter asks if Valentin thinks he doesn’t know that, and Valentin says, what about Maxie? The longer this goes on, the harder she’ll fall. Peter can’t sustain this kind of damage control. He can’t kill everyone who discovers the truth. Peter says he never wanted to, and Valentin says, then just stop it. Confess, and Obrecht has no power over him. Peter says he can’t. He’s marrying Maxie in a few days, and they’re bringing a baby girl into the world. He wants to give his daughter a happy loving family life, unlike what he had. She deserves that, and he’s desperate for his mother to know she was right to believe in him and have faith in him. Valentin says, what about him? He knows the truth now. If he keeps Peter’s secret, he’s an accomplice. Why should he stay silent when he knows how bad it will hurt Anna and Maxie? Peter says he’ll make it work for them. If Valentin can’t keep his secret for him, please do it for them. Don’t break their hearts. Valentin nods.

Finn says, Anna wants to leave town now? and she says she has to find Obrecht. He says when they’d just gotten engaged, they had to deal with Alex. Now she wants to split before the wedding? She says she has no choice. If Obrecht is out there, she’s got Peter in her sights. She’s gone after Peter before. How comfortable would she feel, getting married without knowing where Obrecht is? She let her guard down with Alex, and Alex nearly killed Finn and kidnapped Maxie. She’s not letting it happen again. He says if he can’t talk her out of it, and she’s really going, he’s going with her.

Terry tells Elizabeth, the procedure is underway, and so far, so good. Elizabeth says she’ll wait for Franco to come out, and leaves. Terry says she has a sensitive matter to discuss with Britt. The technician refused to treat Franco. Britt says, she already heard from HR, and thanks Terry for reporting it. The tech has been put on suspension, and will be terminated. She can’t have the staff determining who is and isn’t worthy of treatment. Terry completely agrees.

Valentin tells Peter, Obrecht has been released from Steinmaur, and they have no idea where she is. Peter is concerned she’s going to exact revenge, and Valentin says he’ll handle Obrecht. Peter says he needs Valentin’s word that he’ll keep what Peter told him to himself. Can he count on Valentin to do what he promised? Valentin says he’ll do whatever is in his power to make sure no pain is inflicted on those they love the most. He leaves, and Peter thinks about that. I would too, since Valentin didn’t exactly say he’d keep the secret.

 Anna says Finn doesn’t have to come; he’s still recuperating. He says he was cleared to be at work, and she asks, what about Violet? He says Violet will be upset if anything happens to Anna, so for Violet’s sake, he’s going to watch Anna’s back. His father has been begging to spend time with Violet, so he’ll love to stay with her. They have to make this quick; what else has she got? She says she doesn’t know what she’ll encounter, and he says he can take care of himself. He suggests they not waste time arguing. The faster they handle Obrecht, the better, and he’s not keen on surprises. Anna says, not after her sister. She’s not taking any chances. Obrecht is no Alex, but she’s every bit as lethal.

We see the return address of D. Merrick V. on the envelope.

Ava asks if Nina wants to hear her advice, and Nina says, go ahead, but there’s no guarantee she’ll take it. Ava tells her, think long and hard about meeting Phyllis. If she can’t confirm Nelle is Nina’s daughter, how is she going to feel? And if she can, what does that mean going forward? How is Nina going to grapple with the missed chances in Nelle’s life? Nina says she has to pursue this. In her heart, she knows Nelle is her daughter. Nelle had a child, and what Nina lost with Nelle, she can make up for with Wiley.

Josslyn tells Carly, she was thinking about how people lie or keep secrets in the name of protecting the people they love. The lines feel blurred; they’re actually protecting themselves. Like how Jordan lied about Trina’s father. Trina is struggling, and she understands why. Carly says Josslyn is right. They set out to protect someone, but do a fair amount of protecting themselves. Sonny is a perfect example. He’d do anything to protect the people he loves, but he’s also protecting himself from watching them get hurt. Josslyn says she’s sorry Sonny is gone. She knows how much Carly loved him, and she did too. Carly thanks her for saying that. Sonny loved her so much. Carly knows it doesn’t feel like it now, but knowing they have that love, and remembering how much he meant to them, will help them go on. They leave the cemetery.

Phyllis tells Sonny, it’s all set. She’s going to Port Charles. She hopes she can confirm her patient found her daughter. Sonny is glad, and she thanks him for convincing her. He’s glad he helped, and says, maybe at some point, she can help him figure out who he is. She says, if Nina could find her daughter after all these years, there’s plenty of hope for him.

Tomorrow, Nina meets with Phyllis, Jax says the odds are in Carly’s favor, and Sonny tells Lenny to get off his case.

🕶 Alexandra Merrick…

Also known as, Anna’s twin Alex Devane.

https://www.soapoperanews.net/2019/03/characters-of-past-ghamcs-alex-devane.html

Below Deck

Five Islands Harbour, Antigua. We backtrack to Daniel (finally a name) telling James and Ashling that it’s their vacation, not his. He’ll go downstairs, and leave them alone. He leaves, mumbling that he’s being given a bedtime, and they’re limiting his alcohol. In Ashling’s interview, she says, he was beyond wasted. As soon as you cross the line of safety, you’re out. She could get in trouble with Francesca, the captain, and possibly Daniel’s parents. Daniel tells David, the crew’s whack, bro. James says Ashling is adorable, and they call it a night.

March 12 2020. Rachel starts the day by cursing out the toaster. In Elizabeth’s interview, she says, yesterday was the worst day ever. She was almost fired, and James didn’t acknowledge her birthday. A stranger would be willing to give her a kiss. Not that she wants a stranger to kiss her. She’s just saying. The guests start to get up, and Francesca tells Izzy that she feels the need to be there for service. She doesn’t trust Elizabeth. In Rachel’s interview, she says, sh*t rolls downhill, and she knows where it’s coming from. We flash back to the mahi mahi issue, and Rachel bitches that she has to troubleshoot when the chief stew is supposed to do that. She tells Elizabeth that she feels like she’s in kindergarten.

Izzy gives Rob a short list of chores, and Eddie goes to the bridge. He asks Captain Lee how it’s going, and the captain says he pulled up the news. There are 938 cases [of covid] in the US. Eddie says, that exploded, and Captain Lee says, and 29 deaths. Some people get it, and don’t know they have it. In his interview, Captain Lee says, things are getting serious. Everything on the news is about corona, and he can’t wrap his head around it. They’re lucky there are no cases on the island, but it’s scary stuff. Izzy tells herself to smile through the pain. Rachel says, ask for pickled quail eggs, you shall have quail eggs. Jackie tries to get Rob to do a yoga pose, and he says he has to find inner peace.

James asks how Elizabeth is, joking that they haven’t talked in so long, he forgot her name. In his interview, he says it was Elizabeth’s birthday, and he didn’t even give her a kiss. At 30, you wonder where your life is going. At 26, he’s in the prime of his life. I hate to tell him, but technically, as a man, he passed that nearly ten years ago. A producer asks why James doesn’t tell Elizabeth that this isn’t going anywhere. He says, she’s smart enough to know what’s going on. Surely. The producer says, don’t call her Shirley. Not really, but it was the perfect opportunity. Izzy tells Rob, she could put Jackie’s bra on her head, and it would be a perfect fit.

Daniel tells a couple of the adult guests (not his parents) that he drank half a bottle of Hennessey when he was cut off. In the crew mess, Ashling tells Elizabeth that he was blackout drunk, and wanted to get in the hot tub. Daniel says, he was told no, and Francesca overhears. He says they told him the hot tub was draining, but he went upstairs and it wasn’t. Francesca asks who told him that? and he says, Ashling and James. He was made to feel not welcome. She says she’s so sorry. Ashling tells Elizabeth, he probably won’t remember anything.

Daniel tells Francesca that he was told it would be better for all of them if he went to bed. She asks if he was really told that, and he says he was, but she doesn’t think so. Ashling tells Elizabeth, Daniel is a spoiled brat, while Daniel tells Francesca that he was made to feel not welcome. He wanted to stay up, and he was upset. The crew members said they couldn’t go to bed if he was still there. Francesca asks Ashling, what happened? and Ashling says, he was wasted. Francesca tells her he claimed they told him that he should go to bed; did they? Ashling says, they took the alcohol away because Daniel was plastered, and wanted to jump on the tender. They almost had Delores 2.0. We flash back to Delores jumping into the water, and Ashling says she’s surprised he remembered. Francesca says he didn’t tell her anything about the tender. Yeah, like that would happen. In her interview, Francesca says, now that she’s heard the story, the law would have definitely been on their side. She trusts Ashling if she thought he had too much to drink, and it became a safety issue. She’s on Ashling’s side, and gives her 100% backing.

Izzy and Rob inflate the slide, while Francesca takes breakfast orders. Daniel whines to his parents about being forced to go to bed, but dad David says, good. He should be thinking about work, not play; that was smart. In Ashling’s interview, she says, thank God. Francesca asks Ashling to go on the excursion, and in her interview, Francesca says, her expectation of Elizabeth is zero. She can’t wait to say she’s letting Elizabeth go. Breakfast is served, and Francesca tells the guests they’re going to be swimming with stingrays, and going to a private island, where they’ll set up for lunch. Rachel tells Francesca that she needs condiments, and what to pack for the picnic. Francesca  tells Elizabeth that she’s going to stay on the boat, and in Elizabeth’s interview, she says, surprise, surprise. It’s pure punishment, clearly. One of the guests says their Japan trip and European trip was canceled. One of the guests thinks it’s the democrats blowing it out of proportion because they want to mess up the election for Trump. (I look into my fictitious camera blankly.) Rachel wants ice packs, but can’t seem to get them, and says she’ll do what she can to see the food doesn’t rot. In Eddie’s interview, he says, Rachel isn’t happy with the interior. Hopefully, she doesn’t stab anyone. She’s she type of person who would. Rachel tells Elizabeth, this bitch can make it work. She’s effing over this sh*t.

Eddie drives the guests on the tender to Jolly Harbour. On the boat, James tells Elizabeth, it’s just them, and in the taxi, Francesca asks Rob if he thinks Elizabeth and James will sleep in another guest cabin. Elizabeth asks if James missed her last night. He nods, looking pained, and she says it was so hard not to celebrate her birthday. The day started wrong. In his interview, James says he doesn’t want to tell her that it’s not going anywhere. It may hurt her feelings, so he’d rather keep it going. Avoid and run away. As long as the cabin thing doesn’t come back to bite him.

In the taxi, Daniel says he wants to go back to the boat. In Ashling’s interview, she says, ugh. Here we go. Captain Lee notices a ton of dishes in the galley sink, and in his interview, he says, is she sh*tting him? Why can’t Elizabeth deliver.? There are things she should know. Maybe her energy broken again. He politely asks if Elizabeth will do him a favor, and knock out the pots and pans, so the galley is clean when Rachel comes back. Eddie tells the captain, time flies when you’re in hell, and they laugh. Daniel says he needs a lot of drinks of liquor, and Francesca tells him, after lunch. In Elizabeth’s interview, she says, she’s stressed about Francesca, and James is being weird. With her ex, everything happened fast, because her head was in the clouds. She learned the hard way. Maybe she should pull back. She’s feeling pretty rough right now.

The guests are taken to a stingray habitat. On the boat, Elizabeth asks the captain if she can use the slide, and he says, as long as her stuff is done. At the habitat, the guide says, they have about an acre and a half. The rope is only on the surface, so the stingrays come and go as they please, and leave when they’re ready. Jackie tells her sons that they’re scaring the stingrays away, since they’re acting like a-holes as always. The stingrays are very cool, and I want one. On Laviscount Island, Izzy and Ron set up for lunch. Elizabeth uses the slide a few times, then stays in the water. Eddie tells Elizabeth that the current is strong, and asks if she’s a mermaid now. Elizabeth says she’s working out, and Eddie tells James that she’s weird. In Eddie’s interview, he says Elizabeth will probably name her first born something like Moonbeam or Star Child. Or Crystal Good Vibes. Crystal will be a stripper. Izzy tells Rob that she has to inflate Jackie’s Versace innertube, and he says she’ll never miss it if she doesn’t see it, but Izzy says she kept talking about it. In Izzy’s interview, she says, when a guest specifically asks for something, it’s a priority. She tries to inflate the innertube with a pump, and says, so extra. She tells Rob that she can’t get it. Rob says, just tell her it’s a knock off, and it doesn’t work. He helps Izzy, and gets it inflated.

Rachel asks if Francesca brought condiments, but that’s a no. Because she’s too stupid to understand they go with hot dogs. Rachel says she thought they’d bring the condiments; she only brought specialty stuff. In Francesca’s interview, she says, Rachel can’t admit when she’s wrong. She’s been walking on eggshells, since she doesn’t want Rachel to leave, but f*** you. She’s over it. Um… Rachel did tell her to bring condiments, so who can’t admit what? I really don’t like Francesca at all. I only marginally liked her at the beginning, but now I’m at zero.

Jackie wants to check out the tortoises on the island. In Rachel’s interview, she says, she told Francesca to bring condiments. We flash back to that, and Francesca even repeats what Rachel said back to her. Rachel says, not only does the lack of communication f*** her, now it’s super annoying. Elizabeth goes back to work, while on the island, we see giant tortoises and baby tortoises. The guide says they also have iguanas. Izzy goes to the snack bar, and asks if they can spare some ketchup. Jackie asks if the tortoises bite, but the guide says they’re very friendly and social with each other. Jackie says she wants a tortoise. In Izzy’s interview, she says the galley and interior need to communicate more, so sh*t like this doesn’t happen. Now they have ketchup. In a Homer Simpson moment, David says, hot dogs… mmm… good. Francesca tells Ashling that Rachel said she was going to make condiments, and now she’s shifting the blame. In Ashling’s  interview, she says she doesn’t know who’s wrong, but the tension is intense. It’s really awkward. The guests head back. While cleaning up, Ashling burps, and Rachel says, it’s the most uncouth thing she’s ever heard Ashling do; she’s very proud. Ashling burps even louder.

Captain Lee radios Elizabeth to have cold towels ready for the guests, and Elizabeth greets them with a tray of towels. Rob tells James that he thinks the beach day went according to plan, but Izzy micromanaged a little bit. Francesca tells the captain it was a success, and the lunch was fabulous. The guests use the water toys, and Jackie takes pictures. Rachel discusses dinner with Francesca.

Izzy wants a quick talk with Eddie, and tells him that Rob is being passive/aggressive. He’s been saying it’s a dictatorship, and got snarky when they were bringing in a jet ski; he wouldn’t get off. She had a conversation with him, and asked if he was offended that she’s the lead deckhand, but he said he didn’t care. He said, the title didn’t mean anything. We flash back to Rob saying she didn’t get promoted to captain, just lead shammy. She asks Eddie how to handle it, and Eddie says lead deckhand does mean something. He tells her to let Rob know that if he keeps up the attitude, and keeps coming at her, either get TF off, or say what he feels. If it continues, let him know and he’ll get involved. In his interview, he says, for women in the industry, respect isn’t as easily earned. Izzy is an extension of him, and if they don’t take it seriously, he’ll give them something to take seriously. He won’t fire them, but he can make their lives a living hell.

David tells Ashling that they’d like to invite the captain to dinner. Ashling tells Francesca, who asks the captain. He says, it’s his pleasure, and Francesca suggests to Ashling that they go all out, and use candles. Rachel asks if anyone is available to make holes in coconuts. Surprisingly, not one person makes a joke, but Rob says he has a license for that, and will be right there. The table looks very pretty, with candles in lanterns as part of the centerpieces. Jackie wears a sash and tiara, and gives the stews tiaras. She goes to the galley to give one to Rachel, telling her that she’s a princess. The captain sits down to dinner with the guests, and in Rachel’s interview, she says, the Queen might be spicey, but David is a simple eater. (However, David also receives a tiara.) She’s doing Thai versus American steakhouse; family style, as long Francesca doesn’t f*** it up. David tells Captain Lee that his staff is incredible. Jackie says she wants to steal them, and the captain asks if she can until he’s done with them.

Rob and James chat on deck, and Rob says, just a couple of guys polishing rails. At the table, one of David’s sons says he wrecked a Corvette when he was a baby. Captain Lee says, not many people can make that claim. Elizabeth hugs James, and says she’s been wanting more than a hug. James says, work has been stepping up, and it’s hard to find time. Elizabeth says she wants to ask him about his feelings. In her interview, she says she knows he has his guard up, and it’s scary. She wants to know how he feels. She needs to hear from him because she’s feeling things. James asks if she believes in long distance relationships, and she says, no. He says, there you go, and she asks if he believes in crazy situations. She’s open to travel and having new adventures; it’s how she rolls. In James’s interview, he says, he’s literally in a trap with this conversation. Talking about feelings makes him want to jump off a cliff. Elizabeth says, maybe they can travel somewhere together, then they’ll end up hating each other and saying goodbye.

David says, Disney and Universal are shutting down. In the crew mess, Elizabeth tells James that her schedule is pretty open, and in Ashling’s interview, she says, are they kidding her? Elizabeth needs to choose work first, over playing with her boy. Get your sh*t together. Elizabeth asks if James wants to talk later, but he says he’ll be hiding somewhere. A palate cleanser of coconut water is served to the guests. Francesca asks Elizabeth for a hand in the pantry. Elizabeth asks if she should finish the cabins first, and Francesca says, yes, but she’s obviously irritated. I’m not sure why. James goes to the pantry, and starts washing dishes. Elizabeth joins him, and Francesca says, clear the pantry first, then the galley. Daniel announces that more people have died from coconuts falling on their heads than shark attacks. Elizabeth asks James to tell her what they are, and James says, or they’re not. Is that the answer she’s looking for? She says, not at all. Francesca tells Ashling that Elizabeth and James are chatting in the pantry, and James tells Elizabeth that he doesn’t have this conversation until three or four months in. Elizabeth says she needs to know his intentions. Francesca bursts in, and tells Elizabeth, go to bed. She leaves again, and Elizabeth tells James that if he’s into her, act into her. He says he doesn’t want to get in trouble, and like a boomerang, Francesca is back, and says, stop talking, and go to bed. She tells James, finish the job. In her interview, Francesca says, how many times does she have to tell them to get their work on? She’s done. Things are changing around here. Francesca tells James, finish the pantry now. Downstairs, the captain thanks the guests for another delightful evening. David thanks Captain Lee for joining them. Another guest says they love spending time with him.

In the morning, Elizabeth sets the table, but true to form, Francesca points out that they only use one fork in the morning. Elizabeth says she doesn’t usually do mornings, and didn’t know. She asks if Francesca wants to keep the extras there, but Francesca has her back to Elizabeth and ignores her. Elizabeth nods and leaves. In the galley, Rachel and Izzy arrange something for Elizabeth’s belated birthday. Izzy says, no one deserves a crap birthday. Rachel pushes the French toast for breakfast, and one of the guests says it’s the best French toast they’ve ever had. Daniel whines that a stew usually packs for him, as he shoves stuff into his suitcase. The boat docks.

The captain radios the crew to get into their whites and meet on the aft deck. Jackie tells Rachel that she gained five pounds. It was the best vacation they’ve ever had. David tells Captain Lee that his kids want him to buy the yacht if he comes with it. The captain says, if they buy it, he’s there. David gives them the tip envelope, and they leave. James says, another happy customer. The captain tells them to be in the crew mess in five.

At the tip meeting, Captain Lee says, they have number seven in the books. It was a tough start, but they performed well. The tip is… I swear Captain Lee says, $18,500 a piece, but I think he meant total, since they’re not jumping up and down and ditching the final charter. He tells them, now isn’t the time to toss in the towel. Rachel and Francesca need to go over things communication-wise. He doesn’t want to have a repeat of day one. We flash back to the mahi mahi debacle again, and the captain says he wants to see Francesca on the bridge. Everyone else, get back to work.

James and Rob have a contest to see who can hold their breath the longest. Rachel tells Elizabeth, Francesca f***ed up on service. Francesca says, it’s the last day for Elizabeth. James wins the contest, and on the bridge, Captain Lee suggests he and Francesca talk about the elephant in the room. Where is her head at? Francesca says, there are too many slip-ups, and the captain says he has someone lined up, but can’t 100% guarantee they’ll get there because of travel restrictions due to the health issue. The may have to do charter eight down one. How does she feel about it? Francesca says she has no choice, and Captain Lee calls Elizabeth to the wheelhouse. James says, someone’s in trouble, but Izzy says, no way.

The captain says Francesca wants to talk to Elizabeth, and Francesca says she’s been putting in energy and checking up on Elizabeth every charter. Her sleeping in the guest cabin was the final straw. She’s come to the decision to let Elizabeth go. Elizabeth says, what?

Next time, the Finale – Rachel has an issue with service, the captain tells Rachel to stick it out, Elizabeth tries to talk to Francesca, Izzy says Rob has a PhD in passive aggressiveness, Elizabeth says she believes in karma, the virus gets worse, and Captain Lee says they have a situation.

📣 Just my opinion, but I don’t see what Elizabeth has done that’s all that bad, besides sleeping in the guest cabin. And I might point out, he got called on the carpet, but then it was forgotten about. They have one more charter, and frankly, I think it’s despicable that Francesca is firing her at this point, especially since they know places are being starting to be shut down because of the virus. What if she gets stuck in freaking Thailand? Francesca has been gunning for Elizabeth since nearly the beginning, treats her badly, and this is obviously a personal issue. And Ashling is her phony lapdog. Like Elizabeth with the stranger’s kiss, just saying.

📌 That’s a Fact…

One in four cowboys was Black, despite the stories told in popular books and movies. In fact, it’s believed that the real Lone Ranger was inspired by an African American man named Bass Reeves. Reeves had been born a slave but escaped West during the Civil War where he lived in what was then known as Indian Territory. He eventually became a Deputy U.S. Marshal, was a master of disguise, an expert marksman, had a Native American companion, and rode a silver horse. His story was not unique, however.

In the 19th century, the Wild West drew enslaved Blacks with the hope of freedom and wages. When the Civil War ended, freedmen came West with the hope of a better life where the demand for skilled labor was high. These African Americans made up at least a quarter of the legendary cowboys who lived dangerous lives facing weather, rattlesnakes, and outlaws while they slept under the stars driving cattle herds to market. While there was little formal segregation in frontier towns and a great deal of personal freedom, Black cowboys were often expected to do more of the work and the roughest jobs compared to their white counterparts. Loyalty did develop between the cowboys on a drive, but the Black cowboys were typically responsible for breaking the horses and being the first ones to cross flooded streams during cattle drives. In fact, it is believed that the term cowboy originated as a derogatory term used to describe Black cowhands.

– from www.pbs.org/black-culture

🦅 Gonna Fly Now…

I have to get ready for work tomorrow, writing for https://mupoentertainment.com/ . Give us a click. You can find me under the magazine section. And whether you click or not, stay safe, stay united with humanity, and stay doing what you do best, whether it’s taking care of people, or something else.

November 2, 2020 – Josslyn Visits Family, a New Crew On Deck, Cast List, Unexpected Goodbye, TV Shake Up, Snubbing Rock, Lots O’ Costumes & Right On

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Josslyn comes into the living room where Bobbie and Carly are sitting. Carly says, one, two, three… and yell, happy birthday! Josslyn takes her earbuds out, and asks if they said something. Bobbie tells her, they said, happy birthday, and Josslyn says, almost a clean getaway. Carly says she can’t believe her baby is 18, and hugs her. Bobbie says she can’t believe it either. Her granddaughter has grown into a beautiful young woman. Josslyn thanks her, and asks if she smells pancakes. Carly says they can be turned into birthday pancakes if Josslyn goes to the kitchen. Josslyn says she’d love to, but she’s meeting Trina at the gallery. They’re having an exhibit, and they get extra credit if they write a report about it. Carly asks if she’ll be home early, and Josslyn promises to be there for whatever birthday dinner she’s cooking up. Carly says Josslyn forgot. Today is her first election day.

The gallery is presenting a celebration of 100 years of women’s suffrage. Trina checks out the displays, and says, wow. She sees Portia and says, Ava told her the Historical Society was putting up and exhibit on women’s suffrage, but she didn’t expect all this. Jordan walks over, and says she saw Ava at the polls. Portia is glad she went earlier, and suggests Trina go now. Jordan says, that’s right; Trina is 18. She remembers how excited TJ was about his first election, and asks if Trina is excited. Trina says she’s especially excited to be voting down ballot. She thinks it’s important to elect the right people who will select their public officials. Like the Police Commissioner for example.

Carly says Josslyn is voting, right? and Josslyn says if she has time .Carly asks what she means, and Bobbie says she’s surprised at Josslyn’s cavalier attitude. She’s always been civic minded. Carly says Josslyn has helped with the food bank and coat drive, and she and Oscar organized a dance to support their transgender friends who were being bullied. Josslyn says, when she makes a difference. She’s one vote. Does it really matter? Carly says she understands Josslyn being overwhelmed with what’s going on in the world today, but she still has a responsibility to do her civic duty and vote. Every vote matters. She leaves to get the polling information, and Josslyn says she’s sorry she disappointed Bobbie. Bobbie says, she’s just shocked, and bets Josslyn’s great-great grandmother would be too. Beatrice Eckert. She was a suffragist and played a vital role in women getting and keeping their right to vote in New York state. Josslyn asks what she means by keeping. Wasn’t it the law? Bobbie says, yes, but 1920 was the first time women voted in a Presidential election, but not everyone was happy about it. There were anti-suffragist contingents led by people who thought a woman’s place was in the home and out of politics. A lot of them were women. Josslyn asks if they didn’t realize that the suffragists were fighting for them too, and Bobbie says, they wanted things to stay the same. During the 1920 election, she wouldn’t believe the pushback to keep women from voting. Who knows what would have happened in Port Charles if Beatrice hadn’t been there to rally the women to vote. Carly comes back in, and says, talk about someone who made a difference. She gives Josslyn the information, and wonders what Beatrice would think about Josslyn being too busy to vote. Josslyn says, message received. She’ll find the time. Josslyn leaves, and Bobbie says, sadly, she has the feeling a lot of young people feel the same way; disenchanted and ambivalent. Carly says she didn’t think Josslyn was one of them, and hopes she got through.   

At the gallery, Lucy unpacks a box, and Monica tells her the exhibit is fine the way it is. Lucy says, it’s supposed to be historically accurate. She takes out some candles, saying, she hates the electric candles. She’s going to put some of these around. They’re from the museum, and she’s sure it’s fine. Monica says she’s sure Ava will be comforted to hear her gallery burned down due to historically accurate candles.

Trina is looking at the exhibit, when Josslyn comes in. Trina says, hi there, birthday girl. Congratulations on the big 1-8. Josslyn says she had no idea it would be this cool. Trina picks up a group photo, and tells Josslyn, check this out. She looks just like Josslyn’s mom; Beatrice Eckert. Josslyn says, that’s her; her great-great grandma. Her grandma was telling her about Beatrice’s part in the women’s suffrage movement in Port Charles. Trina says she had a great-great aunt who was part of an African America sorority, who fought for women’s rights back in the day. Josslyn says she guesses it made a difference back then, and Trina says, don’t joke. People put their lives on the line for the right to vote. Those women, legendary civil rights leaders, and ordinary citizens fought long and hard for their right to vote. She’s not letting them down, especially now. Josslyn asks when Trina got so political, and Trina says it’s one of those moments when Josslyn needs to come out of her bubble. Josslyn says, it feels like nothing changes, but Trina says, not voting guarantees things won’t change. She walks up to a voting booth, and wonders how they felt stepping into it. They must have felt so empowered, knowing they’d won the right to vote. She and Josslyn go into the booth, and Lucy takes out a candle that says TIME on the bottom. Josslyn says, it’s kind of rinky-dink, and Trina says, but powerful. Josslyn calls her a nerd, and Trina says, takes one to know one. Josslyn says, just them and the machine, and Trina says, making their choices, and making their voices heard. They hit the lever that opens the curtain, and…

Josslyn and Trina are in old-timey clothes outside, and Josslyn says, what the…? Trina says, where are we?

Josslyn wonders if the booth was some kind of virtual exhibit, and Trina tells her look at what she’s wearing. Look at what I’m wearing. Josslyn says, this is way too creepy. People can’t just go back in time. She pinches Trina, who says, ow! What was that for? and Josslyn says, this is real. Carly/Beatrice comes by, and asks if they need help. Josslyn says, mom. Beatrice says, sorry? and Josslyn says Beatrice looks a lot like her mom, but she can’t be. Beatrice says they look confused. Do they need help? Trina says they have no idea what’s happening, and Josslyn says, or where they are. Beatrice says, Wellington Square in Port Charles, New York. They do know where that is, correct? Trina says, it’s not like the Port Charles they know. They see a poster that says Vote November 2, 1920.  Josslyn says, the poster… the date, and Beatrice says, it’s election day. Josslyn says, in 1920, and Beatrice asks if they’ve had an accident. Perhaps she should take them to a doctor. Trina says they’re fine, and pulls Josslyn aside, and says, no more questions. She’s looking at them funny. Josslyn says, it’s insane. It can’t be 1920. Trina says, whatever’s happening, they need to pull it together quick, or Beatrice will think they’re crazy, and send them to the hospital. Josslyn says, and mental hospitals in the 1920s were hideous. Beatrice calls to another woman, saying, Dr. Johnson, a moment? Portia/Dr. Johnson comes over, and Beatrice says, these young ladies seem disoriented. Perhaps she could examine them. Dr. Johnson says, of course (🍷) she can. She introduces herself as Dr. Priscilla Johnson, and Josslyn introduces herself and Trina. Priscilla says it’s lovely to meet them both. She’ll start by taking a pulse. Trina says, she’s still a doctor, and Priscilla says, rest assured, she is. Josslyn says Beatrice is Beatrice Eckert, the suffragette. Beatrice says she is and she isn’t. She’s Beatrice Eckert, the suffragist. Suffragette is a petty term meant to diminish the movement, coined by a petty man who didn’t like what they were doing. Sadly, his followers adapted it. Josslyn stands corrected, and Priscilla says, now her. She says Josslyn is a pretty name, and asks if it’s her mother’s name, but Josslyn says, her mother’s name is… Caroline. She looks at Beatrice, and Priscilla says, another beautiful name. Both of them have an elevated pulse, but it’s nothing serious. Have they eaten today? Josslyn says, just a granola bar, and Trina says she had a muffin and a latte. Beatrice says, give them a moment, and steps aside with Priscilla. Josslyn tells Trina, that woman is Beatrice Eckert, her great-great grandmother. That’s why she looks like her mom. Trina says, whatever is happening, they have to be careful. They don’t want to mess with the space/time continuum. Josslyn says she got that from a movie, but Trina says, it’s all she has to go on. They’re not supposed to be there, and if they’re not careful, they could screw up the future. Josslyn says Trina is scaring her, and Trina says, there’s a lot riding on this election, and they don’t want to effect it, or the Port Charles they know might be changed forever.

Josslyn says Beatrice really doesn’t need stay with her. She knows Beatrice is extremely busy; a suffragist on election day. Beatrice says, a very historic election day. It’s the first Presidential election where women will finally be able to give voice in how the country is run. What about Josslyn? Is she visiting family? Josslyn says she seems to be. Trina asks Beatrice if she’s excited to vote for the first time, but Beatrice says, it’s her third time voting. Is Trina not from New York? The state granted women voting rights in 1917. Trina says she just thought there might be problems for African Americans. Priscilla says she’s not familiar with that term, and Trina says, right; they’re negroes. Priscilla asks if she’s sure she’s well, and Trina promises she’s fine. She’s so impressed Priscilla is a doctor. It’s something she should be proud of. Priscilla thanks her, and says her mother always told her, when one path closes, go out and trailblaze another. She was one of the first few women to go to Howard Medical School. Her sister formed the first suffragist movement in Chicago at a sorority. She asks if Trina is planning on going to college, and Trina says she is. Priscilla says, that’s wonderful. They must all strive to get ahead. Trina says, it still must be difficult for her, and Priscilla says, they haven’t always been embraced by society, or by the suffrage movement. She asks if Trina is familiar with the march in Washington. It was more like a battle. They were attacked by spectators, and the few police that were there, stood by and let it happen. They were hospitalized and jailed, but still continued to march forward. Their struggle as women of color is tied to their struggle as people. Trina says, the struggle is real, and Priscilla says, all too true. Some people still can’t vote because they don’t have the money for the registration fee. Trina says, she heard about that. Extra poll taxes and literacy tests. It’s voter suppression, and it’s bogus. Priscilla says, yes; bogus. The 15th and 19th amendments are on the books, but sadly, that doesn’t mean it changes people’s hearts and minds. But it doesn’t mean stop fighting, does it? Trina says, no ma’am, and Priscilla says she needs to get off to the women’s polling station. Trina says, they have a separate place for women? and Priscilla says the town council thought it was more seemly if the women voted separately from the men. Trina says, bogus. Josslyn tells Beatrice, it’s a lot to take in, and Beatrice says, they’ve come a long way, and they’re still making progress. Maybe one day there will even be a woman elected President. Josslyn says, wouldn’t that be something? and Beatrice says here’s someone who helped show them the way. She calls to Alice, and Anna/Alice comes over to her, asking Beatrice if she’s excited for this day. Josslyn says she’s British. She can’t vote in their election, but Alice says she’s there to celebrate with her American sisters. Beatrice thanks her for her unwavering assistance, but Alice says, it’s states like New York that led the way. Josslyn says she thought women could vote in England in 1918, and Alice says, only those 30 years of age and older, a matter she’s going to attend to on her way home. Elizabeth/Eliza joins them, and says they have a problem. It seems no women will be voting today.

Jordan/Josephine says, the polling place is closed, and Alice says, that’s preposterous. They had everything ready to go yesterday. Josephine says, the building has been padlocked shut, and Beatrice says, this is outrageous. Josslyn pulls Trina aside, and says, something isn’t right. They know these women voted in 1920. Is this happening because of them? Alice says, it’s another ploy keeping them from their right to vote, and Priscilla says, it’s voter suppression. Isn’t that what Trina called it? Alice says she’s going there now, and Josephine says she’ll go with her; perhaps she can find a crowbar. Beatrice tells them to be careful. Josslyn asks if this is out of the norm. Who would do something like this? Britt/Bertha arrives, and says, she would, and Eliza says, Bertha Halifax, what did you do? Bertha says, her job. She told her boss the mortgage was in arrears. The bank foreclosed, which it has every right to do. She appreciates rights, doesn’t she? Eliza says Bertha’s boss owns the bank, and has tried to get the rights of women to vote repealed several times. To no avail. Beatrice says it’s just another attempt to stop them, but they won’t be stopped. They’ll never give up. Bertha says they won’t be voting in Port Charles today, and Josslyn asks why she won’t help them. They’re fighting for her rights too. Bertha asks who she is, then says, no matter, and leaves. Ava/Ada approaches them, and says, finally, some good news. Maybe people can finally put this women’s rights upheaval to rest. Trina says she can’t possibly believe that, and Josslyn says, Ava always says ignorant things. Even here. Ada asks, who are these rude women? and Beatrice says, they’re new in town. Ada says she’ll have them know she’s Ada Hook. Her family came over on the Mayflower. Beatrice says, no one cares. They’re all here now. They’re all American citizens with the right to vote. How can she think it’s beneath her? It’s women like her standing in the way of fairness and equality. Ada says, it’s women like Beatrice slumming in politics, who are demeaning decent women everywhere. She should be ashamed. Beatrice says, it’s Ada’s fault she’s stuck in a loveless marriage. Don’t blame the rest of them because she’s unhappy. Ada stomps toward Beatrice, who pushes her back, and Ada falls on her behind. She says Beatrice will pay for this, and Beatrice tells her, take her best shot.

Obrecht/Miss Oberlay locks Beatrice in a cell, and says, arrested again. How many times does this make? Beatrice says she’ll be out of there in a matter of hours. She’d like to skip the formalities; she has important business to attend to. Oberlay says, that’s for a judge to decide. The courts are backed up, and there’s no telling when she’ll get a hearing. Beatrice says, but it’s election day. Oberlay says, not for her.

Back outside, Josslyn says, this is a disaster, and Trina says, completely. Alexis/Lexi asks if they’re unwell. Have they been laid low by the evils of drink? Josslyn says, no; they haven’t been drinking, and Lexi says she’s pleased to hear that. She introduces herself as Lexi Brighton, head of the Port Charles chapter of the Women’s Temperance Union. She asks why they’re sitting slumped over, and Trina says Beatrice has been arrested and they need to get her out. Lexi says she was wondering why the polling place was locked, and Josslyn says, the bank foreclosed on the building overnight, and Beatrice got in a fight with Ada. Ada had Beatrice arrested, and now they can’t get her out. Trina says, and it’s election day. The clock is literally ticking. Lexi tells them, say no more. She’s worked with some elected officials. She might know someone who can help.

A small crowd gathers, and Lexi says, it’s Assemblywoman, Mary Butler. Trina says, impressive, and they join the crowd. Terry/Tilly says, the assemblywoman doesn’t have time to speak to any more constituents, but Lexi gets her attention, and says, she’s sure Mary can find the time. Tilly says Mary is supposed to be at the women’s polling center at noon, and Lexi says, there won’t be a polling center if these ladies don’t speak to Mary. Monica/Mary asks what this is about, and Lexi says, these lovely ladies will explain it to her. Mary tells Tilly that she’ll make the time, and asks them to sit.

Josslyn tells Mary, now Beatrice is locked up, and so is the polling center. Mary understands why they came to her. She’s well-known at the local jail. Her no account husband has had run-ins with the law many times. He finally ran off for good, thank the lucky stars. She has a fortuitous acquaintance with the Police Commissioner. She tells Tilly that she needs to talk to Commissioner Cromwell.

Josslyn and Trina go back to Beatrice’s cell, and Josslyn tells her that she’s being released. Beatrice asks how they managed it, and Oberlay says, corruption. All this talk of voting, as if anything will change. Powerful people will always have the last say. Ada comes in, and says she wants the satisfaction of seeing Beatrice in the hoosgow with her own eyes. Trina says, Mrs. Hooker? and Ada says, it’s Hook. Trina says she’s sorry for starting the altercation between Ada and Beatrice, but Ada’s fall was an accident. Ada says, people laughed. She has a reputation to consider. Trina says, a great woman can survive a few snickers. Today is more important than her squabble with Beatrice. Ada asks if Trina believes in all that voting nonsense, and Trina says, absolutely. They need to have their voices heard. Ada says, women should stay out of politics. Her husband will vote for them both. Trina asks if she trusts her husband completely. He’s never lied to her, or told her what she wanted to hear? Ada calls her insolent, and Trina says she just can’t believe a strong smart woman like Ada would sit back and let someone else run her life. Ada says no one runs her life, and Trina asks, then why is she throwing away her vote?

Beatrice, now out of her cell, tells Josslyn that they need to get to the polling place. Oberlay says they’d better hurry, and quit cluttering up the halls. Ada comes out, and Oberlay asks if Ada is there to make sure Beatrice doesn’t escape justice. Ada says, no. Trina helped her realize that there are some things more important than petty personal squabbles. She tells Trina that she expects great things from her. Beatrice thanks Ada, and Oberlay tells them to go. Schnell.

At the polling place, Bertha hammers a foreclosure sign to the door. She tells the crowd, no voting today. Go home to their husbands and children. Their kitchens await. Alice tells them not to listen. Stay to vote. The door will be opened if they have to storm it themselves. Bertha asks if they want to end up in jail like Beatrice. Think of their families. Beatrice gets on a literal soapbox, and says, yes. Think of their families. Think of their daughters, who need their example. Think of their mothers and grandmothers. She’s Beatrice Eckert, the suffragist, their friend and neighbor. Three years ago, they were able to secure voting rights in their state. It’s a proud moment, made even prouder by the 19th amendment. Now women all over the state get to cast their vote for the next President of the United States. There will be detractors, people who want to silence them because of their fear, or complacency with the status quo, but they needn’t be afraid or daunted. They don’t want to take anything from them. They want to include everyone in the promise America has to offer. Ada has joined the crowd, and everyone is enthusiastic. Bertha says, women don’t belong in politics, but Beatrice says, women belong everywhere. In kitchens, hospitals, and classrooms, and in voting booths. They’re going to vote today, and in every election to come. The future in America is brighter because of them. Who’s with her? Everyone chants, yes! but Bertha says they can’t get in. Josephine picks up a hammer, and says they won’t be denied  their rights as citizens, and breaks the lock. They all go inside.

Trina sees Ada, and says, she’s here. Ada says she wanted to see if Beatrice could pull it off. Since she’s there, she might as well vote. She doesn’t need a man to speak for her. It was a pleasure meeting her, Trina…. Trina says, Robinson, and Ada says, a name destined for greatness. Josslyn says Beatrice did it, but Beatrice says, they all did it. They all made sacrifices and suffered persecution, but look around. Generations to come will reap the benefits of their suffering. Josslyn says she understands now. Voting isn’t just a right; it’s a privilege. It’s the least and most they can do as citizens. Beatrice calls Josslyn her fellow suffragist.

Oberlay comes in, and asks Josslyn and Trina what they’re gawking at. She’s exercising her right to vote, and they better hope they never end up in her jail. She has her eye on them. She closes the curtain, and Trina tells Josslyn, she doesn’t understand why they’re still there. They fixed everything. Beatrice made her speech, and women are voting. Josslyn says, that’s it. They were in a voting booth before they got here. Trina says she’s right. Maybe if they pull the lever again… Beatrice comes out of a booth, and says she did it; she casted her vote. She asks what Josslyn and Trina are still doing there. Clearly they’re not 21, and not registered there. Josslyn says they were just taking a look inside. That warden lady was just here. Beatrice says, Miss Oberlay? Excellent. Trina says, but she might vote the wrong way, but Beatrice says, there is no wrong way. She wants every woman, every citizen to vote, even people she doesn’t agree with. Josslyn says it’s been a great honor to meet her. She’ll try to follow her example and encourage those around her to stay involved, so they can have the government they want. Beatrice says, the honor is hers. She sees great things in Josslyn’s future. Alice calls to her, and Beatrice says she has to go.

A booth is open, and there’s no one around, and Trina says now’s their chance. They go inside, closing the curtain, and Trina says, let’s do this. Josslyn says, please let this work. They pull the lever, and the curtain opens to the gallery.

Trina says they did it, and Josslyn says, thank God. Lucy asks if they blew out her candle, and picks it up. She says, time? Oh boy, wrong candle. Very wrong. No, no, no. Oh dear. She asks how they’re feeling. Do they feel okay? Josslyn says she doesn’t know. Something strange happened. Trina says, beyond strange. Lucy says she lit the wrong candle. It’s a special candle that doesn’t have normal properties. It has special properties, and has to be handled carefully, which she didn’t. Sometimes it allows you to open your inner eye, and see things that… aren’t usual. Josslyn asks if she means things that aren’t there, and Lucy says, it’s possible. She takes the box, and says she’s just going to go carry on. Josslyn asks Trina if they had a weird psychedelic trip because Lucy lit a weird candle. Trina says, it makes more sense than time travel. Time travel isn’t real… right? Josslyn says, totally, and Trina says she thinks the election just got in their heads, and they went back to the first election where women could vote. Josslyn says, whatever it was, it was awesome, and Trina says they’re going to slay their history project. Josslyn says, first, they have something more important to do. Vote.

Terry and Elizabeth see Britt outside the polling place, and Elizabeth says, don’t worry. They took an early lunch, and got in and out. She hopes Britt doesn’t experience any delays herself, and Terry says, it’s picking up again. Bobbie and Carly get there in time to see Josslyn and Trina come out. Everyone applauds, and they bow. Trina sees Ava, and asks if she voted. Ava says, of course (🍷). Did Trina really think she wouldn’t? Trina says, no. She knows what kind of woman Ava is. Carly asks Josslyn how it felt voting for the first time, and Josslyn says, very gratifying, empowering, and humbling. Carly says, nice, and Josslyn says she thought about Beatrice, and her, and grandma, and how all the women had done so much for their generation. She wasn’t about to let them down. Carly says Josslyn is so grown up. But she still has a curfew. Bobbie tells her, congratulations. She’s just done something women in their family have been doing for 100 years. Josslyn says, 103 years. Women in New York state have been voting since 1917. Carly says she got a lot out of the research paper, and Josslyn smiles at Trina. She says, you have no idea.

We see the gallery displays, and hear the women from the past talking. Lucy comes in and stops at a group photo of the suffragists, and does a doubletake. She keeps moving, and we see Josslyn and Trina in the photo. We hear Josslyn say she understands now. It’s not just a right. It’s a privilege, and the least, and most, we can do as citizens.

I gotta say, I loved this. When it started, I thought it might be boring, but I was surprised at how good it was. And it spurred me to vote early. I also wondered, was that a left over candle from the Superstition arc in Port Charles? A friend noticed it also said Barrington on the box.

Tomorrow, Sonny wants to know why Ryan is reaching out to Ava, TJ says he needs Jordan’s help with police business, and Portia asks why Cyrus doesn’t just fire her for insubordination.

Below Deck

This was tough because it was a new crew, and two of the guys looked the same. One also wasn’t on any online cast list. You’ll see why later.

Eddie is back as bosun, but he’s the only familiar face. Besides Captain Lee. And the boat. My Seanna is back. Chef Rachel said she was laser focused on her work, but out of the galley, she’s not quiet. New chief stew Francesca said she thrives on attention to detail, but sometimes thinks they don’t pay her enough for this crap. Deckhand James is an admitted player; deckhand Avery a Jack of all trades, who’d done just about every job on a boat, including interior and driving it; and deckhand Shane is from SoCal and a surfer. He said when people meet him, they expect a stoner, but they’re wrong. He’s an environmentalist, who believes the body is a temple, and the earth is our temple as people. As for the interior, stew Elizabeth likes to get in touch with her mystical side using meditation, yoga, and crystals; stew Izzy (Isabel) said she was the walking definition of too much information, and no topic was taboo for her.

Antigua. February 11, 2020. Eddie tells us that he’s been in Baltimore, where he runs a harbor tug, and docks massive ships. He’s getting away for the winter, and going back to yachting. He gets to the My Seanna, and hunts for Captain Lee, but the boat seems empty. He thinks something must be wrong, and calls the captain. Captain Lee says he’s at the hospital. He’s embarrassed to say it, but he fell in the shower and busted some ribs. He might need surgery, and the season might be over before it starts for him. He tells Eddie to get familiar with the boat. The first charter starts tomorrow at noon. In Eddie’s interview, he says Captain Lee has been his mentor since the day they met, and it’s terrifying for him. If the captain doesn’t show up, the charter won’t be happening, so it’s very concerning

Francesca arrives next, and checks the boat out. She meets Eddie, and in her interview, says she takes her job too seriously sometimes. She wants to think like a guest. Attention to detail is everything, and she likes everything meticulously placed. Eddie explains that Captain Lee is at the hospital. Avery is next, then Elizabeth, and James. As Eddie goes about his duties, he says, come back and work on the yacht, Eddie. It will be fun, they said. He thinks he feels an aneurysm coming on. In James’s interview, he says he wouldn’t kick Francesca out of bed. Alrighty then, but is he detail oriented? Shane thinks the boat is gnarly, and in Avery’s interview, he says he was on a rocky road in a dark place, and found yachting by accident.

Francesca and Eddie meet with their respective teams. Eddie tells the deckhands, they have to unf*** stuff today. In his interview, he says he’s trying to stay composed and professional, but deep down, he’s panicking. The first charter is less than 24 hours away, and there’s a lot on the line.

In her interview, Izzy says she’s been around boats her whole life. She was too cheap to pay for a holiday, so she started working on boats. As long as she’s working, and living life to the fullest, she’s up for a challenge. Shane intrudes on the interior meeting, and Francesca wonders why he’s there before he wanders off again. In Shane’s interview, he says he’s new to yachting, and has less than a year under his belt. He’s been on boats his whole life, but never vessels over 150 feet. Eddie hunts for Shane, and tells him that they’re bunking together. Shane says he’s from a white glove world, and Eddie says if he doesn’t know what to do, ask. His only problem is if someone says they know how to do something, and they don’t. In his interview, Eddie says he thinks he’s going to be screwed with this one. He tells Shane, just absorb.

Francesca tells the stews to get the cabins guest ready, and familiarize themselves with where things are. In Francesca’s interview, she says she tries to find balance between being patient, and being a hard-on. That’s how she rolls. Elizabeth says she’s used to working with militant chief stews, and thinks Francesca has pure intentions, In Eddie’s interview, he says Avery seems knowledgeable and organized. With a new crew and the captain injured, he’s got a lot to do to get ready, and needs someone he can depend on. Elizabeth struggles with making beds, and Izzy gets hit in the face with bidet water. James asks about the girls on the boat. In his interview, he says he doesn’t think yachting is much of a career, He just wants to get some sun, party, and flirt.

Chef Rachel arrives, and says she had her purse stolen. She was in a store, and left her purse in the cart (you all know not to do that, right?), and it was stolen. It was upsetting and overwhelming, and she’s not in the state she should be in mentally, and it sucks. The deckhands wash down and clean up. Francesca asks Elizabeth to do laundry detail. In Rachel’s interview, she says, normally, she’d reorganize the galley, but she needs to hit the ground running, suck it up, and get it done with a smile. Provisions come in, and Eddie tries calling Captain Lee again.

Captain Lee finally makes it to the boat, and everyone is like, yay! He tells Eddie, no hugs. In his interview, the captain says his ribs are killing him, but only when he moves and breathes. Other than that, it’s fine. He’s glad he didn’t damage any vital organs, but feels like he’s been wrapped up in a bedsheet and beaten with a bat. Suck it up, creampuff. He radios for everyone to come to the Sky Lounge. He apologizes for leaving them high and dry, but it couldn’t be helped; it’s under control now. He introduces Mario and Zack, the engineers, and first officer John. He gives the crew his rules – don’t embarrass the boat or themselves. In his interview, he says he doesn’t want a repeat of last season. No physical intimidation. We flash back to drunk Ashton. He says, they got away with it last year. If they don’t respect each other this season, they’re gone. We flash back to the captain slamming the door after he tells Kate and Ashton not to be slamming doors. He tells the crew, if anyone thinks he won’t fire someone mid-charter, they don’t know him. In Izzy’s interview, he says he’s like a sweet grandpa who will spank you if you do something wrong. Captain Lee says a quick way to get a one-way ticket is to be without a radio.

The captain meets with Francesca, and tells her that he doesn’t like to micromanage. He asks her to go to whoever is having the issue first, and try to resolve it. If she can’t, bring him a straight, unbiased version. He tells her, laundry is his pet peeve. There’s the bar, and his bar, which is way the f*** up there. In his interview, he says he’s had the same chief stew for the last six years, and we flash back to Kate. He says, it  takes a long time to develop the level of trust he and Kate shared. Francesca has huge shoes to fill. Francesca tells him that she wants the guests to have one-of-a-kind, unique experiences. In the captain’s interview, he says Francesca seems competent, and seems to know her stuff, but she has a lot on her plate. He explains how he wants the crease in the front of his pants, not on the side, and in his interview, he says Francesca doesn’t know what a d*ck he can be. Francesca gives Elizabeth the skinny on the captain’s pants.

It’s time for the first preference sheet meeting, and the captain radios Eddie, Francesca, and Rachel. He tells them he’s had Charley on board before. He’s a fun guy, with a propensity for living on the edge. We flash back to Charley being kind of an a-hole. Charley is bringing his boyfriend Carlos, and a couple of friends. The captain says the menu will include vegan and keto, and they want an international themed dinner the first night. In Rachel’s interview, she says when she’s not doing yachting, she’s a private Ayurvedic chef. She studied in India for three years. She’s got this. Captain Lee says they want a neon carnival themed party on the second day, which is also guest Lexy’s birthday. He says, Charley knows what to expect. Never let him see you sweat. In his interview, Captain Lee says, Charley is a handful. He demands a lot, and doesn’t mind paying for it, but to get to the pot at the end of the rainbow, you’ve got to create the rainbow. The crew calls it a night.

Shane says he likes to meditate when he wakes up. It sets the precedent for the entire day. Izzy is tasked with the captain’s breakfast, but Francesca thinks a snail could make breakfast faster, and it doesn’t even have hands. She doesn’t think it does anyway. Eddie tells the captain, Avery is solid, but Shane has green growing pains. The captain says he was doing good until he rolled over. In Captain Lee’s interview, he says, last season, he had no bosun he could count on and depend on . We flash back to several inferior bosuns, and the captain says, when you have a new crew, you’ve got to have a stabilizing factor. Eddie brings that to the table. Elizabeth radios James to come and get a bag of garbage. He comes down wearing shorter than short shorts. In Elizabeth’s interview, she says she hopes this is the first yacht she doesn’t fall in love on. It’s a half hour to charter, and Avery says, it’s a never ending battle to clean things that will never be clean. Eddie tells them, it’s showtime.

Charley and friends arrive, and the captain welcomes them. He tells them Francesca will give them the grand tour, and they’ll get started. Charley says, it’s good to be home. He points out a bathroom where one of his friends may have passed out, and tells his party, don’t do that. The luggage is brought on board, and the railings come in. A guest flirts with James. Apparently, she and Elizabeth are seeing something I don’t. In his interview, Eddie says, docking and undocking are a spectator sport. People love to watch. All  the lines are clear, and they head out. The guests want espresso martinis, and Izzy begs the espresso machine to work. Francesca wonders how long it takes to make espressos, and says, Izzy is so slow. They have two machines; use them both. She brings up some vegan delights appetizers to the guests, and in her interview, says, being chief stew is all about problem solving. She helps make espresso shots for the martinis. Carlos loves it, so all is well.

Francesca asks Elizabeth to unpack the master, and shows Izzy how to make the martini. She just needs it to happen. Looking at all the stuff Charley brought, Elizabeth says it’s a lot of sh*t for three days. Anchor is dropped at Morris Bay. Charley tells his guests, until the crew figures out what’s going on, what do they need? He takes orders for an espresso martini, an Aperol spritz, and sunscreen. He gets behind bar, and tells Izzy that he’s helping out. Izzy is like, no, and he tells her to get the sunscreen, and he’ll make the drinks. Izzy tells Francesca, the primary senses everyone is overwhelmed, and is making drinks. Francesca says they need to step up their game. In Izzy’s interview, she says she’s questioning her decision to work there. Why did she do this to herself? Francesca tells Charley that she’ll take care of it; it’s her domain. Carlos says, the crew needs to step it up. In Francesca’s interview, she says they’re supposed to be 7 star service. Charley tells her, call today a learning curve, and call tomorrow, get it right. He understands for 24 hours.

Eddie wants to sit and cry. Francesca asks Elizabeth to take over bartending. In her interview, Francesca says Elizabeth is adapting, and doing what she’s told. Thank God, since Izzy isn’t happening. Francesca says she comes from a large yacht, and had stews with experience. With the guests full-on, she needs stews who know what they’re doing. She confers with Rachel about dinner. The captain asks Izzy how it’s going, and she says she’s a little overwhelmed. In his interview, he says that’s not what he wants to hear. James checks out guest Lexy, and says he likes older chicks, and the birthday girl is hot. In Rachel’s interview, she says, food is multi-dimensional. There’s the visual, the scent, the texture, and the taste. She loves it. It’s like a fun puzzle she puts together. She apologizes for being a nerd.

Shane replaces the plastic bar straws with paper ones that have a nautical theme. He says he always brings his own straws. We have one planet, and if we destroy the earth where will humans go? The moon? Charley loves the table setting, and Francesca starts to bring out the food. The guests think it looks incredible. Rachel brings up a dish, and the deckhands put the jet skis in the water. There’s silence while the guests eat, and Charley says them being quiet is a good sign. He loves the avocado reduction, and declares it could double as a facial mask. Eddie says he and Avery are two peas in a pod, and killing it. The guests go out on the jet skis, and circle around the boat. Captain Lee asks Francesca if things are smoothing out. She says, as much as they can. Izzy is doing what she can, but she needs training. The captain says, this isn’t where one should be learning, and Francesca says, it just makes things worse. Avery gets a text from his mother that his grandmother is getting worse, and they’re not sure how much time she has. Avery asks what he should do, and his mother says, it’s up to him. He cries.

Some of the guests start pushing each other into the water from the boat, while Charley is still out on the jet ski. The captain says it’s making him nervous; it’s too dangerous. Eddie tells them, too close; there are people in the water. Charley and whoever he’s riding with fall off. Avery asks Captain Lee if he has a second, and tells the captain that he has bad news about his grandma. He has to leave as soon as possible. The captain says he’s sorry to hear it, and Avery says, they thought it was the flu, but he guesses it wasn’t. And you know what we’re all thinking. He says he’s sorry. It’s the last thing he wants to do. Captain Lee says he understands; family first, always. Not a problem. Avery leaves, and the captain is like, ugh, sitting with his head in his hands.   

Eddie says, the guests are an absolute sh*t show. Charley says they failed the jet ski experiment. The captain asks to talk to Eddie, and Francesca brings the guests snacks. Captain Lee tells Eddie, they just lost a guy. Avery’s grandma is dying, and might not make it through the night. Get him packed and out. Eddie says, it’s an f-ing mess. He asks Avery, what’s happening? and Avery says this is the last thing he wants to do, but Eddie says, don’t worry about them. Go and be with his family. In Avery’s interview, he says, he feels bad leaving, but he feels he has to. He thanks Captain Lee, who says he’s so sorry. The captain hugs Avery, and tells him to take care of himself. Stay strong. Eddie says his best deckhand has to leave for a family emergency. They’re a man down, they have thirsty, high maintenance charter guests, and a new crew. The future doesn’t look bright. They’re screwed. In Avery’s interview, he says the last thing he wants to do is leave, but it’s a decision he had to make. He can’t imagine doing anything different. No matter what’s going on, he’s going to make sure his career is successful. He wants to be just like Captain Lee.  

Eddie says, day one.

This season, Captain Lee says, Antigua has a beach for every day of the year – how incredible is that? Hot tub hijinks; sushi on a nakey woman; Captain Lee says, there’s no crying in yachting; caviar isn’t delivered when the guests specifically requested it; Francesca says, Rachel is a time bomb; James wants to get to know Elizabeth; Shane doesn’t answer his radio, and consistently doesn’t wear a shirt, annoying the captain; Francesca calls out Elizabeth; the Corona virus begins; Captain Lee says, the effing world is going to hell in an effing handbasket; Rachel says she’s out; Eddie says he needs help; and the captain says, let the firings begin.

🛥 Meet the New Cast…

Avery not included.

https://www.bravotv.com/below-deck/about

😔 Idol Gone Too Soon…

The best I can say is, at least it wasn’t suicide or covid.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/01/us/nikki-mckibbin-american-idol-death-trnd/index.html

🌪 Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On…

And it doesn’t just kill people.

https://nypost.com/2020/10/30/how-covid-shook-up-tv-casts-from-9-1-1-lone-star-to-witcher/

🎸 If You’ve Ever Wondered Why…

An explanation of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame snubs.

https://pagesix.com/article/rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-snubs/

🎃 2020 Costume Parade…

Celebrity Halloween costumes.

https://www.essence.com/beauty/our-favorite-celebrity-halloween-costume-2020/

More celebrity Halloween costumes.

https://pagesix.com/slideshow/best-celebrity-halloween-costumes/

If you can’t get enough of celebrity Halloween costumes.

https://people.com/celebrity/star-tracks-sunday-november-1-2020/

Kelly and Mark in Halloween costumes.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1204067/why-kelly-ripa-censored-her-and-mark-consuelos-halloween-photos

And Heidi’s Halloween effort for this miserable year.

https://www.today.com/popculture/heidi-klum-debuts-sinister-short-film-about-halloween-2020-t196830

📇 Another Monday Shredded…

It’s officially election day for the Big Kahuna, so if you haven’t done it yet, get out there and vote. Just don’t touch anything while you’re there. And don’t forget to stay safe, stay peaceful, and stay knowing it’s not a right, it’s a privilege.