Tag Archives: Meat Loaf

April 4, 2025 – GH Weekdays, Ric Remembers an Important Detail, Soap Suds, This Week In Reality, Weekend Watch, Impending Watch, Wild Surprises, A Half-Dozen Solid Quotes & Money

Standard

What I Watched Today

(Weekday bites, Friday’s whole GH enchilada & media minutiae)

General Hospital

🥢 Weekday Bites…

Monday:

A rescue team arrived at the scene of the accident, and Kristina stopped down the road. Molly looked for Kristina at Charlie’s and ran into Cody. Drew was glad Kai was keeping an open mind about the surgery, and Kai said Drew had given him a lot to think about. Alexis showed up, but Drew had to take a call. In the hallway, Drew asked if it was done, but Boyle told him they had a situation. Drew told Boyle, fix it. He didn’t care how. Trina continued to film at the crypt, and Anna cuffed and arrested Emma. She told Boyle that he was on his own when it came to Tracy, and took Emma to the station. The sheriff tried to arrest Tracy, but she said, don’t touch me. Sonny asked Soliski who hired him, but Soliski insisted he didn’t know. Sonny said then they didn’t need him, and Soliski said, wait. The jaws of life were used at the accident, and Ric was taken out of the car as Kristina watched.

Ric was strapped to a gurney, when Lucky showed up. Kristina said, it was supposed to be Ava. Cody told Molly that Mac wanted to meet up at Charlie’s and he was hoping to see Lucky to apologize. Molly wondered how Cody convinced Ric to make peace with Alexis, and couldn’t thank him enough. The guy who pulled off that miracle didn’t seem like the drunken idiot she met at the PCPD. She thought maybe he was a good guy after all and gave him her card. She said she owed him one, when Mac arrived. Drew introduced Alexis to Kai, and said he was the face of the Pediatric Sports Initiative (🍷). Kai left and Drew told Alexis that he had great news. Yuri stood with Tracy, but Boyle said there was no getting out of this. Soliski said he didn’t have a name, but Sonny said he was tired of Soliski’s games. Soliski told him to open a drawer where he’d find the info, but when Sonny put his gun down, Soliski got the better of Jason. Jason sprang back, they struggled, and Soliski fell, hitting his head. Kristina told Lucky that it was Ava’s car. She checked before she cut the brake line. Lucky told her to jet to Charlie’s and say she’d been doing inventory all day. Lucky stayed and saw Elizabeth being taken from the car. He freaked and ran toward her, but an officer grabbed him and told him to calm down.

Anna gave Emma a lecture, and Emma said she wasn’t a little kid anymore. She was a college student who had the freedom to push the boundaries, break the rules, and make mistakes. She knew she was somebody that hated inequality and fairness and wanted to do good in the world and fight for what she believed. Anna said the Quartermaine crypt wasn’t her fight, and Emma asked if Anna wasn’t dedicated to helping people. What changed? Tracy talked to the good people of Port Charles, telling them about the crypt and who was buried there and how they’d helped Port Charles grow and thrive. For years, their vision and generosity had kept the doors of GH open. The crypt had nothing to do with righting a wrong, but everything to do with a corrupt politician. Cutthroat Cain was using his position for a personal vendetta with the shameful assistance of Councilman Boyle. Trina said it was about to go viral, but Boyle said no one was going to help Tracy. Tracy was about to be arrested, and the deputies carried her off the steps. Drew said Willow, Amelia, and Wiley were moving in with him and Scout, but Alexis said she thought it was a mistake. Jason said Soliski was dead, and they had to jet. He’d grab everything of use. Sonny said, the trail might not be cold just yet. Cody told Mac about talking to Ric when he was at the PCPD. He’d told Ric that Molly needed both of her parents. Kristina came out and told Molly she’d been doing inventory. Molly said organization was her happy place, but Kristina said they’d just gotten a new system. Molly asked if she could hang and Kristina said, sure. Ric and Elizabeth were brought to the hospital, and Isaiah told Lucky that he had to leave, but Lucky begged to stay. Lucas worked on Ric who would need emergency surgery once he stabilized.

Mac asked Molly to join them. He wanted to say thanks for getting Cody’s car situation straightened out. Molly asked Kristina to sit with them too, and Mac praised Molly’s skills as an ADA. Kristina flashed back to the accident aftermath, and Molly asked if she was okay. Molly’s phone rang and a nurse from GH told her about her father being in the ER. Cody offered to drive and Kristina said she’d come too. Anna said nothing had changed, but she worked within the law, but Emma said breaking the law was sometimes the only way to get someone’s attention. Anna said she’d been like Emma, but growing up, you realized the world was complicated and every action had its own set of consequences. Emma said growing up didn’t mean you abandoned your principles. She wasn’t sitting by and watching a corrupt politician abuse his power just because he could. Anna said experience broadened perspective and you couldn’t save everyone. Emma was putting her future at risk. Emma said Anna was being condescending and trivializing her intentions. She was there because of her mom. Tracy wailed that they were hurting her, when Diane showed up and said Trina’s recording would come in handy in court later. She had an official cease and desist order from Monica. Unhand her client. Alexis told Drew that Scout had been through enough upheaval and was dealing with the loss of her family as she knew it. She missed her brothers. Drew said it wasn’t his choice to leave, but Alexis said it was his choice not to add more change to Scout’s life. Scout needed normalcy, consistency, and stability to heal. Drew said he’d only told her out of courtesy. He wasn’t asking for permission. Isaiah insisted Lucky leave and Lucky said he’d be right outside.

Molly saw Lucky at the hospital, and he told her that Ric had been driving and Elizabeth was his passenger. Alexis said she wanted what was best for Scout and Drew said he did too. That’s why he chose to stay in Port Charles. Alexis said she hoped it went smoothly, when her phone rang. Kristina told her about Ric and Alexis said she’d be right there. Anna asked what Robin had to do with Emma helping the Quartermaines, and Emma said Robin had always told her the story about how she’d been sick when Edward was sick with the same thing, but he’d insisted she take the only dose of serum available. He was one of the people Tracy was trying to protect, and she wasn’t going to watch a man who made that kind of sacrifice for her have his final resting place torn down like trash. Anna said she’d always be grateful and understood. Emma said it wasn’t just Edward. Alan had told her mom she was HIV positive, and Robin’s world crumbled. HIV had been new and terrifying, and all people knew was that they should be afraid. Alan wasn’t and stood by Robin’s side when she had no one to count on. Anna said it was one of her biggest regrets not being there, and Emma said Alan was a huge reason Robin chose a career in medicine. Edward and Alan saved their lives and made their lives possible, and she couldn’t watch their final resting place be destroyed. Jason thought Soliski would have been more useful alive, but Sonny said he was going to die regardless. He wasn’t going to stop until he succeeded in killing Sonny. It was kind of like self-defense. Also, a warning to whoever hired him. Jason said they’d hire someone else, and Sonny had to be ready for the next attack.

 Alexis asked Molly how Ric was, but Molly didn’t know. Ava showed up and asked if there was word on Ric’s condition. At the crypt, Boyle said the order was legitimate. How did Monica secure it? Diane said Monica had struck a deal with the Port Charles Land Trust. She’d admitted a mistake was made and negotiated a deal. The crypt would stay as long as the Quartermaines gave them a piece of land on the lakefront. Tracy suggested he take his bulldozer, cheap suit, and really ugly tie and get off her property. He said it wasn’t over, but Diane said it was. Diane said Monica told her to tell Tracy, the next time, why not just come to her first? Tracy said, a win is a win, and Diane said, enjoy it. Gio asked about Emma, and Tracy said Emma was a friend and ally and she’d respond in kind, starting with getting her released. She thanked Trina for recording everything. She was an excellent tenant. Tracy left with Gio, when Kai arrived and said he’d seen Trina’s livestream. Anna said she had no way of knowing Emma’s reasons and had misjudged her and the situation. She was sorry. The arrest still stood, but she thought Emma would just get a slap on the wrist. Mac came in and asked to speak with Anna and in the hallway, Anna said she understood Emma’s reason for the protest. She was trouble, but good trouble. Mac said he wasn’t sure she’d feel the same after seeing this, and handed her a folder. Molly said no one was telling her anything and Isaiah asked to speak to Lucky in private. He told Lucky that Elizabeth was lucky. She had a broken leg that would need surgery, but they wanted her to regain consciousness first. Ava said she and Ric cared about each other and Alexis said she was here for her daughters who got upset seeing Ava. Be a decent human being for once and worry about Ric someplace else. Lucas came out and had news about Ric’s prognosis.

On the plane, Sonny said Ric would go through Soliski’s devices until he found something. In the meantime, they couldn’t show any weaknesses. Jason said Sonny delaying the surgery any longer was dangerous. If he died, he’d do the enemy’s work for them. Sonny said he’d give Ric time to get a name and then schedule the surgery. Until then, it would be business as usual. He wasn’t letting anyone hurt his family again. Drew asked what Tracy’s face was like when she was arrested and the crypt was demolished, and Boyle told him that his dreams of being a Quartermaine were over. He was legally obligated to use the name Drew Cain. Drew wondered how Tracy managed it, and Boyle said, Tracy didn’t; Monica did. Anna said her respect for Emma was short-lived, when Tracy came in. She said Emma’s sacrifice wasn’t in vain. They won and the crypt would stay where it was. They high-fived, and Tracy said she wanted to secure Emma’s release, pay all legal fees, and celebrate with dinner. Anna said Emma was going in a jail cell until she could see a judge in the morning. She would have gotten a slap on the wrist were it not for a number of prior offenses. Lucas said Ric had severe head trauma and internal bleeding. He was stabilized and going to the OR for surgery. Lucky sat by Elizabeth’s bedside and said she had to be okay. He’d been wanting to say something since he got back, but didn’t have the courage. She had to know that he loved her. He fell in love with her the first day they met and he was going to love her forever. She opened her eyes.

Tuesday:

Laura thanked Sonny for coming to the hospital and said he always showed up when it counted. Alexis thanked Curtis for encouraging her to go to a meeting. She liked the one at the hospital because it was safe and familiar. He said he was starting to feel the same way. Carly was there with Donna and Donna wanted to say hi to grandma’s photo. Felicia joined them and said the hospital had been born today. It was 62 years young. Lucy knocked at Windymere and Sidwell said she’d sounded mysterious on the phone. He was intrigued by her proposal, and she said she had four words that would blow his mind – General Hospital Nurses Ball. Laura said they were unveiling the new cardiac center and asked if Sonny wanted get coffee. Tracy arrived and said she had some unfortunate news.

Lucy told Sidwell about the first Nurses Ball in 1994. The whole town of Port Charles was there. Terry talked to Portia about the anniversary of GH, while Anna filled Robin in on the new cardiac center and told Mac that GH looked pretty good for her age. Tracy said Monica had a respiratory issue and couldn’t be around many people. Laura said she was the heart and soul of GH and had brought the hospital into the 21st century. Her mother and Monica had their moments, but her mother held Monica in high esteem professionally, and Laura had always been grateful for how Monica treated her when Lulu had her transplant.

Lucy said the Nurses Ball was a fundraiser, but there were other highlights, including, but not limited to, the clothes. We flashed back to the many gowns Lucy has worn for the Ball. Carly and Felicia took Donna to the memorial wall, and Donna told Bobbie that she missed her. Felicia said nursing was Bobbie’s calling and Carly said the hospital was a part of Bobbie. Felicia said Bobbie was her best friend and she thought of her every time she came to work. Carly said her mom would be proud. Maxie gave Deanna and Amy giftbags for the nurses, who she said were the heart and soul of the hospital, and asked for help handing them out. Tracy went to the memorial wall to see her parents and Alan. Stella joined her and said she spent a lot of time in places where she could honor her loved ones. Tracy said she liked the quiet and opposed to at home, her loved ones couldn’t talk back. She was concerned about Monica, who kept having setbacks. She didn’t think the hospital would be standing without her.

Terry and Portia checked out the new space, and Portia said Monica deserved it. Terry said Monica inspired her to be better and not just as a doctor. Lucy talked up the hospital staff to Sidwell and said everyone gave it their all for the most worthy of causes. Sidwell asked what the cause was, and she said she was glad he asked. Laura saw Curtis who stayed for the unveiling, and she said people would get care there they couldn’t get anywhere else. Curtis said Aurora Media was covering it. Laura said Doc was at a seminar, even though we all know he’s running a casino on the side. (Joke for Beyond the Gates watchers.) Curtis said he’d heard there was an anonymous donor, and Laura said if she had to guess, it was somebody that had a contentious relationship with Monica, but still respected her. She didn’t think it was a mystery for Monica, but it was a relief that their names wouldn’t be attached. Curtis said, being attached to the wrong people often hurts as much as it helps, but Laura said the hospital brought out the best in everyone. Alexis found Sonny at the memorial wall where he was counting his blessings. Blessings are always there, but sometimes you have to dig to find them. She said the atrium was stunning, and she knew he was the anonymous donor because she’d seen the paperwork. He said Monica hated him, but he’d always respected her.

Laura told Alexis that Monica wasn’t up to coming, but even Monica wouldn’t want them to postpone the unveiling. Laura asked, how you thank someone for giving your child their life back and fill the void of such a loss? She said she was sorry and cried. She didn’t know how to adequately convey her gratitude. Alexis said it wasn’t an exchange. One thing had nothing to do with the other. Sam had chosen to donate her organ, and it had been successful. What happened was beyond their control and they should focus on her bravery and her children and the gift to Lulu made her a hero on earth. All the love she gave to everyone was what mattered. They hugged and Laura said that’s how they’d honor Sam going forward. Amy gushed over how expensive the Deception products in the giftbags were, but Maxie said they weren’t worth as much as the nurses. She thanked them for taking care of her family and they said that was the idea. Curtis apologized to Laura for giving her a hard time about the donor, and she said she was nervous about giving her speech now that she knew Monica wasn’t going to be there. Curtis said he’d make sure Monica got a copy of the film, and Laura said it was also the 62nd anniversary of the hospital. Curtis said he’d still be in the wheelchair were it not for the doctors and nurses, but Laura said his strength and courage were a big part of his recovery. He said they’d made him feel like he mattered, and she said he did. Ned found Tracy and wondered if she was sharing an inside joke with her brother. They’d loved each other in their own distinctly unique way. Tracy asked if he meant the Quartermaine way. She said their father would pit them together, but didn’t count on Alan’s ultimate betrayal of becoming a doctor. She was jealous. Right or wrong Alan followed his dreams. She was wrong to give him grief for his choices in wives. So much of what existed at GH did so because of Alan and Monica’s legacy. Ned said they should tell Monica that, but Tracy said she was doing nothing of the kind. He told her, never change. Lucy told Sidwell about the conception of the Nurses Ball and how it was created to fight HIV/AIDS when it was the darkest days of the crisis, and they saw no hope of a cure. She told him about Stone’s death and Robin being diagnosed, but still being with them. Her co-chair John Hanley had also passed, but she couldn’t count how many people she’d lost. That was why she put her heart and soul into making the Ball a success.

Donna lit a candle in the chapel for Michael, when Sonny joined her and Carly. Sonny said Michael was getting better every day, and Donna went to say a prayer. He asked if Carly was okay, and she said she was thinking about how many times she’d been at the hospital. Sonny said he’d made a lot of bargains with God in the chapel, and she said she didn’t associate the hospital with pain. She sees her mom at the nurses’ station, she had her babies there, Sonny walked again, and they gave Michael a fighting chance. Sonny said it was because of Carly, but she said it was because of them. Sidwell said it was a beautiful, moving cause and Lucy asked if he’d like to contribute. She thought it would be good for him to be an underwriter. It would change people’s perception of him. He said he was in, but had one condition. She said, of course (🍷) he did, and he said he wanted to be the sole underwriter for the entire Nurses Ball. Those were his terms. Take them or leave them. Laura told Portia that Monica wasn’t coming.

Anna told Sonny that she’d spoken to Robin who wished she could be there. Sonny said they could remember Stone together. He’d changed Sonny’s life. So did Robin. Anna said the hospital had given Robin her career, her life, and her family, and Sonny said Robin had been beautiful and brave, stating she was the face of HIV/AIDS at the Nurses Ball. Anna said she wished she’d been there for her at that time, and he said Robin had been taken care of. Anna said, in large part by him. Despite their differences, she’d always be grateful. He said, with all his heart, it was his pleasure, and she said she was supposed to give him something from Robin. She kissed his cheek and thanked him.

Terry thanked everyone for being there for the official unveiling of the Dr. Monica Quartermaine Cardiac Care Center and Atrium. Portia said Monica couldn’t be there in person, but was there in spirit. She was the hospital. Terry said Monica was the ultimate example of what a Chief of Staff should be, and she and Portia often asked themselves, WWMD? What would Monica do? Portia said she was their guiding light. She was their constant reminder to move forward and not bet on the future not on the past. Terry said that’s what the new center was about. Helping future patients meet their medical needs and saving lives. Portia introduced Laura, who stepped up to the podium. Laura said she was honored to be there to open the enter and commemorate the hospital’s anniversary. She thought it was a place where people from all walks of life came together to receive care. It was also a place where they put their differences aside and focused on what was important supporting each other as family, friends, neighbors, and a community. With its amazing staff and volunteers, she believed it represented them at their best. It was a place where you could start of as a somewhat mediocre Candy Striper and wind up the mayor of the town. Everyone applauded and she said, for so many of them, General Hospital felt like home, the people in it their family. Embrace that. Cherish that. And with the opening of the new center, they would honor that. The covering was dropped and everyone applauded. Lucy dragged Sidwell out and said she had a great big announcement. Jenz Sidwell had agreed to be the sole underwriter for the 2025 Nurses Ball. There was applause, but not by everyone. She said volunteers knew where to find her, and happy 62nd anniversary General Hospital. The applause was more enthusiastic, and we saw Monica’s photo plaque.

Wednesday:

Jason went to the hospital to talk to Lucas about Carly and said, this thing with Brennan has to end. Carly woke up with Jack. Gio went to the courtroom and found Emma, and asked why she did it when she had a record. Anna talked to ADA Turner, hoping they could take the extenuating circumstances into account, but Turner said, Emma had been in defiance of the court order. Anna said she thought Turner was after her granddaughter because of her. The Deception team met at the Quartermaine solarium, and Lucy said they needed zincite and Sidwell was offering them a good deal, but Brook wondered what was in it for him. Plus, he’d kidnapped Sasha. Maxie said Sasha claimed she’d been overreacting and Tracy wondered why Sasha would say it if it wasn’t true. Sasha went to Windymere, and Sidwell thanked her for talking to Maxie. The Deception team was coming over to sign the contract. Sasha said she wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to screw them over. She would tell them who and what he was, and the deal would be off. He asked if she wouldn’t miss her payday, but she said there were limits to what she’d do for money. Sonny met Laura for lunch at the MetroCourt and Boyle came over to their table. He wanted to know how the public felt about Laura breaking bread with an alleged crime boss.

Sasha said if Sidwell was getting Deception into something questionable or illegal, the deal was off, but he said he was doing them a favor and she’d earned a tidy sum. She said the moment she suspected he was up to something shady, she knew someone who could keep him in line. Lucy said Sonny’s involvement with Deception had turned out fine and if Erica Kane got her product out first, they’d never catch up. Maxie said Lucy was right and Lucy asked for a yay or nay on a long-term contract. Jason said he never should have told Carly what to do. It only made her dig in deeper. Lucas said he’d done the same thing. Carly and Jack were obviously into each other. Jason said she wasn’t allowing herself to see Brennan for who he really was. Carly suggested she and Jack spend the day in bed, but his schedule wasn’t light. He said whenever the WSB allowed, he was all hers. Laura asked Boyle, what kind of a crime boss? and Boyle said, alleged. Sonny asked if he wanted to be rude, and Boyle asked if Laura had heard of the appearance of impropriety. The people wouldn’t like this. (Those invisible people again.) She said her approval rating was twice as high as his and this was a private lunch. Boyle said she could do more good if she wasn’t wasting time with Sonny, and left. Laura said Boyle was a jerk and Sonny said he agreed, but Boyle wasn’t wrong.

Marco went to Diane’s office for an interview, and she said his resumé was impressive, but why did he want to move? Marco said they had an excellent record in criminal defense, and he liked a place where winter was winter. His client, JS Associates, was also based there now. If it worked out, he’d bring them along, as well as a few others. He showed her a list and she said, very impressive. Sonny said they both knew Laura was putting her reputation on the line being seen with him, but she said she wasn’t going to hide her friendship with him. He said he didn’t think they should be seen together, but she said they had no business affiliation, and she never had and never would put pressure on the police not to look in his direction. He said if they did, he would get lonely, and she said she wasn’t hiding their friendship because she was mayor. Natalia abstained from voting, Brook was tentative, and Maxie and Lucy were a yes. Tracy also abstained so she wouldn’t be held responsible for the consequences. Emma told Gio that she didn’t want to talk about California, but the crypt was a cause worth fighting for. He said had he known about her priors, he would have done it, and she said he would have lost his spot in the music program. Everyone already thought she was trouble, so it had to be her. Anna said their differences had nothing to do with Emma, and Turner wondered if she’d looked into Emma’s prior arrests. Anna said, Emma had a party that got out of hand, and she got expelled, but Turner said Emma had been part of an activist group protesting a lab and everyone had been arrested. For what, she didn’t know. When she requested the report, she was sent to the university legal department. They must have struck deal because Emma was charged with breaking and entering and she was expelled, but the record was sealed. Anna said it was because it was serious enough that the university didn’t want the story to get out, and Turner said Anna had no idea who she was really dealing with. Neither did she.

At Windymere, Brook asked why Sidwell wanted to do business with them when he had offers from Enchanted and Melador. Sidwell said neither one was in Port Charles, and he didn’t want to be based in Pine Valley or Llanview. Port Charles had everything he needed and more – access, ease, and beauty. Brook’s family had done well, and all he wanted was to do the same. Diane said Marco seemed like a good fit, but before she made an offer, he’d have to meet with her partner. She’d be in be in touch. Marco asked who was in the photograph on Alexis’s desk, and Diane said it was Alexis’s late daughter Samantha and Sam’s brother Lucas. Lucas told Jason that Carly thought because she and Jack weren’t committed, it meant she was safe, but anyone could see they were invested in each other. Carly hadn’t come home last night, but there was nothing he could say that would change her mind. Jason said, she was almost killed, and Lucas said if that wasn’t enough to convince her, he didn’t know what was. Laura asked if Sonny had seen his brother, but Sonny said he avoided that whenever possible. She said Ric had been in a car accident and Elizabeth was with him. They were both in the hospital. He asked how Elizabeth was, and she said, awake. There was no damage to her spine, but she had a fractured leg that would need surgery. Ric hadn’t woken up yet. Sonny hoped for his daughter’s sake, Ric pulled through, when Carly and Jack walked in. Maxie had to leave because of an appointment at GH she couldn’t reschedule, and Sidwell said her health came first. She left, and Brook asked to talk to Lucy, and they stepped aside. Brook said, they didn’t know Sidwell, and Sidwell said he’d already expedited their first order at his cost. Anything to help Deception. Brook said he had himself a deal. The judge came in and said the charges against Emma were obstruction of governmental administration, and Emma pleaded not guilty. Turner said, given Emma’s priors and significant flight risk, the people requested she be held without bail.

Marco texted Lucas that he was in town and to join him at the MetroCourt. Tracy said Emma was charged with a class-A misdemeanor and they were treating her like she’d robbed a bank. Turner said, given her record, that could be next, and the judge told Turner to sit and asked Tracy to let Emma’s lawyer handle it. Tracy said there was nothing to be handled. The sheriff and councilman had been misinformed, and the entire matter had been previously settled. The judge asked if that was true, and Turner admitted an agreement had been reached between Monica and the Port Charles Land Trust. Tracy passed out copies of the agreement and said there was no reason for the sheriff and councilman to be anywhere near the crypt. There had been no crime, so there was no reason to punish Emma. The people had no case and were wasting the taxpayers’ money. She suggested they stop wasting the court’s time and dismiss the charges. Sidwell toasted to the beginning of a long and lucrative relationship, and they drank champagne. Natalia said she and Sidwell had to work out a few details, and Lucy left with Brook. Sidwell asked what the mysterious details were, and Natalia said they weren’t going to sign when they knew what she did. Jason went to see Diane who said she’d always make time for him even when no crime was involved. Was there a crime involved? He said he needed to meet with her before he saw Sasha to amend his will and provide for her baby. Michael and Sasha were in agreement that she’d raise the baby by herself before everyone assumed he was the father. Diane said she’d see that Sasha’s baby was well-provided for, but she needed to know the scope of Michael’s exposure. Who else knew? Sonny? Jason said Sonny was staying out of it. He considered telling Carly, but now that she was with Brennan, he wanted to hold off. Sonny wondered what Carly was doing with Brennan. She nearly died and now he had to pretend she wasn’t batting her eyes at the man who nearly got her killed. Jack’s phone dinged and he looked at Sonny. He told Carly that he’d be back and went over to Sonny’s table. He asked for a word with Sonny, and they left for a private area. Jack said, the WSB informed him that a contract killer by the name of Soliski had been found dead in his Toronto home. He did some digging and found out Soliski was inclined to use incendiary devices much like the one that nearly killed Michael.

Turner said the people agreed the sheriff was there in error. However, that didn’t change Emma’s refusal to obey law enforcement’s order. The charges stood. The judge said he was inclined to agree, but they weren’t going to trial. They were going to work it out here. Emma asked if she could speak, and the judge said, at this point, why not? Emma suggested she do community service and Turner agreed. Emma changed her plea to guilty and the judge said the hours would be determined later. Anna told her, just say thank you, and Emma did. Jason said, regardless of Brennan, there was no way Carly could keep her grandchild a secret even if she didn’t say anything. He couldn’t trust her with this. Diane told him that she’d never heard him say he didn’t trust Carly, and he said, when she was with Sonny, he could protect her. He knew Sonny’s world and understood the players. Jack was with the WSB, and he didn’t know their code and didn’t know Jack’s agenda. He didn’t know the players and couldn’t provide the same level of protection. Jack said Soliski had been based Africa, but also South America, the Balkans, and the Middle East. He asked if Sonny knew anything about Soliski’s death, but Sonny said, no. Jack said he had to ask and told Sonny to have a pleasant evening. Sonny went back to his table, and Jack took out his phone. Sonny told Laura that Jack was asking about a guy in Toronto he didn’t know. He was sorry, but had to cut their lunch short. She asked if he was sure nothing was wrong, but he said everything was fine and left. Sidwell asked what Natalia thought she knew, and she said she knew Deception was the perfect cover for him to smuggle in whatever he was smuggling now. He said it was sad that life had made her bitter and mistrustful. She said they’d been good to her and all she needed to do was warn them, but Sidwell said her position would be compromised. They didn’t know she was his ex. She said she’d tell them that too, but he said it was a little late. Why would they ever trust her again when she’d left out a pertinent piece of information? If she knew what was good for her, she’d keep her mouth shut.

Marco was about to leave when Lucas arrived. Anna said she hopes she and Turner could make peace, and Turner said Emma had dodged a bullet. She was in more trouble than she was letting on. Whatever crime she committed was serious and whatever she did in California would come back to haunt her. Emma thanked Tracy and Gio, and Tracy called her courageous for putting herself in the line of fire. Gio suggested they go to dinner, but Anna came in and said that would have to wait. Gio and Tracy left, and Anna said they had to talk about Emma’s priors. Emma had to tell her what she’d done. Emma said she couldn’t, and Anna said it was news to her parents too. Emma said she couldn’t tell anyone because she signed an NDA. It was that or go to jail. Sasha found Jason in the solarium, and he asked if everything was okay with the baby. Jack said, it was WSB business, and Carly said, with Sonny? The WSB had never been interested in Sonny before. Was he sure Sonny wasn’t warning him to stay away from her? He said, sorry to disappoint her, but the conversation had nothing to do with her. Sidwell asked why Natalia cared. When they divorced, she said she wanted nothing to do with him. She said, yet here he was, back in her life uninvited, and he said let him be clear. She would never be in a position to tell him what to do ever again. Not after the spectacular way she wrecked their family. There was a knock at the door and Sidwell opened it to Sonny.

Thursday:

Jason said he got Sasha’s voicemail and asked if there was a problem with the baby, but she said the baby was fine. The problem was with him. Kai went to see Curtis to ask for his advice about the offer from Drew. Drew barged into Portia’s office saying she didn’t hold up her end of the bargain. Curtis undermined him by calling him Congressman Cain. She’d better get him under control, or he’d blow her life out of the water. Trina met with ADA Turner at the ADA’s request. She needed Trina’s help. Lucas asked why Marco was in Port Charles, and Marco said it was fate. Josslyn went to a coffee bar and saw Vaughn talking to a woman. She asked if she was interrupting. Carly said she didn’t believe Sonny didn’t tell Jack to stay away from her, and thought he’d lied. Sidwell told Natalia that she’d never be in a position to tell him what to do again – ever. Not after spectacular way she’d wrecked their family. There was a knock at door and Sidwell opened it to Sonny. Sonny said it was time they met and walked in.

Kai explained about the operation to Curtis, and said Drew would make the arrangements on his behalf and offered to cover the cost. Curtis said Kai had to live with the outcome and what mattered was if he was okay with it. Kai said he thought it would give him a chance to play football again, but it was risky. He didn’t have time to decide because the percentage of success was higher closer to the injury. He asked what Curtis thought he should do. Portia told Drew that she had nothing to do with Monica and Tracy’s decision and had no idea what Curtis had planned. Drew told her to make it her job to find out Curtis’s plans if they affected him, but Portia worried Curtis would know. Drew said to make sure he didn’t, or Curtis would know stuff she wished he didn’t. He left and Brad came in. Marco told Lucas about his job interview and how he’d seen Lucas’s photo on Alexis’s desk. He still had to meet Alexis, but thought it went well. Lucas said he had a confession to make. Vaughn asked if Josslyn wanted to join him, and the woman asked if Vaughn could spare some sugar. He gave it to her, and she left. Josslyn said the woman had been hitting on him. Her class had been canceled, and she had the day off, so she was exploring the area. She’d seen the logo on his to-go cups and figured the coffee was good. He said she was observant and shaping up to be a halfway decent agent. Jack asked why Carly was sure Sonny had threatened him, and she said, it had happened before. Because they had kids together, Sonny felt like he had a say in her life. Jack said Sonny didn’t bring up her name once. It was WSB business. There were certain subjects he couldn’t discuss for her own safety. Was that something she could live with? Sonny and Sidwell went to the living room, but Natalia had disappeared. Sidwell said the ladies from Deception had been there since they were going into business together. Since Sonny was an investor, they were in business together as well. Sonny said he was there on other business. Somebody had firebombed his penthouse, and his son had been badly injured. It was around the time Sidwell showed up in Port Charles. Sidwell said he hoped Sonny didn’t think he was involved, and Sonny said he hadn’t, but news had come to light that forced him to reconsider the possibility.

Sasha said Felicia had been asking questions, and Jason might need to take a more active role in the baby’s life. Felicia asked if he was going to participate in birth plan, was he supplying his medical information, and if his name would be on the birth certificate. Jason said he was fine with all of it, and she said it was more complicated than she thought. It would have been easier if she’d left town, but Michael wanted her to stay. If Willow found out the baby was Michael’s, she’d use it to get full custody. Jason said that’s why they were pretending, but she wondered for how long. Turner said she had questions about Emma and what happened on the Quartermaine estate, and knew Trina told the truth. Trina said she’d livestreamed the whole thing. Why was Turner interested in Emma when the charges were dropped? Turner said, while processing the arrest, some troubling things came up, and asked if Trina knew why Emma had been expelled. Trina wondered why an ADA in Port Charles was so concerned about what Emma did in California. Lucas told Marco that what happened wasn’t him. He didn’t get drunk and pick up guys. Random hookups weren’t his thing. On the flipside, he wasn’t ready for commitment. Marco said, before Lucas embarrassed himself, he was surprised and pleased to find Lucas lived there. He found Lucas attractive, but wasn’t plotting to get him in bed or make Lucas his husband. He just wanted to get to know Lucas better, especially if he got the job. Lucas said he was embarrassed about what happened and Marco had been so kind. He wanted a chance to get to know Marco better. Marco said, now was his chance. Portia asked what Brad wanted, and Brad said, a promotion and a four-day work week. She told him to get out. The things she thought Brad had taken care of had wound up in Drew’s possession. How much money did he get from Drew? Brad said, nothing. It must have been his Aunt Selina. Portia said he kept evidence that he was supposed to destroy and gave it to his mobbed-up aunt. At least their arrangement was now null and void. She just had to iron out his severance pay. Curtis told Kai that Drew wasn’t a doctor, so before he got his hopes up, he should get the procedure medically vetted. Portia would give him an honest assessment, and if it was legit, he had a tough choice to make. Josslyn told Vaughn that the coffee was great, and she assumed the croissants were too, since the past four customers ordered them. Vaughn said she was off the clock, but she said, never. They discussed volleyball, and Vaughn said he’d been a setter for his college team, but had to stop because he was too competitive. She said she’d heard that before from Trina and Michael, and he said she must miss them. She said she did, but not enough to quit. Carly said she didn’t want Jack to use his career as an excuse to deceive her when it suited him, and he said he’d never manipulate her, use her, or intentionally hurt her. He promised not to take advantage of her trust. He was breaking a cardinal rule of the WSB – never form emotional attachments. She said they’d gotten themselves in a mess, and he asked what she wanted to do about it. Sidwell asked what information Sonny had discovered, and Sonny said the person who placed the device was a hired hitter and he had been informed they’d expired. His name was Soliski. Did it ring any bells? Sidwell said, not a one, and Sonny said Soliski had worked all over the world, including Africa where Sidwell based his operation. Sidwell said Africa was a big continent with a large population. The odds he’d done business with a specific person doing business there were low. Sonny said he didn’t like coincidences, and Sidwell said Sonny seemed to think he wanted to get rid of him, but it was exactly the opposite.

Turner said she was concerned Emma had a legal problem, and if her grandmother was using her influence as a shield, it merited investigation. Trina said it sounded like Turner had an issue with Anna, not Emma. She had no connection with Anna and couldn’t help. Turner thanked her and Trina left. Marco told Lucas that he’d worked for a big law firm in Manhattan, but the hours were long, and his tennis game and love life went to hell. Lucas asked if he was ever married, and Marco said, no. He asked how things were with Lucas and his ex. Brad said Portia couldn’t fire him, but she said she owed him no favors. He begged for another chance, when there was a knock at the door. Kai came in and Portia told Brad, bye. Don’t go far. They had a lot to discuss. Brad said he’d be in the lab doing work that saved lives and left. Kai told Portia that he’d been offered a chance to have experimental surgery that would possibly allow him to play football again. He wanted a second opinion and Curtis suggested he talk to her. She said she’d be happy to help. Sasha told Jason that she wanted to give the baby the best life possible. But how could she when she was starting off by lying? She loved her family. Jason said, one step at a time, especially while Michael wasn’t there. He was getting better, and they had to stay the course until he got back. If it got to be too much, he’d help. Sasha said he was the greatest uncle ever, and he said he promised Michael that he’d be there and there was nothing he wouldn’t do for Michael. For the foreseeable future, they were in this together. Sidwell said, in his experience, if someone wanted to operate out of a port, they needed a stable ecosystem. A criminal element would always be there, but it was fine as long as it was contained and there was peace. He was told that Sonny was good at maintaining peace, so Sonny’s continued presence was crucial to his success. Sonny asked if he was expected to believe Sidwell was doing legitimate business, and Sidwell said he didn’t see Sonny as a rival, but someone to maintain the status quo, so his business would thrive. He understood Sonny’s reluctance to trust him, so as a gesture of good faith, he could aid Sonny in finding justice for his son. He also had a son, so he knew what Sonny was going through. He could use his resources to find the culprit. Sonny said he’d handle it himself, and Sidwell said, if there was anything Sonny needed, let him know. Sonny told Sidwell, good luck with his business dealings, as long as they didn’t interfere with his. Sonny left. Carly said she could live not knowing what Jack couldn’t tell her, and Jack said he’d risk his well-being for any chance of a future with her. She said he’d be doing the smart thing, and they kissed. He said as much as he’d like to continue in his room, he had to be somewhere, and he left. Vaughn went to the counter to get croissants and literally ran into the woman who needed sugar. He dropped a croissant and as she helped him, she passed him something while handing him the plate.

Vaughn told Josslyn that it was the last one and gave her the remaining croissant. She said he wasn’t usually a klutz, and he said they all had their moments. Drew went to Curtis’s office and asked, what was so urgent? Curtis said, leave Kai alone. He was vulnerable and didn’t need to get his hopes up for something that may not happen. Football had been ripped away from him and he was trying to put his life and sense of self back together. Now Drew was swooping in, giving him a chance that was impossible. Drew said the success rate was high, and Curtis said, what if it didn’t work out? There were no guarantees and if Kai ended up out of football for good, was the benevolent godfather act going to disappear? Portia told Kai that it wasn’t her area of expertise, but she’d look into it and do some research. Did he hear about it from his coach or physical therapist? Kai said, Congressman Quartermaine. He offered to pay, since Kai’s insurance wouldn’t cover it. Portia said he’d have to talk it over with his parents. They need to know. He said he wanted to wait until he knew it was legitimately possible, and she said she’d let him know what she found out. He thanked her and left. Lucas said he’d been avoiding Brad since he’d gotten back, and Marco said, they work together. Lucas said he knew they were going to run into each other eventually, but in the meantime, he had to clean up a big mess Brad made. He’d manipulated his way into the symposium and crossed the line. Lucas had to make things right with the person wronged. Marco asked why it was his responsibility, and Lucas said, guilt. Once he took care of it, he could put Brad behind him. He wanted to hear about Marco, but Marco said, another time. He had a meeting. He’d be in town for a few days and asked if Lucas would like to see him again. Lucas said he’d like it a lot and they shook hands. They laughed and Marco left. Vaughn told Josslyn that he had to get back to work and enjoy the rest of her day off.

Carly went over to Lucas and said, what was that? He was cute. Lucas said, forget about Marco. Someone didn’t come home last night. She said, Donna was with Sonny, and she thought Lucas was old enough to be okay at home without her. He said she could have given him some common courtesy and let him know she had plans. He was worried. She said it slipped her mind, but he said she didn’t want him to know she was with Jack. Carly said, everyone and their cat had lectured her about Jack, and he said he saw she’d decided not to listen. She said, after careful consideration, she’d decided to let things play out, and Lucas said Jason had said he was worried, and Jason didn’t panic easily. Please take his concern seriously. She said she was sick of everyone’s concern. She wasn’t changing her mind, so don’t fight her. He said he wouldn’t, but had a feeling Jason wasn’t going to back down so easily. Natalia wondered what game Sidwell was playing. Sonny was smart and dangerous. He didn’t want Sonny as an enemy. She hoped he meant it when he said he had no designs on Sonny’s territory and strongly encouraged him to reconsider. Sidwell asked if it was for his safety or hers, and she said she and Sonny were friends. He laughed and asked why she scurried off. Sonny must not know he’s her ex-husband any more than her cohorts at Deception did. She’d already betrayed everyone and now threatened to out him. She’d end up hurting herself. She said, it might be worth it. Sonny and the women didn’t know how dangerous he was. Sidwell said it wouldn’t be good for her health.  Sonny met Turner and she said she was surprised he’d accepted her invitation. He said he was looking for Lucy and she wasn’t in her office, so here he was. She said he must not have told Diane, and he said Turner worked hard to get Ava convicted. Turner said she was sorry she didn’t get justice. She did her due diligence and noticed something interesting. Despite him being the subject of multiple investigations, trials, and some convictions, he did well. He closely aligned himself with prominent leaders like the mayor and the Police Commissioner. Sonny said people liked him, and she said, even when he hurt their careers? He said, true friendship rises above rumors and innuendos. If she was fishing for something, she should cut bait. Josslyn went back to the WSB, surprising Vaughn. She said there was something she wanted to ask him, when Jack walked in. He asked for an update on Josslyn, and Vaught said he thought she was ready to graduate. And he was ready to go back to the field. He didn’t sign up to be a trainer. Jack said, ever since Romania, Vaughn was going to spend a long time not doing anything but training recruits.

Brad begged Portia not to send him back to his Aunt Selina, and she said she’d let him stay. She might need his help in the future. He said he loved helping, and she said he’d better come through, whatever she wanted whenever she wanted it. From now on, she owned his ass. Drew said he was just helping Kai, and Curtis said he was trying to protect Kai from being used. Drew said he wasn’t the problem. Curtis was. Kai went to see Trina and said, it was a long shot, but there may be a way for him to play football again. Turner told Sonny that she wasn’t fishing. She thought she’d get to know Sonny better. He said he didn’t think her boss would like it, but she said no one told her what to do. They had that in common. Sonny got up and said he hoped he’d satisfied her curiosity, but she said she still had questions. He said he was out of answers and left. Sasha felt the baby kick and said Jason had been there the first time the baby moved. Did he want in on the action. Jason backed away, but she put his hand on her bump. He said, that was a strong kick. Natalia asked if Sidwell was threatening her, when there was a knock at the door. It was Marco, who said he was sorry he was late. He saw Natalia and asked what his mom was doing there. Jack asked if he and Vaughn had an understanding, and Vaughn said they did. He asked Josslyn to give them some privacy to discuss the next steps, but Josslyn said, wait. There was something Jack should know. Earlier, she saw Vaughn receive a suspicious drop-off. She thought it was part of a mission sanctioned by the WSB, but now she wasn’t so sure. (I’m thinking it’s a test.)

🫔 Friday’s Enchilada…

Trina asks what Kai is talking about that he might play football again, and he says, it’s not a guarantee, just a chance, but wouldn’t it be amazing if he could get back on the field? She says, of course (🍷). She knows how much he loves the game, but also knows how his doctors say if he gets hit again, he may be paralyzed for the rest of his life. He says, they did, but it turns out that may not be true.  

Curtis asks in what universe is Drew living, and Drew says, in deference to their former friendship, he cut Curtis some slack. Now Curtis is using his grudge to potentially deny Kai a career he’s dreamed of his whole life. Curtis says he’s not, but he’s not buying Drew’s savior act. He’s making the young man promises he can’t keep. Drew says he’s not promising anything. All he’s doing is introducing Kai to a doctor who’s had great success with athletes who have suffered similar injuries. It’s wrong to stand in his way. If Curtis cared, he’d encourage Kai to grab the opportunity before it’s too late for it to be beneficial. Curtis says, Kai mentioned that time was a factor, and Drew says, it is. The less time between the injury and the procedure, the greater the chance of success. Curtis says, if Drew really cared, he’d have encouraged Kai to look into it and be careful to do his research. That’s what he did. Drew says, that’s what he did too. If Curtis wants to come at him, fine, but leave Kai out of it.

Josslyn tells Jack that earlier, she saw Vaughn receive a suspicious drop-off. At first, she figured he was on a mission sanctioned by the WSB, but now she’s not so sure. Jack asks what she’s talking about, but Vaughn says he has no idea. He did bump into Josslyn at a coffee shop, but she was following him, wasn’t she? Josslyn says, no, and he says, she just happened to be there. She says, yes. She saw Vaughn talking to a woman. Vaughn says, what woman? This is ridiculous. Jack says, these are serious charges she’s leveling against a senior agent, ones that could end his career. Which means if she’s wrong, it could end hers.

There’s a knock at the door in Sonny’s old kitchen and we see our old friend, the moss bowl (🎍)! Jason comes in with an envelope, and Carly asks, what’s that? He says, it’s from Diane. Documents from when he signed the MetroCourt back over to her. She thanks him and says she’s sure he’s in a hurry. He says he can’t stand this.

Lucy finds Jordan at the hospital and says she’s been looking all over for her. Jordan asks if Lucy tried her office, and Lucy says, thank God Jordan is helping this year with the Nurses Ball. There’s so much to do and it’s right around corner… She didn’t know? About the 10th time she called Laura’s office, Laura kindly volunteered Jordan as city liaison. Welcome aboard. She shakes Jordan’s hand.

Ava looks at Ric through his hospital room window.

Deanna walks into Elizabeth’s room with a pillow, and Elizabeth asks Deanna to tell her that she’s here to smother her with it. Deanna says, she’s not covered for that, but it is triple fudge brownie day in the cafeteria. Maybe that will help. Elizabeth makes a face, and Deanna asks how she’s feeling. Elizabeth says, not too bad for someone with three new pins in her leg. She’s fine. She appreciates Deanna, but don’t worry about her. Deanna says, it’s literally her job. If she slacks off, her boss might find out. Elizabeth says, she’s the worst. She’s worried about Ric and wonders if Deanna has an update. Deanna says, sorry, but there’s been no change. Lucky comes in with a duffel bag and says, these are the things Elizabeth asked for. Deanna says she’ll leave them to it, and leaves. Lucky asks, what’s the matter? Is she okay? Elizabeth says she realized recovery is going to be a lot more difficult than she thought, and Lucky asks if she’s in pain. She says, no. Just completely helpless.

Alone in the chapel, Kristina says she knows she did a bad thing. She did a dumb, bad thing. She knows she did and just… Please. She knows she asks a lot, but please, just don’t let Molly’s dad die. Alexis and Molly walk in.

Elizabeth tells Lucky that she hates asking people to do things for her. She can’t imagine sitting around like this for three months. Lucky asks if they didn’t say three to six months, and she says she’s a nurse, so she’s saying three months. He says, wow. He thought doctors made the worst patients. She says she’s an excellent patient, and he says, true. He’s never seen a better one. He takes out a sweater and asks if she wants it, but she asks him to fold it and put it on the chair. He says he knows she hates it when she can’t do things for herself, especially when the people trying to help don’t do it the way she would. He tries folding the sweater and looks like me trying to fold a fitted sheet. She says, he makes her sound like a control freak, which she’s not… Just don’t fold it like that. Give it to her. He does and she refolds it.

Kai says he was at Drew’s office, and Trina asks if he means Congressman Cain. He says, the congressman said to call him Drew, and she says, right. He says, they were talking about the Pediatric Sports Initiative (🍷) and Drew asked what he wanted out of life. He told Drew that he was still trying to figure that out now that football wasn’t part of it. She asks what Drew said, and he says, Drew told him about a doctor who’s made huge strides in vertebrae repair. Drew said he could get him in to see the doctor. She says, so Drew happened to know somebody who can offer him what he wants, and he says, Drew is a congressman, so he probably knows a lot of people. Anyway, Drew thought he was a candidate for the procedure and is willing to pay for it. Isn’t that incredible? She says, it just seems hard to believe.

Curtis says he’s not standing in Kai’s way. Kai came to him for advice, and he gave it. Frankly, the idea of Kai in a wheelchair, paralyzed, was enough for him to advise caution. The possibility doesn’t seem as important to Drew. Drew says, Kai is aware of all the possibilities. He gave Kai all the information and he’s making his own decision. He’s just in a position to help Kai accomplish everything he’s worked so hard for. Just like he did for Curtis. Curtis says, excuse me? and Drew asks how Curtis thinks he ended up CEO of Aurora. He wouldn’t be in this office in the first place if Drew hadn’t put him here.

Jordan says, that’s quite the list, and Lucy says, that’s just Jordan’s half of the list. She wants as many people in the community to take part as humanly possible. All Jordan has to do is call each and every person and confirm they’re performing. Jordan asks what Curtis is going to do, and Lucy tells her, he hasn’t said yes yet. Jordan says, so when Lucy tells her to confirm, what she really means is… Lucy says, convince. That means everyone and do not take no for an answer.

Alexis says she didn’t know Kristina was at the hospital, and Kristina says she came to check on Molly’s dad and wanted to say a quick prayer first. Molly said she heard. She knows her dad was not always Kristina’s favorite guy, but she thanks her. She’s been an amazing sister through this. They hug.

Vaughn asks where this is coming from, and Josslyn says she’s just reporting what she saw. He says, she has no idea what she saw, and Jack says, walk him through what happened. Josslyn says she ran into Vaughn at the coffee shop. When she arrived, he was talking to a woman. We flash back as she talks, and she says, later, Vaughn stood up to go to the coffee counter and zipped up his hoodie, which could have been some sort of signal. On the way back, he bumped into the woman and dropped the plate. The woman crouched down to help and passed him a small package. It looked like a pack of gum. Then Vaughn came back, and the woman left right after. She didn’t think much about it at the time, but then she heard Jack say he’s not cleared for field work. Vaughn says, that’s not what happened. Does she honestly think trying to discredit him will impress the chief?

Carly says she hates fighting with Jason. She hates that her situation with Jack came between them, but she can’t live her life by his rules any more than he wants to live by hers. And he’s never policed her life and relationships the way she’s done with him. Jason says, she wouldn’t have listened if he’d tried, and she says, probably not. She understands how hurt he must have been with her back seat driving his relationships. She hates having an ultimatum between them because it’s awful. She doesn’t want to choose between him and Jack. He asks if Jack means that much to her, but she thinks it has nothing to do with Jack. They could be over in a month, but she doesn’t want to give anyone up just because someone tells her to. Even if the someone is him.

Kristina asks if there’s any news about Molly’s dad, and Molly says, Dr. Gannon is examining him now. Alexis says, he’s out of surgery and there’s no permanent damage, and Kristina says, thank God. It’s amazing. Anything she can do to support Molly through this, she’s here. She’s sorry she let her anger and grief get between them. She shouldn’t have done that. Molly says she’s sorry too. They’re sisters and that stuff is behind them now. The Davis girls have got to stick together. Alexis says, forever.

Ava asks Isaiah how Ric is, but he says he can’t discuss Ric’s medical condition unless it’s a family member on the list. Ava says, the list she’s on isn’t that one. His family hates her. He says he’s afraid he can’t, and she says she and Ric are seeing each other. They were together the day of the accident. She’s hoping the last conversation they had isn’t the last conversation they’ll ever have. He says he’s sorry and suggests she try talking to Molly. Ava says, no thank you… Nobody is in there now. Isaiah says, if his family catches her… She says, she’ll be most respectful and leave immediately. He nods and she thanks him. She goes to Ric’s room and sits by his bed. She says, please wake up. She doesn’t want their last words to have been spoken in anger.

Curtis says, Drew gave him the position and he repaid Drew by doing an outstanding job. Drew repaid him by stabbing him in the back. Drew says, Curtis is doing fine. Curtis outmaneuvered him, but the argument still stands. Curtis says, intentions matter. Drew likes to gloss over his betrayals by saying, everything worked out in the end. Willow cares about him. Never mind that he went after his nephew’s wife. The hell with Michael. Drew says he doesn’t think… Curtis says he thinks Drew got everything he wanted in the end. Michael was just collateral damage. He doesn’t want that to happen to Kai.

Kai tells Trina that the procedure is brand new, and the doctor is the only surgeon on the continent who does it. His insurance won’t cover it. Maybe that’s why nobody considered it an option. She says, maybe it’s too new, and he says he’s going to meet with the doctor. Drew got him a consultation. She asks if Drew is going to pay the six-figure tab, and Kai tells her, that’s what he said. She says, he barely knows Kai. Why would he do that?

Josslyn says she’s telling the truth. If Agent Vaughn can explain, great. If he can’t… Jack asks what Vaughn has to say for himself, and Vaughn says, yes. He spoke to a woman in the café. She asked if she could have his sugar, and he gave it to her. He did zip up his hoodie because he was cold. On his way back, he bumped into the woman, but he dropped a croissant. She offered to help, but didn’t lean down and pick anything up. The only thing on the floor was the croissant. Josslyn says, no. She passed him something and then left after her job was done. Vaughn says, or left because she was done with her coffee. Jack asks if Josslyn stands by her accusation, because he finds Vaughn’s version credible. As for her, maybe her mind is playing tricks. So does she stand by her version of the events?

Lucky asks if Elizabeth is in pain. Does she need something? She says she needs to go home, and he says, she just had surgery. She says she can lay around at home like she’s doing here, but he says, can she? She can’t do stairs or stand up to cook. She says, Aiden will help her, but he says, Aiden has school. He has homework and other important things to do. She asks if Lucky can help, and he says he’ll be here waiting until she comes to her senses. She says, they did mention a rehab facility, but she just wants to go home. He says he knows she hates this. He doesn’t blame her, but she needs to let herself heal, okay? Try to be grateful she’s not recovering from something worse. God knows he is. She says she knows she got off easy, and he tells her that he’s not saying it’s easy. Just better than it could have been. She says, Deanna told her that Ric still hasn’t woken up. She’s sorry to hear that. She keeps replaying the moment the car went off the road. It was terrifying. They could have been killed. He says, don’t remind him.

Drew says, all he wants to do is help Kai, and Curtis tells him not to set Kai up for a fall. He’s noticed that about Drew. He likes to pick people up and when they can’t help him anymore, he drops them. He hopes Kai realizes that before it’s too late. Jordan comes to the door and says she can come back later, or do they need a referee? Drew says he was just leaving, but she says, wait. This concerns them both.

Jason says he knows he has no right to tell Carly what to do, but he can’t change how he feels. Brennan is dangerous to be so close to. She says she was close to Sonny, but he says he understands Sonny’s world. He can anticipate things and recognize Sonny’s enemies in that world. But in Brennan’s world, he doesn’t know the enemies. He can’t see around those corners and can’t anticipate anything. He can’t protect her. After Sam’s death, he can’t take the risk of losing her. He figured the people he loves would outlive him. Now after losing Sam, he’s supposed to trust Brennan to protect Carly? He can’t, because her life isn’t as important to Brennan as it is to him. It could never be. He’d take a bullet for her and will always protect her. He can’t trust that Brennan will. He doesn’t trust a word that guy says. She says she knows he doesn’t, but she hasn’t felt this alive in a really long time. He can trust her judgement when she tells him that Jack is not a threat to her.

Vaughn says, Josslyn is making a mistake. She might be embarrassed, but it’s not too late to admit it. Jack asks if she’s saying Agent Vaughn is lying, and she says she saw him put the package in his right pocket – that pocket. Jack tells Vaughn to empty his pockets, and Vaughn says, he can’t be serious. Jack says, do it, and Vaughn takes out the packet and hands it to Jack. Jack undoes it and takes out a computer chip out of the gum pack. He says, well, what have we here?

Alexis says, seeing Molly and Kristina together after everything that’s happened gives her hope, and Kristina says she thinks everything will be all right. Does Molly? Molly says she doesn’t know. She’s scared about her dad, but she has to believe he’ll be okay. It’s easier to do when she’s with them. Alexis says, that’s the way it’s always going to be, and suggests they check on Molly’s dad.

Ava says she’ll make Ric a deal. Wake up now and she’ll let him bill her for a whole hour… He sits up. It was worth a shot. If he won’t wake up for her after the things she said, she wouldn’t blame him, but wake up for Molly. His daughter loves him. So many people need him. She needs him. Remember, he promised to take her to the winery when the weather was nicer, so he can’t leave her hanging on that. She thinks she should go. She doesn’t want to abuse her visitation privileges, but she’ll be back again. She gets up, and Ric mumbles, Elizabeth. Ava says, she’s fine. He’s the one everybody is worried about. He was in a car accident. He asks if someone hit them, but she says, he lost control of the car and went off the road. He was driving Elizabeth home. He says he remembers. They were arguing and he lost control of the car. And the brakes… they failed.  

Ava tells Isaiah that Ric is awake, and Isaiah runs into the room. Alexis, Molly, and Kristina come out of the elevator, and Ava says, Molly’s father is awake. The doctor is with him. Molly runs into Ric’s room, and he says, hey. She says she was scared, but he says, don’t worry. She’s never going to lose him. (Kind of a big promise.) In the hallway, Kristina says she needs some air and leaves. Alexis says she told Ava to stay away. Does she need to get a restraining order? Ava says she was worried about Ric, but Alexis says she’s worried about her girls. Molly needs her sister and the last thing Kristina needs is to see Ava. Ava says she left out of compassion, but GH is a public place. She’s not going to let Kristina’s questionable mental state keep her from seeing someone she cares about. Lucy comes by and says, how lucky she is to find them together. She needs both of them to confirm their performances for the Nurses Ball. Alexis says, never have, never will, and leaves. Ava says she’ll get back to Lucy. There’s something she needs to take care of. She leaves.

Trina says, paying Kai’s medical bills is extremely generous offer, especially for someone he just met. Kai says he thought the same thing, so he asked, and Drew said he thinks Kai has potential. Trina says, obviously he does. Even so… He says, it’s just a consultation, and she asks if he’s going to do it. He says, it depends on her mom. He gave her the information and she agreed to look into it. He trusts her judgement and she did help find a procedure that helped Trina’s dad walk again. She says, it just feels like it’s moving really fast, and she doesn’t want him to be disappointed if it doesn’t work out. Even if it does, she’s afraid if he’s hit wrong, he’ll be paralyzed. He says, they’re on the same page and not just about the playing. He was part of a team. Even if he’s able to get back on, it will be tough. They’ve already replaced him at PCU and there are no guarantees he’ll be able to play college or pro ball. But at least he’ll have a chance. That’s because of her.

Carly says she’s driven everyone away her whole life except for the moss bowl (🎍), and Jason is the only person who never walked away. He says he never will, and she says she was thinking about the time they hit their first breaking point – when she slept with Sonny. He says, it was more complicated than that, and she says, their relationship changed, but it didn’t end. She doesn’t want it to end now. He says, neither does he. So he’s going to stay out of her relationship with Brennan. She asks if he means that, and he says, it’s not worth losing their friendship. If she’s right, he’ll be happy. She says, what if he’s right? and he says, they’ll survive whatever danger Brennan brings their way together.

Jack says, what they do now is quite simple. Congratulations, Agent Jax. You just passed your first phase of training. Josslyn says, wait. What? This was all a test? Vaughn says, and she passed. She can celebrate with the pack of gum. Josslyn asks what they were testing, if she noticed the hand-off? Jack says, partly, but it was mostly loyalty. She didn’t let her feelings for a colleague supersede her loyalty to the WSB. Vaughn says, she trusted her judgement even when he gave a plausible explanation, and Jack says, her training is on-going, but right now she’s needed in the field for an assignment she’s well-suited for. Unless of course (🍷) she doesn’t think she’s ready. Josslyn says, no. She’s ready. Where is she going?

Elizabeth says she’s rethinking staying, and Lucky says she would have gotten there eventually. He knows how independent she is, probably because she’s been left to handle everything on her own way too often. She says she’s always taken care of herself, and he says, true, but there’s something she needs to understand. A lot of people love her and want to take care of her. Please just let them help. She says he’ll have to bear with her, learning to ask for help, and he says he can do that. He can even get her one of those little bells. She says, don’t push it, and he says he hates that she’s going through this, but he’s going to see her through it. Deanna says, sorry to interrupt, but she thought Elizabeth would want to know that Ric is awake, and Elizabeth thanks her. She says she knows what Lucky is thinking, and he says, that he needs to hurry up and get her that bell? She says, he blames Ric for the crash. Please don’t. Sometimes accidents just happen.

Jordan says, thanks to Laura, she’s now working with Lucy as city liaison for the Nurses Ball. As such, she’s been given a list of potential acts and both Curtis and Drew are on it. Curtis says, the Nurses Ball is a worthy cause, and he’ll gladly make a donation, and Drew says, as will he. Jordan says, that’s great and all, but Jenz Sidwell is actually sponsoring the entire thing this year. Drew says, what? and Curtis says, his buddy didn’t tell him, did he? Drew says, Jordan is recruiting them to perform? and she says, yes, but he says, the performers are talented. He doesn’t know what he’d do. She says, not to worry. Lucy insisted – and she means insisted – that she will discover everyone’s hidden talents. Curtis says, okay, he’ll think about it, but Jordan says, May will be here before they know it. So what do they say, yes or no?

Molly says, the whole time she kept thinking she might not get another chance to tell Ric how much she loves him, and he says, she thinks he doesn’t know? She says she thinks she doesn’t say it enough, but he tells her that she says it all the time. He loves her. He kisses her hand and she says she loves him too. He says, she’s the most important thing in his life. He’s very proud of the woman she’s become. She says, even though she’s a prosecutor? and he says, they’ll work on that.

Trina says, Kai is giving her way too much credit, but he says, she made him look at possibilities instead of dwelling on the disappointments. She tells him that she could say the same about him. After Spencer died, she was in a dark place. Then he came along and jeopardized her class project and brought color back into her life. He says, that’s high praise from an art lover, and she says, the highest. He says he can’t wait to see where the future takes them, and she says, what a coincidence. Her too. They kiss.

Carly says, Jason’s always been her rock. He gave her the confidence to live life on her own terms, but she knew she could face the consequences, good or bad, because he was in her corner. That’s why the last few days were really difficult because she thought she’d finally driven him away and that terrifies her. He says he guesses he’s glad she didn’t listen this one time, and she says, why? He says, because if she hadn’t and given in and done what he asked, she would have resented him. She says she thinks that’s one reason she didn’t give in. He’s the most important person in her life, and if she gave in, she knew deep down it would destroy them.

Ava goes to a garage and says she’s here about her car. It was in a single vehicle crash on Route 32 by Oakview Road. Has anybody looked at it yet? The mechanic says, there’s not much to see. It was totaled and he sent it to compacting. She says, that’s what she was afraid of. She needs to file an insurance claim asap. She might want to sue the manufacturer. Does he think he could do her a favor and take a look at it? See if he can find a mechanical reason her car lost control?

Deanna tells Elizabeth, time for her meds, and Lucky asks if she brought enough for everybody. Elizabeth says, ignore him, but Deanna wonders if that’s possible. She also needs to take Elizabeth’s vitals. Lucky says he’ll get out of the way. He’s got something he needs to deal with. If she needs anything, call. Elizabeth promises she will, and Lucky leaves. In the hallway, he gets a text from Kristina: Need to see you. Now.

Trina and Kai are on the sofa kissing, when there’s a knock at the door. Lucy says, yoohoo! Anybody home? Kai says, if they’re quiet, maybe she’ll go away, but Trina says she knows that voice and it will never happen. She lets Lucy in, and Lucy says, oh my goodness! This is the cutest little place. She loves it. She sees Kai and says she knows him. He was at the Pediatric Sports Initiative (🍷) press conference. He’s Kai Taylor. Kai says, that’s him, and she says, Lucy Coe, founder and CEO of Deception Cosmetics. Trina says, it’s not a good time, but Lucy says, it won’t take long. She’s also chairperson of the General Hospital Nurses Ball. Trina asks if they can’t discuss it later, but Lucy says, no need. She’ll put them both down to perform at the Ball.

Drew says he would be happy to be part of the Nurses Ball. He always has time for a worthy cause. Jordan thanks him and he leaves. She asks if Curtis is in, and Curtis says, of course (🍷). Hang on. Did she ask him and Drew at the same time because she knew he’d have to say yes in front of Drew since he wouldn’t be able do less than Drew? She says, welcome to politics.

Jason says, Carly will never lose him, and she says, even if he thinks she’s making the biggest mistake of her whole life? He says, even then, and they hug. Josslyn comes in and says she’s home.

Vaughn asks Jack if he thinks Josslyn is ready, and Jack says, she has to be. The assignment is time sensitive. Vaughn says, that’s not an ideal answer, and Jack says, far from it. That’s why Vaughn is going as Josslyn’s backup.

Molly asks if Ric has any idea what made him veer off the road, and he says he’s trying to piece it together, but it’s hard to concentrate. She says, he has a head injury, so just rest. Maybe it will come back. She tells him that Elizabeth is okay. It’s a miracle the ambulance got there as fast as it did. He flashes back to looking through the windshield after the accident and seeing Kristina.

Lucky meets Kristina and she asks, what’s going on? Does anyone know what caused… He says, not yet, and she says, he’s not telling anyone, is he? He says, first, she needs to tell him how she almost killed Elizabeth.

Ava asks what the mechanic thinks. Did he find anything? He says, yeah and it’s not good. She says her car crashed. So what is it? He says, the brake lines in the car were cut.  

On Monday, Elizabeth wonders why Ava is asking her all these questions; Josslyn finds out that Jason has been to Easter Island; Lucky says Kristina went too far this time and has to pay for it; and Ric remembers something about the accident.

🧼  All the Soap News Fit To Print…

Ezra is the new guy I love to hate. His reactions to things are too funny.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/celebrate-with-soap-hopper-daniel-cosgrove

When he’s ready to come back? Freudian slip or wishful thinking?

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/chad-duell-opens-up-been-on-a-real-journey-lately

Reeling in the GH years.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/gallery/abc/gh-general-hospital-cast-through-years-photos-108305

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/gh-stars-pick-their-most-memorable-moments-from-the-past-year

Welcome to the Nurses Ball.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/the-general-hospital-nurses-ball-returns-2

💉 A Dose Of Reality…

Below Deck Down Under

I’m surprised the captain doesn’t live on digestives.

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

The dresses were just phenomenal. These women looked like they were going to the Met. The color scheme was gold and white, and everyone got the memo. Kyle had a bunch of crystals on the table between her and Andy, and my first thought was, all the crystals, lucky charms, four-leaf clovers – hell, even actual leprechauns – in the world won’t make a difference. I also forgot there was that whole thing over PK drinking. Maybe that’s why Dorit is so hellbent on calling Sutton an alcoholic. Dorit is apparently also a smoker (absolutely zero judgement) and Andy asked if PK sent Kyle a meme about it. HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! A twin of Erika’s coffee table was on set, and I didn’t think it was odd that she said it was where her mind went. Mine would too, and I don’t care what we were talking about, I’d definitely bring it up. Dorit was nasty and clueless, so no surprise there. Her slow move to come to the truth that PK is done with her is like watching Shep realize Sienna’s not his soulmate. Boz lost her house in the Malibu fires, which is tragic. While I wasn’t happy to hear she was fighting with insurance companies, I was glad that at least rich people don’t have it easier there. Having been through a flood, I could sympathize with her. Cleaning up was easier than the two years of paperwork afterward.

About that exit.

Denise Richards & Her Wild Things

In this week’s episode, Denise and daughter Lola had lunch with Charlie. If he has one more facelift, his ass is going to be on his neck. Once again, I watched in wonder at how Denise holds no grudges. She’s the first to say he’s an a-hole, but she’s not mad at the hell he put her through. I need lessons from this woman.

Summer House

I actually think Carl’s idea of Soft Bar – a bar that doesn’t serve alcohol – is a good one. As he mentioned, it’s not just for alcoholics. Pregnant women and those wanting to make lifestyle changes would also enjoy the social atmosphere without the alcohol. Jesse’s idea that he will be monogamous wasn’t so good, and his claim that he wasn’t flirting with Ciara was ridiculous. Lexi said he’d left out the toe sucking in his narrative and that he lied about it made her feel icky. Never mind him lying about it, the actual act made me feel icky. It also made him seem extra stupid for not telling her right off the bat. Did he not know the other girls would?

Southern Charm

Venita brought out receipts! Proof! Timelines! F***ing everything!

I could go on about the JT/Venita thing, but the best all-encompassing thing I can say is, it’s just so messy. JT is wrong on so many levels, but WTF Venita? She should have backed away from this immediately. She said she was interested in staying friends, but not if his girlfriend was in the picture. In other words, when he’s free to date her, she’ll be there. Ugh. I’m always picking on the guys, but what annoys me about the girls is how they want to figure out everyone’s timelines all the time. There was discussion on Craig being a liar storyteller embellisher and Patricia made an appearance. We saw clips of several casting tapes (see below) from 12 years ago. Patricia said she thought it wouldn’t last. Who would be interested in watching this cast of reprobates and their misdeeds?  Who indeed?

 Sally smack talking Taylor’s Gaston was a topic, and it seemed that most of the group agreed that since Sally came into Taylor’s friend group, she should have kept her opinions to herself. Taylor hadn’t even had a chance to introduce him to the group yet, and Sally tried to influence their opinion. Andy circled back to Craig, this time to inspect his relationship with Paige. That hindsight is 20/20 says it all. Love is blind is also applicable. Apparently, Paige cut him completely off, but that doesn’t make her a bad person. Just because the Charm cast loves to stay in each other’s pockets lives doesn’t mean everyone feels that way about an ex. I’m not a fan of staying friends, although my high school boyfriend is a very close friend. And no, not with benefits.

Random Reality Items

Upcoming twists on the new season of RHOM.

Nothing much to see here, but because it is LVP.

Well, roll me up and call me curly. The first Deck baby.

👀 Last Weekend’s Watch…

Happy Face. Paramount+. In a series about the Happy Face Killer’s daughter, her remembrances from growing up are interspersed with what’s going on today. Supposedly she outed herself on Dr. Phil, but I don’t remember ever seeing that one. The acting is great, especially Dennis Quaid as the killer. It did make me wonder what it must be like to suddenly discover such a horrible thing about your father.

https://www.today.com/popculture/tv/happy-face-true-story-keith-hunter-jesperson-daughter-melissa-moore-rcna197120

https://www.biography.com/movies-tv/a64254606/happy-face-show-true-story-accuracy

Holland. Amazon Prime. I’m not sure how I felt about this film. I love Nicole Kidman, despite her lapse of judgement in marrying Tom Cruise. Chalking that up to youthful stupidity. A favorite sub-genre of mine is the perfect town that’s not so perfect underneath, but I think this movie bypassed some good opportunities. It’s still a fun watch, but the end kinda sorta leaves you hanging.

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/holland-movie-review-2025

https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/holland/

Adolescence. Netflix. This 4 part series is focused on a 13 year old boy who’s arrested for the murder of a female classmate. I’m guessing perhaps the laws are somewhat different in the UK where it’s placed, because I spent a lot of the beginning wondering why this kid was so unprotected legally. The underlying topic though, is the influence of the internet – in particular those like Andrew Tate – on young boys. Some articles have taken offense at the supposition they could be influenced so easily, but they’re kids and they are. The part of the brain that understands actions result in consequences isn’t fully developed until age 25, and the internet can be a persuasive place. Be forewarned. This cautionary tale is pretty depressing.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/18/entertainment/adolescence-netflix-limited-series/index.html

https://ew.com/adolescence-creator-responds-to-claims-that-series-race-swapped-storyline-11706011

American Apocalypse aka Refuge. Amazon Prime. There wasn’t a lot on this rather unmemorable film. There’s a small plot blurb and some viewer reviews, but the best part of any review ever: If you need a reason to live, This movie is not it. I didn’t think it was that awful, but it wasn’t very unique or memorable either.

https://letterboxd.com/film/american-apocalypse/

Happiness. Netflix. This K-Drama is a slightly different take on the zombie genre. People have become zombies from taking a failed covid drug that’s on the black market, but they’re not zombie’s 24/7. They have sort of zombie seizures where they attack and eat people, who in turn become zombies if they don’t die from the attack. Protagonist Sae-bom is immune to the bites and is put on an investigative team to find out just what the hell is going on. She also marries a childhood friend in order to get an apartment, and there’s a lot of underlying elements of the haves and have nots, often prevalent in Korean entertainment.

https://en.prothomalo.com/entertainment/happiness-with-zombie-like-mad-person-disease

Outside. Netflix. I didn’t hate this, but I could have cut a good 40 minutes out of it. The exciting – i.e. zombie – parts were great, but there were long stretches of soap opera dialogue and I started to feel like I was actually in the middle of nowhere during an apocalypse in real time.

https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/outside-release-date-news

https://decider.com/2024/10/18/outside-movie-netflix-review-2024

🔮 Future Watching…

I bailed during the first season, but I’d really like to give it another go. So much to watch, so little time, but it does look good. Although I am a little bitter about the nixing of the Jon Snow spin-off. I wanted to see more of the forbidden places beyond the Wall and what creatures might dwell there.

https://ew.com/house-of-the-dragon-ryan-condal-responds-george-r-r-martin-blog-season-3-new-casting-exclusive-11704545

Korean dramas worth your while. I’ve seen a lot of these and haven’t been disappointed yet.

https://collider.com/k-dramas-anime-fan-must-watch-ranked/

https://www.pinkvilla.com/entertainment/top-10-k-dramas-to-watch-if-you-liked-gyeongseong-creature-season-2-sweet-home-happiness-and-more-1350717

🐦‍🔥 Wild In the Kingdom…

🐢 Makes you glad not to be a tortoise.

https://people.com/97-year-old-reptile-becomes-oldest-first-time-mom-of-species-11708613

🐧 Nature, always full of surprises.

https://people.com/rare-all-white-penguin-found-australia-first-we-have-seen-rescuers-11707610

🐋 I had a Golden who was literally afraid of his own shadow. He would have had a doggy heart attack.

https://people.com/barking-golden-retriever-meets-giant-humpback-whale-video-11707795

🐣 Quotes of the Week

Quitting can be a hard choice to make, but often it’s a brave one, as well.Susan David

The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you. – B. B. King (They can’t take integrity away from you either.)

Often any decision, even the wrong decision, is better than no decision. – Ben Horowitz

The whole secret of life is to be interested in one thing profoundly and in a thousand things well. – Horace Walpole

A ‘No’ uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a ‘Yes’ merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble. – Mahatma Gandhi

If we hadn’t forced her to go to the wedding, she never would have touched that gun. – Anita Dupree (Tamara Tunie), Beyond the Gates

💸 Rendering Unto Caesar…

Until next week, stay safe; stay getting your taxes in before 11:59 pm on April 15th; and stay looking at possibilities instead of dwelling on disappointments.

June 13, 2024 – Curtis Thinks It’s Time He Met Heather, Explanation, Rallying, End Of Awful (For Now), Crossing Over, Earth’s End, After the Glee, Prophecy Fulfilled & Words

Standard

What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts, recaps, and the whole GH enchilada on Fridays)

General Hospital

Tracy saw Stella sitting on Gregory’s bench at the park, and said Stella was sitting in her seat. Stella told her to sit her boney ass down, and they smiled at one another.

Blaze made raspberry iced tea for Kristina and said, it helped tone the uterus and made it more efficient. She had to take care of her baby, figuratively speaking. They both admitted to fantasizing that the baby was theirs, and Kristina said, they’d need a bigger place. Blaze said, their new house would have several bathrooms and a big backyard, and Kristina added a tire swing. Blaze said, they’d need three bedrooms for when her brother Eloi visited and the abuelas. Kristina liked the sound of Abuela Alexis.  

Adrian brought champagne to Alexis’s office and wanted to toast to the sweet circulation numbers. Alexis said she was a recovering alcoholic and couldn’t join him even if there was something to celebrate, which there wasn’t. She called him a poor excuse for a journalist, and he suggested she refer her complaints to the First Amendment. Alexis said she and the mayor understood the First Amendment, and leaked information had been used for clickbait headlines. She warned him that he did not want to square off with Laura.

Laura said Trina must have seen The Invader’s claims that she was launching a campaign to free Heather, and Trina asked if she was. Laura said, no, and she didn’t want Heather to be free. Trina said she was glad to hear that, and her mom would be too. Her mom had freaked out. Laura said she could empathize, but Trina said, not enough to leave it alone.

A guard brought Heather to the visitor’s room, but Heather said, there must have been a mistake. She didn’t know this guy. Curtis said, maybe not, but he knew her.

A mosquito was after Tracy, and she told Stella that her pheromones attracted bloodsuckers and parasites. It was a wonder she and Gregory became friends. Stella said, they don’t make them like that anymore, and Tracy remarked that the bench was solid and handsome, like the man. Stella asked how the memorial was, and Tracy said, good. A lot of memories were shared about what Gregory had left them. Stella asked what Gregory left Tracy, and she said, cheated.

Kristina thought Blaze’s mom would make a good grandma, that a baby would mellow her out. Blaze said, it might make her more comfortable with them, but she wouldn’t want Natalia to push the kid into music if they weren’t into it. Blaze would want them to be their own person, not molded into what she wanted. Kristina said, it was important that people be accepted for who they were. They’d let their child reveal who they wanted to be. It was nice to fantasize about the future, but she didn’t know if it was the right timing to be doing that. There was a knock at the door, and Kristina opened it to Molly.

Heather said, everyone knew the notorious Heather Webber, and Curtis said, she was all over the news. Her hook too. She said she didn’t need reminding how wretched a place the world had become and how she contributed to it. He did give her a reminder of the beauty in it though. It had been years since a man came calling. She asked what his name was, calling him hot stuff, and he introduced himself. He told her that he was Trina’s father, and he was sure Heather knew her.

Trina told Laura that she’d been freaked out too, but had to think objectively. What she knew about Laura was different than what people were thinking. Spencer thought world of her, and she and Doc were adopting Ace. Spencer would be so happy about that. She wanted to hear what was going on from Laura directly. Laura thanked her for keeping an open mind, and admitted she was torn in several directions, but she’d try to explain. Trina said her mom had already explained about the metallosis, and Laura said her actions had been mischaracterized. She’d only requested copies of Heather’s court records. Trina asked, why? and Laura said she wanted to see to what degree Heather’s condition was responsible for her actions, since it hadn’t been known at the time. Trina asked, if it had been, would Heather have gone free? Is that what Laura wanted?

Adrian told Alexis that they were only vulnerable to liable if the article was proved untrue. Did Laura prove that? Alexis asked what he didn’t get about we’re done, and he asked if Laura demanded a retraction or correction. Was she considering pushing the DA to set Heather free? Alexis said, Laura didn’t want Heather free, and Adrian asked who had more credibility, The Invader or the claims of an elected politician? Who was fighting for justice, their paper or Laura? Diane walked in and said she’d also like an answer to that.

Blaze offered to leave, but Molly said, stay, since Blaze was sister adjacent. Kristina asked what was going on. Did Molly lose a case? Molly said, no, just her domestic partner. They had a blowout fight. Kristina said, they didn’t even disagree on dinner, and Molly said, they never disagreed on anything until this year. Kristina said, until she was their surrogate.

Diane asked Alexis where the paper got their information and was it reliable. She’d been on the receiving end of a poison hook. Adrian said, it was a matter of civic interest, but Alexis said, it was more like prurient interest. He could see himself out. He left, and Alexis told Diane that Laura had only requested the transcript of Heather’s hearings. Diane asked what the file was on Alexis’s desk, and Alexis said, it was the transcripts. She’d gotten them from Laura. Diane asked if it was true that Laura was angling for Heather’s freedom and Alexis was helping her do it.  

Laura told Trina that there was no way to know how the inquiry would go. They only had what ifs. What if Heather’s illness had been discovered and diagnosed? Perhaps the atrocities she committed wouldn’t have occurred. Trina said, but they did. Five people were dead. She asked if there was anything in the transcripts that would get Heather released, but Laura said she wasn’t a lawyer. Trina said, Alexis used to be one, and asked if Laura was discussing it with her. There was a knock at the door, and Trina said she’d go, since she hadn’t made an appointment. Laura opened the door to Doc and told him that she and Trina were in the middle of a conversation. He said he was sorry to interrupt, but maybe he was just in time to run interference. Trina said, there was no need, but he said, her upcoming article in The Invader made him think otherwise.

Curtis said he knew Heather remembered Trina, and Heather kept her head down as he talked. He said, she barely escaped with her life, but not Spencer. Heather’s daughter made sure of that. He saw Trina’s broken heart because of what Heather put in motion and saw the light go out of her eyes. He asked if Heather was offended by the truth, but she said she knew the truth and had no problem with what he was saying. It was what she didn’t want to say that was the problem.

Tracy told Stella that she wished she’d met Gregory sooner, before his illness. He thought it brought out his strengths and would probably tell her something enlightened that made her feel obliged to look for untapped powers in herself, if she had any. Stella said, Tracy was a formidable woman, and she was surprised at this streak of self-doubt. Therapy worked. Tracy said, nice knowing her, but Stella told her, don’t give up on herself. We could see our weaknesses coming, but our strengths were a surprise, revealed when life demanded it. The trick was to recognize them before they went to waste. Gregory did put his to good use, but she could relate to Tracy feeling cheated. That’s what brought her on this walk. She didn’t even notice the plaque until she’d been there a while, but Gregory’s name seemed fitting, so she stayed. She was thinking about someone dear to her that she lost a long time ago and lost all over again today.

Molly told Blaze that she and TJ had been together since high school. Maybe all this time she’d been thinking they were in sync when it wasn’t the case. They were focused on their careers and school and catching up. Maybe they ignored the reality that they grew apart. Maybe they pushed new thoughts and feelings away until it exploded in their faces.

Doc said, there was a promo in The Invader that survivor Trina was sounding out on the mayor’s efforts to free Heather Webber. Trina said, it was a lie. She never talked to them. Her mom said they’d reached out, but she said she wasn’t interested. She’d never give an interview. Laura said she believed Trina, and doubted Alexis knew about it, since she hadn’t known about the original article. Doc said, it’s official; Laura was clickbait. Trina said she’d taken up enough of Laura’s time, and Doc said he was sorry that all this had been dredged up. Trina asked, in his expert opinion, did he think it was possible that the poison made Heather a killer?

Heather said she was a sorry excuse for a human being, and Curtis agreed. She said she didn’t have the words to express how she felt. Nothing would be sufficient to take away the pain she’d created. Saying she was sorry was ridiculously inadequate, but it was true. She cried, and said she was so, so sorry. Sorrier than he would ever know. He said she was right. Nothing she could say would change anything. He’s not sure what he expected to accomplish, but he thought it was time they met, especially with what was going on in the news. There was one thing that might help. If she hadn’t been captured, what were her intentions for his precious daughter?

Alexis told Diane that she was looking over the records as a favor to Laura and giving Laura her noncredited opinion. Diane said, no offense, but why didn’t Laura ask a lawyer lawyer? and Alexis said, offense taken. She and Laura were friends and she’d been standing there when Doc asked if Heather would still be accountable if her medical impairment had affected her judgement. Diane asked what she’d discovered, but Alexis said she hadn’t had much of a chance to discover anything yet. She did notice there was never a medical exam. Now they know the cobalt poisoning was an issue, and the implant causing it had been removed. Diane asked if Heather was nice now, and Alexis said, it was new evidence and they both knew there were lots of precedents about that. Diane said, in every one, a deterrent was found, and Alexis said, except one. Diane said, name it, and Alexis said, the one Diane set herself.

Diane asked what Alexis was talking about, and Alexis wondered if she was being uncharacteristically modest or feigning ignorance. Diane said she had no idea, and Alexis suggested they go to the gym. Diane said, it must be serious if Alexis would rather sweat than gloat. What precedent did she set in defense of Heather? Alexis must have misread one of her dusty old cases. Put your money where the precedent is. Alexis said, the State of New York versus Robert Frank, aka Franco.

Heather said, an honest answer might not be what Curtis wanted to hear, but he said he wanted to hear the truth. She said she didn’t know. Somehow, she mixed up wanting to protect her daughter with taking lives. She’s not claiming she doesn’t remember the horrible things she did. But what she can’t piece together or reconstruct is why. What she thought she would accomplish by murdering people. He asked if she was working out her argument in the event of her case being reopened, and she asked why her case would ever be reopened.

Doc told Trina that metallosis was a real diagnosis. It manifested itself differently in different patients. Was the issue because they were clinically psychotic or because they were raging with toxins? One way to find out was to remove the toxins. Trina’s mother had advocated for removing Heather’s artificial hip. Trina said, and now she was kicking herself. Would they let her know if there were further developments? She promised she wasn’t giving any interviews. Laura said she would, and thanked Trina for not rushing to judgment. She feared there was more to come. Lately, there had been a lot of it. Trina told them, goodbye, and left.

Kristina asked what she was missing. How could they fall apart over one argument? Most high school romances didn’t last, but theirs did. Molly said, it was less complicated then. They were on the same page with everything, but now, not so much. TJ says something, then later claims he never meant it, like he had to fall in line with her. They’d had disagreements, but not like this where it was filled with pent up resentment. Was it wrong for her to want him to mean what he said, instead of waiting months to tell her how he really felt? Kristina asked if he was having buyer’s remorse about her being their surrogate. She thought they’d hashed it out already. Molly said she thought so too, and Blaze said she didn’t get what the issue was. Kristina said, TJ thought she was unreliable. Despite the questions and doubts, he just agreed because it’s what Molly wanted. He wouldn’t trust her to take care of a cactus, let alone a baby.

Molly thought she and TJ’s argument was exacerbated by an underlying issue, and Kristina said, communication was more important now than ever. Molly said, they needed to work on that and do better. She had to get back to work, and Kristina and Blaze encouraged her to stay, but Molly said she was good. She was sorry to interrupt their afternoon and thanked them for hearing her. Everything was going to be fine. TJ was still the most wonderful guy on the planet, despite his bout of un-wonderfulness. She left, and Blaze said she’d never seen Molly like that. Kristina said, her either.

Alexis said, it was discovered Franco had an infliction that seriously impaired his judgment, like his mother. He was found not liable and the person who presented that to the court was Diane. She wasn’t judging Diane and respected her. She didn’t want to see Franco go free, but Diane did her job and did it well. If a smart lawyer deployed her Twinkie defense, Heather’s sentence could be overturned. Diane said, if it was, and a murderer went free, she had no one to blame but herself.

Heather said she pled guilty, case closed, and Curtis said, she had no idea? According to The Invader, the mayor was questioning her conviction and asking for it to be looked at. Heather asked, what mayor? and Curtis said, Laura Collins.

Doc says he hated the outrage toward Laura, especially when he was to blame too. He performed a psyche assessment on Heather that was different from any other, and asked Alexis if there were any legal ramifications. He never thought there would be a chain reaction that would affect Laura’s career. Laura said, he’d been professional and ethical. There was no way he was at fault, and frankly, neither was she. As mayor, she was supposed to do the right thing. And the right thing by all the citizens of Port Charles, not just the ones they liked.

Tracy said she was assuming this was about a man, and Stella said, the love of her life – Marcus. They were engaged, but circumstances changed that. She broke engagement and left him behind to help her sister raise her nephews. Marcus married a lovely woman who passed away. There was never another man she could be serious about. There was a man in London who she thought she loved, but he couldn’t hold a candle to Marcus. She convinced herself that she chose the life of a single woman and believed it, until a friend called and told her Marcus died. It hurts so much every day. Everything she’d done seemed nothing compared to what she never had and never did.

Heather said, even she knew it was a crazy idea. She’d reach out and ask Laura to stop. She was a rotten person who’d done terrible, unforgiveable things. She remembered all of it. The weight of the hook in her hand and the sound when it made contact. She was exactly where she belonged and didn’t need a judge to verify it or say otherwise. She was so sorry about the light going out in his daughter’s eyes. Curtis said, she’d given him lot to think about and thanked her for her time. He wouldn’t be back. The guard took Heather away.

Laura said Portia was treating Heather, but didn’t see a conflict in holding her responsible, and Doc said, Portia trusted the legal system that sent her to prison. No wonder Portia wanted to see her stay. Laura said she didn’t think Heather was innocent, but it was important for her to have a fair hearing. It wasn’t up to them to decide. Doc said he admired the stand Laura was taking, and she told him to remember that when they were calling for her head. He might be the only supporter she had left. They hugged.

Diane said she was stymied and didn’t know what to do. Alexis said, the goal was to keep Heather in jail. Diane should keep her mouth shut and hope no one stumbled on her defense to save Heather like her son was saved.

Stella said she’d be fine in an hour… or two, and Tracy said she had the time, putting her hand on Stella’s. Aww!

Kristina thought Molly had a bigger problem than she was admitting, and Blaze asked if they wouldn’t fight to save their marriage. Kristina said, they weren’t married. They were domestic partners. Blaze asked why they didn’t get married, and Kristina said, Molly didn’t want to see it fail. Blaze said, it happened with domestic partners too. What would happen with the baby if Molly and TJ broke up? Kristina said she never thought about that. What would be her responsibility? She needed to figure that out.

Tomorrow, Drew asks Nina, what the hell was that; Kristina wonders, what happens with the baby if Molly and TJ split up; and Elizabeth tells Chase that she can’t subject her children to Finn.

🏊‍♂️ Oh Poolboy…

I have to confess, I didn’t notice. And I desperately want that pool for my living room.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/ghs-adam-j-harrington-explains-what-happened-to-his-eye

⚖️ Demanding Justice…

A beautiful tribute from Perry Shen.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/gh-stars-join-rally-to-demand-justice-for-johnny-wactor

🤽 Making Life a Beach…

Finally, an end to this Summer hell. Amanda said she’d gone into a funk after marrying Kyle. I wondered if she ever considered that she might be in a funk because she married Kyle. There was more about the Carl/Lindsay debacle, and Lindsay backpedaled and grandstanded, while Carl just looked blank. Mr. Kyle Obvious said there was a history of her drinking and being irate. I noticed that Lindsay is one of those people who goes up on the ends of their sentences, kind of like it’s a question? And once I noticed it, it became annoying AF. When asked about what she actually did for a living, there was a moment of crickets. I’m still not sure. The million-dollar question was, how was she blindsided? She confirmed it was because of her ego when she said it seemed like Carl had laid the groundwork for her to be the villain. Kyle said he thought she’d have a sense of self-awareness at the Reunion. He asks a lot. And this coming from someone who has little self-awareness themselves. She did agree Carl had made the best decision for her, but didn’t like the way he’d done it. When asked about their situations, Lindsay said she was in a new serious relationship, and Carl said he hadn’t kissed anyone since Lindsay. Andy told Kyle, the mullet needs to go, and although he had no credentials in this area, he cut Kyle’s hair. Badly.

Paige’s take, a New York POV.

It’s doubtful Lindsay understands the meaning of sisterhood.

⚰️ Still Interviewing…

I haven’t really kept up with this show, but from watching the first season and the beginning of Season 2, it’s worth your time. It’s incredibly stylish and the gore is magnificent. I’d wanted to watch Mayfair Witches too, but you can’t watch everything. At least not in the same season.

https://screenrant.com/interview-with-the-vampire-season-2-mayfair-witches-crossover-tease/

🌏 Just Go About Your Business…

My latest K-binge. What do you do when an asteroid is about to hit the earth?

And in the plot twist we didn’t see coming. This is a shame. I also loved #Alive and Hellbound.

https://thedirect.com/article/goodbye-earth-yoo-ah-in-netflix-scenes-controversy

🎼 Coming Up Roses…

While they lost some cast members way too soon, it sounds like those remaining didn’t do badly. I resisted watching this for a while, but enjoyed it when I finally gave in. I thought they could have done better with Rocky Horror though.

https://ew.com/tv/glee-where-are-they-now/

🦬 Good News and Bad News…

Supposedly, the white buffalo is both a message of hope and a warning. It was sad to hear buffalo are essentially extinct in the wild.

https://www.msn.com/en-ie/news/uknews/warning-as-birth-of-rare-white-buffalo-calf-in-yellowstone-park-fulfills-ancient-prophecy/ar-BB1o8cio

🪁 Being Lazy, Hazy, and Crazy…

End the week with me tomorrow, along with the whole bar of soap, tea, quotes, and a tune to send you off to whatever life holds for you. Until then, stay safe, stay not spending your time at a party on your phone, and stay recognizing your strengths before they go to waste.

September 14, 2023 – Carly Brings Sonny To Visit Drew, Funny, Charming Exes Collide, All About Those VMAs, They Can Be Centerfield & Runnin’

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Sasha says she doesn’t want to believe what Cody is saying. Gladys would never do anything to physically hurt her. He says, believe him. Gladys knew Montague before he was her doctor. She used him to help send Sasha to Ferncliff. Sasha says, he’s wrong. He’s always been wrong about Gladys. It can’t be true. He says he needs her to believe this, and she says, Gladys would never drug her… He looks out the window and says, hold on. Someone’s coming.

Drew comes into the visiting room and sees Sonny with Carly. He says he always looks forward to their visits, but something tells him this is about more than just catching up. Sonny says, there is a situation, and he needs Drew’s help.

Cyrus is let in to see Warden Garten, and she thanks him for coming, telling the guard, that will be all. She’ll buzz him when she’s ready for him to escort Mr. Renault back to his cell. The guard leaves, and Cyrus asks how he can help the warden. She says, drop the pious act, padre. She’s had enough of his help. He hung her out to dry, and now he’s going to pay for it.

Dex sees Nina at the MetroCourt, and she asks what she can do for him. As he’s about to tell her, his phone rings, and he says, sorry. She says, take it, and he steps away. He asks, what’s going on? and Josslyn says she thought he was going to help her move into the dorm. He says, of course (🍷). He just has some work to finish up for Sonny. He should be done pretty soon, and he’ll be over. She says, great. She can get back to her book. Everyone’s talking about how great it is. They say goodbye, and Josslyn picks up The Other Black Girl. Sales of the book skyrocket immediately. Dex tells Nina that he has a message for her from Sonny.

On the phone, Austin says he’s done everything Mason has asked him to do… He doesn’t know. Will Mason please stop asking him that? He has no idea. Ava walks into his office and says, put down that phone. Austin says, nice to see her too. Come on in. He tells Mason that he’ll call back and asks Ava, what’s happening? She says, he’s not answering her calls, so she had to find him in person. She’s done with his cousin threatening her and her family. If he doesn’t honor their deal and return Nikolas’s body, she will go to Sonny, and she’ll tell him everything Austin and his cousin have done.

Trina is listening to music on her headphones while stands on a stepladder, putting tombstones next to the paintings. Spencer comes in and says, hello, hello. I tell him, do not sneak up on her while she’s on a stepladder, but he doesn’t listen and shouts, Trina! She falls.

Cody tells Sasha when he tells her to go, take the back exit of the cabin and run. There’s a trail right outside the door. Take it all the way to the road, and he’ll meet her there with the car. Is she okay? She says, yeah, and heads for the back of the cabin. Cody picks up a hammer and opens the door ready to strike. Dante and Sam are there.

Holding Trina, Spencer asks if she’s okay, and she says, yeah. He puts her down and she says she’s sorry (for what?), and he says, she’s good. She says, apparently, she shouldn’t be listening to music while she works, and he says, maybe not, helping her pick up the cards. He sees the dove on her desk and says, so this is where she’s keeping it, and she says, he’s cute. That’s why she likes him there. She thanks Spencer for catching her, and says, that was embarrassing, but it was romantic. He says he’ll always be there to catch her, and she says, it seems like he’s there for her when it’s important. He says, no. It seems like he’s the one always getting her in dangerous situations that she probably shouldn’t be in, like in Greenland. She says, that’s okay. She wouldn’t change it. He asks if she’s sure about that, and she says, positive. He says, she’s saved him at times as well.

Cody says, they scared him half to death. What’s Dante doing here? Sam says, he’s here because he cares and he can help, and she leads Dante into the cabin. Cody calls to Sasha, saying, it’s okay. They’re friends. She comes out and says, it’s good to see them both. Dante says, it’s nice to see her out of Ferncliff. It looks like she’s doing better. She says, thanks to Cody.

Austin asks Ava not to go to Sonny. If she did that, think about what would happen, rationally. Nothing good, right? Tell him what happened. She says, his lollipop licking cousin; that’s what happened. He asks what Mason did now, and she says, he came to her gallery and accused her of going to Sonny because his plan fell through. Obviously, Sonny saw right through it. Mason blamed her for that and started threatening her. She’s not going to take it anymore. She’s done everything that’s been asked of her, and still has no idea when this nightmare is going to end. He says, it’ll end soon. Mason will come through, one way or another. She says, one way or another? What the hell does that mean?

Dex says, Sonny wanted him to tell Nina that he’s going to be unreachable for a few hours. He doesn’t want her to worry. She asks if Sonny told Dex what he was doing, and Dex says, he’s with Carly. They’re visiting Drew at Pentenville. Nina thanks him for delivering the message, and he says, just doing his job, calling her Miss Reeves. She says she asked him to call her Nina. Remember, they’re both on Team Sonny? He says, of course (🍷), and she asks if Sonny told him why they’re visiting Drew. He says, that’s the only message Sonny asked him to deliver. He can be stingy with details. She laughs and says, doesn’t she know it. She asks if she can get him a cup of coffee to go, but he says he’s got to run. He told Joss that he’d help her with something this morning. Dex leaves, and she flashes back to telling Martin that she wants him to expose Drew and Carly for engaging in insider trading. Just make sure to keep her name out of it.

Carly says, Sonny was arrested by the FBI a few days ago, and Drew says he heard. Word travels fast in Pentenville. Congratulations. Clearly the charges didn’t stick. Sonny says, the charges were dropped for lack of evidence. He was basically trying to smoke out the enemy, so he gave them false information, but the false information was passed along to the FBI. Here’s the problem; he doesn’t know who the enemy is. And he’s pretty sure it’s somebody in Pentenville.

Warden Garten says, the idea was to trap Sonny and send him up the river (who uses that term in 2023?), not to watch him walk. Cyrus had one job – one. He was supposed to provide her with accurate information on Sonny and his deal with Pikeman, so she had something substantial to give to the Feds. They went out on a limb and set up a big sting operation that yielded nothing, absolutely nothing. Corinthos is a free man, and it’s his fault. Cyrus asks if she’s taking a tone with him. Doesn’t she think this whole thing pisses him off? Has she forgotten how she became warden? Because without him, she’d still be back in the Corrections office pushing paper and answering emails. Nobody’s happy about this, especially him. She says, but it’s her name that’s tarnished, and he says, which he will clear. He’s but a humble servant of the Almighty. He believed they had the goods and delivered what the Lord placed in his welcoming hands. His people… She says, his people? Is he referring to that useless Mason Gatlin? She should have never intervened for him. He says, Mason has performed admirably for them in the past, even though he realizes now, Mason’s usefulness may be coming to an end. As it must for all God’s emissaries.

Josslyn is having a hard time getting a mini fridge through the door, when Dex arrives and helps her. Adam knocks at the door and says, it looks like they’re neighbors again. He was moving back in when he noticed her stuff was kind of blocking the hallway. Does she need help? Dex joins them, and she says, actually, she has some help already. Adam asks how it’s going, and Dex says, he’s good. How about Adam? Adam says, not bad. He just signed up for another semester of pre-med. Dex isn’t a student here, is he?

Trina asks what brings Spencer by the gallery, and he says he got her text, and he missed her. She says, earlier this morning she was home, and she and Curtis were having a fun little disaster trying to set up the Smart Home gaming system that Marshall bought. He says, that’s absolutely horrid. He hates setting up new tech. Isn’t that what outsourcing is for? She says, that’s nice for folks who have a team of outsourcers, but unfortunately for them, they don’t, and Marshall left it sitting in their laps. But luckily, being a former P.I., Curtis has a way with stuff like that. He asks what she’s doing here. Shouldn’t she be home helping Curtis? She says she got an urgent call from Paloma’s people about her current art display here. Apparently, Ava left out a detail about this fall show. She guesses it slipped through the cracks, which is surprising to her. It’s not like Ava. She’s usually particular about details. She thinks Ava’s been a little distracted lately. He says he can only imagine why. His ex-stepmother is always up to something. She tells him, say what he wants about Ava, but she’s extremely efficient and organized. It’s highly unusual for her to drop the ball at the gallery.

Austin says he didn’t mean anything by it, but Ava says she doesn’t think so. First he tells her, Mason will come through in one way or another; then he tells her to forget he said it. Is he double-crossing her? If he’s double-crossing her, that would be a very, very big mistake. He says he’s not double-crossing her, and she says, good. Because more than anyone, he knows what she’s capable of. When she’s pushed, when she’s provoked, she’ll do almost anything. Especially for Avery. He asks if he can be honest with her about something, and she says, for his sake, he ought to be. He says he’s so sorry. He’s truly sorry that she’s here in this situation. He should never have let Mason put her here. if he could go back in time and change everything, he would. He would change everything so she wasn’t in this position. She thanks him and says, she’d like to change things too. Nikolas provoked her. He threatened her. He threatened Avery, and that’s why she did what she did, but she wishes she hadn’t. He says, Avery is just a child. Is she sure Nikolas would really hurt her?

Carly says, the last time she came to visit Drew, they both saw Austin come in carrying his medical bag, and Drew says, they think Austin is connected to Sonny’s enemy? Sonny says he knows Austin is. Austin and Mason Gatlin have been circling him, trying to catch him violating the NSA, so they can bring it back to whoever their working for. So he gave them false information. The plan was to follow them back to their boss. Drew says, and Sonny thinks whoever they’re working for is here, and Sonny says, the trail stops right here. Drew says, so Sonny thinks maybe because he’s in Pentenville, he’s got a shot at figuring out who Austin came to see that day.

Cody says, he couldn’t have rescued Sasha from Ferncliff without Sam’s help. She became his medical proxy and had him committed so he could get to her in Ferncliff. She also left that car for them to escape in after they broke out, and arranged for this cabin for them to hide in. Sasha asks why Sam would do all that. What convinced Sam that she didn’t belong in Ferncliff? Sam says, Cody did. He never wavered in his belief in Sasha. He always thought she was sane, that she never belonged in Ferncliff. And he was convinced that everything that was happening to her was all wrong. Cody says, the most he could have hoped for was for Dante to look the other way. He didn’t expect Dante to pitch in. Unless Dante’s here to arrest them.

Spencer says, when Trina believes in something, she commits herself 100% to it. It’s one of her many wonderful qualities. It’s why he’s not the least bit surprised she’s committed herself to this gallery and Ava almost by default. Trina says, by default? Ava’s been good to her and so has this gallery. He asks if that’s why she stopped working at The Chuck. It could have led to a better, more prestigious job. She says she doesn’t think working here diminishes her chances of having a successful art career. Ava lets her get her hands dirty in the earthier real art, which she loves. That’s why she chose this career, because of the real art. She doesn’t think she could have had that experience if she’d stayed at The Chuck. He says, but working at a high-end gallery can serve as a steppingstone, and could put her in a position to be dealing with, let’s just say, more notable art. She says she appreciates that, but she’s not interested in accepting a job merely to use as a steppingstone to get to something better. The most important thing to her isn’t the notability of the art, but something more meaningful. She wants to feel fulfilled and have the sense she was part of a process. It’s about personal growth to her, not just an impressive title. He says he can understand that. It’s just that working here, she really has her hands full, and it increases the odds that she’ll fall off one of these ladders. She says ,that was his fault, and he says, maybe, but if she worked at The Chuck, she’d have a whole support staff. Is he wrong? She says, outsourcers? and he says, she can call them what she wants to call them. She says, it’s just a lot. She’s starting school again. She still has to move into the dorms. She’s been trying to make Curtis feel as comfortable as possible since coming back from rehab. She’s trying not to neglect her relationship with her dad, and… She’s sorry. She just went on a whole vent of complaining. He says, she never needs to apologize for venting to him; it’s okay. That’s what he’s here for. He wants to know everything about her, and wants to participate in her life as much as he possibly can. She says, lately, it feels like that isn’t possible. They haven’t gotten any alone time together. He says, that’s exactly why he’s here. He thinks he may have fixed that.

Dex tells Adam, no, he doesn’t go to PCU. He’s just helping Joss move in. Josslyn says, they’re kind of in a rush. They’re trying to get all this stuff together before Trina comes back. Adam says he’s putting together a study group for Organic Chem. He was wondering if she wanted to join. Josslyn says she’ll think about it, and he asks if she’s gotten the book yet. It’s a really tough class. He wouldn’t recommend not having a study group. She doesn’t want to fall behind in class because she got distracted. She says, for sure. She can’t commit to anything right now until she checks out her schedule, but she’ll let him know. They’re kind of in a rush. She’s sorry. It was good to see him. She closes the door, and tells Dex, sorry about that. Dex says, he has a point, and she says, about what?

Olivia asks if Nina has seen the breakfast rush down in the Garden. It must be this great September weather bringing everybody out. Maybe they should keep the pool open until the end of the month. (That gets my vote. I love the pool.) Nina says, Olivia’s in a good mood this morning, and Olivia says, why shouldn’t she be? She really thought it was the end for Sonny. He had her worried. She thought his luck had finally run out, and look, charges dropped. He’s a free man. She guesses Nina must be as relieved as she is.

Drew says, no offense, but this place is full of Sonny’s enemies, and Sonny says he’s aware of that, but anything Drew can do to help, he’d be very grateful. Drew says, if he asks the wrong person, this could blow up in a bad way. Carly says, the most important thing is for Drew to stay safe, and he says he will. She tells him, just keep his head down and do his time, so he can get the hell out of here, and he says he’s doing his best. She says, he’s in a position to have his sentence reduced, and she doesn’t want him to do anything to mess that up.

Cyrus says he and the warden both want Sonny Corinthos off the street and out of their way, and she says, and if she’d given the Feds accurate information, Sonny would be well on his way to a life in Pentenville, locked up where he belongs. And she would have done the great state of New York a huge benefit, and it certainly wouldn’t have hurt her career. He asks if she thinks he wanted to give her wrong information, and she says she’s still wondering how it happened. The Feds booked and arrested Sonny with what seemed like an airtight case, and suddenly all charges are dropped? He says he’ll task her with finding out how and why that happened, and she says, that would be the stupidest thing she could possibly do. She is not putting herself back on the chopping block to get information about Sonny. Cyrus says, oh, is that so?

Dante says he’s not here to arrest them; he’s here to apologize to them both. He should have believed Cody. He knows better than anyone how selfless Cody can be when the chips are down. How far he’ll go to help someone. If he’d listened to Cody, he would have taken action a lot sooner. He tells Sasha, words can’t convey how he feels about what Gladys has done to her. She’s betrayed Sasha’s trust, and he’s so very sorry. Sasha asks, why would she do this? Gladys said she loved her, and they were family.

Spencer says, Turks and Caicos; he wants to take Trina. They can go to New York City first. They can have dinner and see a show and continue on to the islands afterwards. She asks if it isn’t hurricane season, and he says, it’s the best time to go; the surfing is so good. She needs this. He needs this. They both need to get away for a little while. She asks what he’s going to do about Ace and Esme, and he says he’ll have his Aunt Alexis check in on Ace once in a while. Esme isn’t really one of his concerns, and his grandmother will be back any day now. They never have any quality time alone here in Port Charles. They’re always getting interrupted by this or that. How nice would it be for them to get away for a little while and spend some time alone? Be able to focus on them and only them and their relationship. It would be nice. She says, no. She can’t go with him.

Ava tells Austin, honestly, she doesn’t know what Nikolas was capable of that night. But after losing Kiki the way she did, the way she died. Seeing her lying there like that, not moving, begging her to wake up. She couldn’t take any chances with Avery. He understands that, doesn’t he? She’s all Ava’s got left, and she’s going to protect Avery with all she’s got.

Nina tells Olivia, yes, it was incredible when Sonny was set free. She knows Olivia has a special relationship with him, they have a long history, but there must be another reason why she’s in such a good mood. Olivia says, she and Leo went to the recording studio with Ned, or Eddie, yesterday. He was so great with Leo. He was telling Leo about all the different gigs he played in the past. He got Leo involved in the music making process. It really is such a process. Nina says, it sounds like the three of them had an eventful day, and Olivia says, Eddie cut a song, and it’s amazing. It’s earthy, it’s gritty, it’s very, very moving. He talked about it as rootsy and acoustic. Eddie is such a talented musician. Nina says, she keeps calling him Eddie, not Ned.

Sonny says, it isn’t worth Drew spending an extra day in Pentenville, especially if he makes enemies of his own. Drew says he’s very comfortable assessing risk. He can handle this. Carly says, they know he can, but does he want to? It’s very dangerous. Drew says, Sonny got him out of solitary. It’s the least he can do. He’s happy to help. It sounds like whoever Austin and Mason’s boss is, is causing a lot of trouble for Sonny lately, and he wants to help. Sonny says, whoever their boss is has made a lot of trouble for many people he cares about. That seems to be escalating, and he has to deal with this one way or another, but one way Drew can help is let him know who they’re reporting to. Drew says he’ll do what he can and keep his head down. He gets up to leave, and Carly follows him. She asks him to promise to be careful, and he promises. He loves her. She says she loves him, and he leaves. She goes back to the table and tells Sonny, well, he’s doing it.

Cyrus tells the warden, Sonny Corinthos is but one step in his quest to truly turn his life around. As she knows, he recently donated his money to the Rodden Institute to End Recidivism. She says she knows; a smart and strategic move. He says, it pleased her and her friend Judge Sinclair, and it pleases him that the judge sits on the charity board of directors. She says, yes, very advantageous, and he says, but not unlike her passion project to work with former convicts. All her remarkable efforts, creating those work study programs. This has not gone unnoticed. Very strategic of her as well. And how many articles has he read in The Invader about her extraordinary leadership? The press holds her in very high regard. She says, Judge Sinclair’s decision to place her in Pentenville is a testament to just that, and he says, a decision that could be easily reversed. She asks if he’s threatening her, and he says, ye have heard that it hath been said, and eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say unto you that ye resist not evil, but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. She tells him to keep his nose clean. I wish Cyrus would use a translation other than the King James already. It’s tedious.

Sasha says, Gladys is Brando’s mother. She was with them when they lost Liam. Gladys is the only family she has. How could Gladys betray her like this? Dante says he has his own opinion about Gladys, but she’s a weak person and she put herself in a really difficult spot. Sasha asks, what kind of difficult spot? and Cody says, she played poker in a game sponsored by Selina Wu. Sasha asks how he knows that, and he says, because he played in the same games. He sits next to her on the bed and says, his job was to win for Selina, and he saw firsthand Gladys lost a lot, way more than she could repay on her own. So she used Sasha’s money. She sold Brando’s garage, and she must have started raiding Sasha’s bank accounts. Sam says, the only way Gladys could cover her debts is if she stayed in control of Sasha’s money, and Sasha says, when she tried to end the guardianship, Gladys tried to stop her. Gladys said she wasn’t ready and she was making a mistake. But it wasn’t about her at all. It was about her money.

Olivia tells Nina, the harder she pushes Eddie to be Ned, the further she pushed him away from her and his family. She had to make a decision to accept Eddie for who he really is now instead of who he used to be. And who he is, he loves music. That is his passion. He’s so good and he’s so generous sharing that part of himself with Leo. It opened up a whole world for him. And yeah, he put her in touch with a part of herself that she almost forgot existed. Nina says, she’s having a really good time with Eddie, and Olivia asks, what does that mean? Nina asks if she’s falling for Eddie Maine. Does she not necessarily want Ned back? I wouldn’t, but Olivia says she should get back downstairs. She has work to do. Nina smiles.

Josslyn tells Dex, there’s other study groups besides Adam’s. He’s just a lot sometimes. Dex says, Adam’s also pre-med like her and Adam’s going to be a doctor like her. He’s still going to be working for Sonny. They’re two very different worlds. She asks if he’s dumping her because she’s in pre-med, but he says, no. (Dammit.) She says she’d hate to think he was against higher education, but he says, trust him when he says he thinks everything about her is amazing. She says she feels the same way about him, and they kiss. Then they kiss some more, making those smacky noises I hate. She takes his shirt off, then her own, and he asks if he isn’t supposed to be helping her move in. She steps away and says, he’s right, but he says, no, she’s right, pushing her onto the bed where they start getting busy.

Spencer tells Trina, come on. This is going to be fun. This is a great way for her to decompress before her semester starts at PCU. She says she knows it would, but she doesn’t think right now is a good time to go away. Her mom and Curtis are still walking on eggshells, and she wants to be there to help. He says, totally, but she’ll be in constant contact with them. She’s only going to be a phone call away. He doesn’t think either Curtis or her mother want her to curtail her life for them. He thinks they could probably use the alone time themselves. She says, not with school starting right around the corner, and he asks why she’s letting school stand in the way of her wanting to live her life. She’s so talented, and he’s certain she can accomplish anything she wants to in life, so he really doesn’t understand why she needs to do the school thing so she can earn a piece of paper that validates her intelligence. It just doesn’t make any sense to him. Is he an idiot? How is she supposed to get a job? She says she appreciates his vote of confidence in her, but he comes from money, and he says, his ancestry might be Russian royalty, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t have to work hard. Maybe not in the traditional sense, but they did. She tells him, all she can say is that she values education, and PCU has inspired her. So she doesn’t think taking a trip right now would be the smartest thing. He says he just thought it would be nice for them to get away, and she says, he didn’t let her finish. (Get used to it.) They can still go to New York and see a show and spend time together, just the two of them.

Warden Garten says she doesn’t think she and Cyrus have anything more to say to each other right now. She presses a button, and the guard comes in. She says, he can take the prisoner back to his cell. Cyrus thanks her and says, he appreciates such a warm and supportive leader. He leaves with the guard.

Sasha cries, and Cody tells her, it’s going to be okay. He’s here. She says, he tried to tell her so many times and she refused to listen. And now what are they going to do? They’re both escaped mental patients; they’re fugitives. Dante says, they’re fugitives with friends (a new game for your tablet!), and Sam says, and there is a way out of this. With the four of them working together, they’ll figure it out.

Spencer hugs Trina, lifting her up, and says, yes. Cool. He’s going to show her his favorite restaurant; it’s right near Washington Square Park. Then he can take her to his favorite pizza parlor, his favorite bakery, and he’ll send her a list of shows. She’ll pick the one that she wants to see, or the two that she wants to see, or the three that she wants to see, and they’ll go see all of them if they need to. She says, okay, and he says, good. Yes. This is going to be fun. He’s so sick of having to steal these little moments away with her. He’s ready for them to have a little uninterrupted time with each other. They kiss, and he says he’s going to make some calls. He’ll talk to her later. He leaves, and she sits at her desk, picking up the dove and looking at it.

On the phone outside, Spencer asks, what’s the best they have? It’s a special occasion. Yes, it’s going to be a very special weekend.

Austin says he promises Ava that he’ll lean on Mason. He’ll do everything he can. But please promise him that she’ll be patient. Promise she won’t go talk to Sonny. She knows nothing good can come of that more than he does. She tells him that she meant what she said. She will go to Sonny if she doesn’t get what she was promised. She walks out.

Sonny asks if Carly is okay, and she says she knows Drew is his best shot at finding out who Austin visited here, and he needs that information to keep himself and their family safe. It’s just, she hates that it’s happening. He says, all he needs is for Drew to give him one name, and he’ll take care of the rest.

Drew approaches guard Johnson and asks how he’s been. Johnson says he can’t complain, and Drew asks how his son is doing. Johnson says, he’s doing really well. He got a summer job at a pizza place. Drew asks if he isn’t graduating from PCU this spring, and Johnson says, he is. Drew says, nice. He may be able to get him an internship at Aurora Media if that’s something he’d be interested in. Johnson asks what Drew wants in return, and Drew says he’ll get him the internship regardless, but there is some information he’d be interested in. Johnson says, that’s what he figured. What is it Drew wants to know? Drew says, nothing major. August 23rd, a doctor came here from GH, Austin Gatlin-Holt. All he needs to know is who he came into contact with. No surprise, Cyrus is lurking just around the corner, and Drew says, and who he came to see.

Tomorrow, Spencer says he has one more favor to ask Alexis; Lucy says she thinks she knows why Martin wants to leave; Anna asks what Valentin is keeping from her; and Nikolas tells Austin that he’s saying goodbye.

👬 Interesting parallel: Who knew Hunter Biden and Drew Cain would have something in common? Drew is the first thing I thought of when the news said it was rare to have a plea deal go sideways, but when it did, the judge usually throws the book at the defendant.

Southern Charm

There’s a bunch of back and forth about Austin and Taylor hooking up, along with some gossip headlines. Craig says, that’s what happens when you muddy the waters. Austin tells Madison that she’s a sloppy mess and always has been. One thing he and I can agree on. It looks like this is stuff we’ll see later.

Randy is Patricia’s new butler, but he’s no Michael. We see everyone interacting with their dogs, which will probably be the best part of this show. Craig’s house is being renovated, and Paige is staying there off and on. In Craig’s interview, he says he’s all about their relationship. As they check out what’s being done in building the pool area, Paige explains that she doesn’t get in hot tubs because of the bacteria, and Craig seems to think because it’s their bacteria, it won’t be a problem. She wants black and white patio furniture, and when he suggests purple, she says, she’ll move out. We flash back to her weeping about missing her mom on Summer House, and I don’t see this as working out unless Craig makes a move to NYC. They’re going to be apart for a while, and Craig says he can’t fly to meet her that much, but she says she didn’t ask him. Rut-roh.

Madison says blah-blah-blah about her marriage to Brett, and we flash back to her talking smack at the Reunion about Austin relating to her son. In her interview, she says, it’s the first time Hudson has had a family unit, and I think of the Coneheads. She says, they got married in Mexico, November of 2022, and the only ones in attendance were their families. She wants to have a party in Charleston for the friends. Brett seems like a stand-up guy, and in Madison’s interview, she says she’s different these days, but I don’t believe that for a second. I’m not sure how she trapped Brett. Maybe she practices voodoo on the side.

Austin is bummed because his friends are doing grown-up things. In his interview, he says, Madison inviting him to her party is surreal and weird. We flash back to her pretending she wanted to make it work, and Craig says he thinks it’s a great chess move by Madison.

Taylor and Olivia go rollerblading, because they’re both single now, and hanging out together. I’ll bet rollerblading got popular again after the Barbie movie. Zumiez actually has a yellow pair that look like Ken’s. I’m not shilling for them, just saying. We flash back to the embarrassment that was Taylor and Shep’s breakup, and Taylor says she’s still catching her breath. In Taylor’s interview, she says she was in love with Shep, but he finally told her that he wouldn’t change. It’s hard for her to understand. Taylor, meet sociopath.

Little Craig! Omg, hate Shep, love his dog. At least it seems like Shep’s responsible in that department, since Little Craig is still alive. In his interview, he says he was a little broken after the breakup and went to Australia. Austen met him there and they lived like children. In other words, like they always do. After that, he went to South Africa. He says, Taylor was on his mind several times a day. Probably when he was banging other women. Little Craig rolls around, scratching his back, and I know this will definitely be the highlight of the show. He’s concerned about Little Craig not having Taylor in his life. She has a new dog, but he doesn’t know if she’s willing to be friends.

Olivia and Taylor discuss going to Madison’s party, and how weird it would be if Austen came. We flash back to Olivia saying she wanted to be in a relationship, but Austen couldn’t get it together. In her interview, Olivia says, he asked her to give him another chance, so she did, and after a week, he said his feelings had changed. She tells Taylor that dating Austen is like going in a funhouse. You’re all excited to go. You walk in and see your distorted image, then a clown runs by. When you get out, you’re discombobulated and want to vomit. That is one of the best analogies of a bad relationship I’ve ever heard. Most of the women aren’t on my hate list, but it’s getting harder and harder to stomach the boys. Because they’re 40 and still boys.

Venita has a boyfriend named Manny, and I think she should keep him away from the others, since he seems like a decent guy. She and Madison have kissed and made up, which I know will end up being a mistake. In her interview, Venita says, having a friend that long is like having a sister. Yeah, in this case, like one of the wicked stepsisters from Cinderella. Manny is a musician, and they were friends first. She thinks he’s perfect. Hard to tell, since look who she has to compare him to. The bar ain’t that high.

Austen, Shep, and Craig go shopping for Madison’s party. The manager has to explain to Austen who Errol Flynn is, and Austen finds parallels in their lives. Austen says he’ll be damned if he overthinks this, but he already is. Shep says he wants to be friends with Taylor, but Craig says, that’s not how it works. In Craig’s interview, he says, Austen and Shep always want to be friends with their exes and tried to get him to do the same with Naomie, but it was a fail. He thinks unresolved feelings always surface. In Austen’s interview, he says, it’s been beaten into his head that he’s the failure in his relationships. We flash back, and that would be correct. He tells the others that they’re going to tread carefully at the party, and they all high-five.

Everyone glams up for the party. Is it wrong of me to hope Madison falls in her new heels? The event is being held at her friend (she has friends?) Brittany’s house, which could easily be confused for a hotel; it’s that huge. They talk to event planner Erica, who points out the details in the décor. Madison says, Patricia isn’t feeling well, and Whitney’s taking care of her, so they won’t be attending. We see a clip of Patricia ringing her bedside bell and calling for her son. The guests arrive, and Austen skulks around the outskirts before giving Madison a side hug and lying that he’s glad to meet Brett. In Austen’s interview, he says he thought Brett was going to be a Greek god, but wonders what Brett has that he doesn’t. We don’t have the time for that, and Brett looks like a younger, more handsome Matthew McConaughey, so nothing to sneeze at. In Craig’s interview, he says, it’s like a beautiful trainwreck. No one gets hurt, but things catch fire and blow up. Interesting correlation.

Venita shows up with a bag from Tiffany’s, and in Madison’s interview, she says she’s happy they squashed their beef. Not that the two are linked, but… New guy Rodrigo is there, and everyone is wearing coats outside. This surprises me, since I got the impression that it’s never cold in Charleston because everyone is constantly bitching about the heat. Shep doesn’t know how to say hello to Taylor, and Brett suggests he just do it. Madison makes a toast about Brett being her dream come true, and suggests Austen make a toast. Being the original guy he is, he says, to the happy couple, and Craig says, very profound. Taylor gifts Madison with a dildo, since she and Brett are long distance a lot of the time. In Madison’s interview, she says she thought Taylor was a good little Christian girl, and WWJD? I dunno. I don’t think He’s the one making judgements here. Shep asks Olivia how to approach Taylor, and Olivia says, Taylor is in a better headspace, but don’t stroll down Memory Lane.

Another side hug, and Shep brings up the memories anyway. Austen talks to Olivia, and from across the room, Craig determines she’s not happy. Olivia asks what Austen needs from her in this moment, so she can enjoy the day, and he says, nothing. She can’t get away fast enough. Neither can Taylor from Shep. In Shep’s interview, he says, it was intense, and he feels responsible which makes him sad. I’m sure he’ll get over it. Craig tells Brett that it’s odd the least awkward conversation of the day was him, Austen, and Madison. Taylor tells Austen, Shep only wanted to make himself feel better. In her interview, Taylor talks about how Craig sat on information and then smiled about it. Wipe the smile off your face before I wipe it off for you. Shep swears to Craig that he wasn’t a cheater, but he’s weak. It wasn’t like he invited women over.

Venita takes pics for social media, and I enjoy the food/drink porn. Craig suggests Paige and Olivia hang because Paige doesn’t have friends in Charleston. Austen has no one to talk to and wants Craig to stop talking. He says he’s about to snap, and finally taps Craig on the arm, but craig ignores him and continues to talk. Taylor says, when the breakup happened, she and Craig went their separate ways. She thought they were friends, and he laughed about Shep’s cheating. She gets loud, and an audience starts to form. Madison is like, not here, not now, and Taylor says, after the breakup, Craig didn’t talk to her. He says, Shep is his friend, and she says, maybe they can have a laugh together. The only person who gives a sh*t is Austen. He’s the only one who had her back. Shep doesn’t give a sh*t about anyone but himself. She asks, what if Craig’s girlfriend cheated on him? and he tells her that she’s embarrassing herself.

Wow. It didn’t take long for everything to degenerate into a mess.

This season, vacations awful people shouldn’t be allowed to have; Madison feels nauseous; Craig wonders why he and Paige are dating if they’re not taking the next step; one of the new guys wants to date Olivia; OH MY GOD, Shep and Taylor hook up, then argue about his cheating again; another new guy tells Shep to grow up, and fights with Austen; and ever the observer, Patricia sips champagne and surveys her domain.

🎼 Giving Them the Moonman…

MTV VMA winners.

The best and worst moments.

https://www.avclub.com/the-best-and-worst-moments-of-the-2023-mtv-vmas-1850832747

The fashion, and the first time I’ve said no to Oscar de la Renta.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/vmas-2023-best-dressed-b2410260.html

https://www.eonline.com/photos/36490/2023-mtv-vmas-riskiest-red-carpet-fashion

https://www.eonline.com/photos/36488/mtv-vmas-2023-red-carpet-fashion

🦁 Circle Of Life Moment…

Taking pups out to the ballgame.

https://paradepets.com/pet-news/simba-cam-citi-field

https://www.overtimeheroics.net/2023/09/13/watch-simba-cam-at-citi-field-showing-all-the-dogs-in-the-ballpark/

🍂 Soon To Be Falling…

Join me tomorrow for soap, tea ripped from the headlines, words to weigh, and music relevant to the day. Until then, stay safe, stay knowing when it’s time to switch gears, and stay seeking personal growth and not just an impressive title.

October 21, 2022 – Martin Accuses Anna Of Murder, Holly, Renewed, Nuclear, Non-Leak, New Side, RumbleCon, Just Go Away, Joking, Southern Touch, Story News, Pets (!), One More Than Ten Quotes & Anything

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

In Jacksonville, Carly and Drew walk on the beach, Drew carrying the urn with Virginia’s ashes. He says, it’s so beautiful. There’s no rush. She can take as much time as she wants. They can come back tomorrow if she wants. She says, that’s okay; she’s ready.

Robert goes into the boathouse and says, oh my God. Holly is there wrapped in a blanket, and says, hello, Robert. He says, Holly? (like she might be someone else) and she says, it’s me. He kneels down and asks if it’s really her. She says, don’t tell her she looks so awful, he didn’t recognize her (like she doesn’t look like she did 20 years ago), and he says, it’s really her. She’s the most beautiful sight in the world. He hugs her.

Sasha tells Maxie, no one matching Lucy’s description was brought into the ER. Maxie asks if it’s a good thing, or a bad thing, and Sasha says she doesn’t know. On one hand, it could mean she isn’t hurt… Maxie says, but where is she? She’s been worrying non-stop since she got that call from the police. Sasha wonders why the police would be looking for Lucy. Maxie says, Dante was being intentionally vague, giving her that whole, I can’t discuss an ongoing investigation thing. He just wanted to know if she’d heard from Lucy. Austin joins them, and says he got Maxie’s weird text; what’s going on? Maxie says, Lucy’s missing.

Chase meets Brook at the Quartermaines, and asks if everything is okay; he saw the patrol car out front. She says, they found a woman in the boathouse, and he says, that doesn’t sound creepy at all. She says, they were hoping it was Lucy, since no one’s heard from her since yesterday, but Michael and Willow were just here, and apparently, it’s Robert Scorpio’s dead wife. Just another day at the Quartermaine’s.

Holly says she’s missed Robert too. Why does he look like he’s seen a ghost? He says, they all thought she was dead, and she asks why anyone would think that. He asks where she’s been for the last two years.

Victor’s attorney, Roz, says, this is so typical of Anna Devane. Everybody knows she’s made it her life’s work to send Victor to prison. Victor says he’s counting on that.

Jordan, Anna, and Martin look at the drone footage, and Jordan says, there’s Lucy. She turns, reacts, then she’s shot. Martin says, by Anna, but Anna says, she wasn’t there. Martin says, that screen says otherwise, and we see the shooter’s face. It’s Anna’s face, and she says, there’s an obvious explanation, but Martin says, she’s a murderer. She says, no. She’s being set up.

Holly tells Robert, she doesn’t know; everything is mixed up. She was on a boat… she thinks. He says he’d like to have her checked out for a concussion, but she says she’s fine. He says he’d like a doctor to tell him that. Shall we? On the side, Olivia asks how Holly got into their boathouse, but Ned says, her guess is as good as his. Dante comes in, and says, the ambulance is on the way. Holly says, ambulance? and Robert says, hospital, medical people, stuff like that. She says she just needs dry clothes and a shower, and he says, and a guy with an MD after his name. This is not negotiable. She says, still as stubborn as ever, and he says, look who’s talking. Dante introduces himself, and asks if she knows how she got to Port Charles. Olivia says, her last known location was Monte Carlo, and Holly says, she has no idea. Robert says, GH, now. She says, fine, but no ambulance. Where’s his car? He asks if she’d like to drive, and she says, is he kidding? They drive insane in this country. (Agreed.)

Austin says, if Lucy’s brought in, he’ll let Maxie know as soon as possible, and Sasha says she can’t stand to lose anyone else. Maxie tells her, it’s too soon to be thinking like that. Do they know anyone who’s tougher or more resilient than Lucy? Sasha says, no, and Maxie says, she’s a survivor. They have to think about that, and think positive. Mason comes along, and Maxie says she didn’t know he was still in town. She introduces Sasha, and Austin suggests they head home. He’ll give them a call if there’s any change. Sasha says, the thought of going back to her apartment is… and Maxie asks, when was the last time she ate? Sasha says she’s not hungry, but Maxie says, that’s not going to work for her, and steers Sasha toward the cafeteria. Austin says, Mason can’t be here, and Mason says, Austin keeps saying that like it’s his choice. They both know it’s not up to either one of them.

Anna says she didn’t shoot Lucy, and Martin says, they just watched her do it. She says, it’s not her. Jordan joins them, and says, the woman found at the Quartermaine boathouse wasn’t Lucy. Martin says, if Lucy is gone, it’s because Anna killed her, and Jordan tells him to keep his voice down. He asks why he should, and she says, he’s a lawyer. Of all people, he should know video footage can be altered. Anna says, it’s fake, and he says, of course (🍷) she would say that. Jordan asks if he really thinks Anna would shoot Lucy at point blank range, and Anna adds, and stand here and watch a video of it? Martin says, Anna is a lot more complicated, and maybe cold-blooded than she gets credit for, and why not? She’s a trained WSB operative, and he’s sure wrongfully accused is the first song they teach you in spy school. Anna says she knows he’s upset; she is too, but he needs to take a breath. She would never do anything to hurt Lucy. He says, don’t tell him to calm down. The last time he saw Lucy, she was storming off to confront Anna. Now Anna’s here and she’s not. So what happened on that pier? Lucy wouldn’t give Anna what she wanted? She threatened to turn things around, so Anna got rid of her. Anna says, this is all Victor, and Jordan says, wait here. She heads for the interrogation room, Anna on her heels. Roz says, finally, and Anna moves past Jordan, asking Victor, where is she?

Carly and Drew walk on the beach, as the cameraman perfects his crane shots. They get to a cliff, and Carly says, this is it.

Olivia tells Ned, Holly is a gutsy lady, but she could tell Holly was scared. Couldn’t he? He says, not remembering things that happened to you is scary, and she says she hopes Holly is all right. Did he see the look on Robert’s face when he saw her? Ned tells her, go to the hospital. Robert’s her friend, and could obviously use some support right now. Holly’s reappearance is a lot to wrap your head around. Besides, he can tell she’s dying of curiosity. She kisses him, they exchange I love yous, and she jets.

Mason says, he and Austin both answer to a higher power, and Austin says, God? Mason says, as far as they’re concerned, it might as well be. Face it, family’s forever, especially theirs. Robert wheels Holly out of the elevator, and she says, for the last time, she doesn’t need a wheelchair, and he says, for the last time, he wants a doctor to tell him that. And he thinks they found one. He wheels her over to Austin, who asks if he can help them. Robert says, this woman was found wandering on the Quartermaine grounds, but Holly says, she’s not this woman and she wasn’t wandering. Robert asks what she was doing there, and she says she doesn’t know. He says, memory issues. He’s concerned there might be a bit of damage there. She says she doesn’t want to be examined; she’s scared. Robert says he’s going to be with her every step of the way, and if there’s something wrong or there’s a problem, better that it happens here. She agrees, and introduces herself to Austin.

Carly says, this is her mother’s favorite spot. She would sit and watch Carly down below, catching hermit crabs. He says he can see it. Little Caroline, running around on the beach, not a care in the world. Scrambling over the rocks with a bucket. Did she ever try to take one of the crabs home as a pet? She says, she would show them to her mom, who would act impressed and amazed, and then they’d put them back because her mom said, this is their home. Then she would joke, and say, maybe one day it would be her home too. He says, now it will, and Carly says, it feels right. Laying her mother to rest at the ocean. There’s nowhere she’d rather be.

Chase wonders where Holly came from, and asks Brook if the Coast Guard found a boat nearby, but Brook doesn’t know. She brings him inside, and asks where he was this morning. He says he had an engagement with his niece, and she says, aka a tea party. She hopes Violet realizes she was having tea with a rock star. He says, let’s not go overboard, but she says, it’s not an exaggeration. Has he been following his social media accounts? He says, not really. Does that mean his set at The Savoy went well? She says, it didn’t go well; the people loved it. The video she posted has over 100,000 views already. This is huge. He’s going to be the next big thing.

Victor asks, what’s happened? Don’t tell him they found Lucy’s body. Anna says, so he killed her, and Roz tells Anna to watch her tone with her client. Jordan says, there’s no sign of Lucy’s body in the harbor. Tell them where she is. He says he doesn’t know, and Anna says, he’s lying. Jordan says, they watched the footage, and Anna says, his little show. He arranged for a drone to fly over the docks… Victor says, Anna’s become completely unhinged. Will someone tell him what’s going on here? Jordan says, they have a video of what appears to be a woman firing two shots at Lucy Coe, and Victor pretends to be mortified. He says he was clinging on to some hope that she was alive, and Anna flies around the table, but Roz blocks her from getting to Victor.

Maxie asks how Sasha is doing, and Sasha says, some days she feels like it’s going to be okay. Other days, she hangs out at the hospital because she doesn’t want to be home without him. Maxie says she remembers that. One of the worst parts of grief is that it’s not a straight line. It ebbs and flows, and she just wanted an end date. It’s unfortunate it doesn’t work like that. She’s here if Sasha wants to talk. Mason comes by, and says he was hoping to chat with Maxie before he leaves. He needs a favor.

Chase says, so Holly has zero memory of what happened, and Ned says, she doesn’t even know how she got to the US. Brook calls Chase over to show him the comments from his latest performance. That voice, those yes. I’m officially dead. Where can I get this song? Never mind the song, where can I get him? Chase says, that’s embarrassing, but Brook says, it’s incredible. They have to release the single by the end of the week, and an entire album by the end of the month. They have to give these people something to buy. Don’t worry; he’ll still be able to perform live. She misses that feeling of being in the spotlight, in front of hundreds of thousands of people. Her phone rings, and she says, it’s the studio calling about the session she booked. She steps out to the patio, and Chase tells Ned, Brook’s really in her element. Ned says, Brook’s having the time of her life. How about Chase?

Olivia gets to the hospital, and asks Robert how Holly is. He says, Austin is in with her now, and she asks how he’s doing, when Austin tells Robert he can come in. Robert says, well? and Austin says he thinks she’s great; no double vision, no headaches. No case of hypothermia. Holly says, this blanket is doing the trick, and Robert asks when she’s going to be admitted. Holly says she’s not, but Robert says he wasn’t asking her. Austin says, how about if he orders an MRI, and when he gets the results, they can discuss. Does that sound fair? Holly says it does, and Austin leaves. Robert sits down, and asks if anything has come back to her, but she says, not yet. He asks, what’s the last thing she remembers? and she says, it’s all so foggy. She was working for the WSB, and investigating a casino in Monaco. He says, Monte Carlo. He and Ethan turned the place upside down looking for her. She asks how Ethan is, and Robert says, last he heard, Ethan was pretty good, but he’ll be better once he knows his mother’s alive. She says she wants to hear his voice, but she has no way of reaching him. He gives her his phone, and says, it’s on him. He has to talk to Olivia about something. He leaves, and Holly looks at the phone.

Anna is hustled out of the interrogation room, and Jordan says, she needs to pull it together unless she wants to be arrested for assault. Anna says she just couldn’t stand looking at his smug face for one more second, and Jordan says, Anna is a professional; she knows better. Cool down. Anna tries to follow Jordan back in, but Jordan says, uh-uh. After that little display, Anna is out of this. Jordan goes in, and Roz says she wants Anna arrested. Jordan says, for? and Roz asks if Jordan didn’t see what Anna just did to her client, but Victor says, now is not the time. A woman is missing, possibly dead. Roz says, the shooter is female? and Jordan says, it looked that way, but they still have to analyze the footage. Victor says he assumes her tech experts are working on that. Lucy’s attacker has to be identified. In the squad room, Anna leaves a message for Robert to call her back as soon as he gets this. Victor has made his move. He’s trying to frame her for Lucy’s murder. Anna picks up the laptop to look closer, but Martin runs in with ADA Arden, and says, that’s tampering with evidence. Arden asks if this is the surveillance footage, and Martin tells her, watch it. Then have this woman arrested for murder.

Carly tells Drew, she hates that she lost fight to save the cemetery, but thinks Virginia would love being part of the ocean she loved so much. He says, two things can be true at the same time, and she says she’s beginning to see that. He says, life is quite the ride, and she says she hates that her mother’s life was cut short. She didn’t have the opportunity to say so many things she wanted to say. He tells her, it’s not too late to say them now. Go ahead. She takes the urn, and walks away from him. She says, Virginia, you were a good mom; you were a great mom. I’m so sorry I didn’t always make you feel that way. I wish I could say this to your face. I wish you could know my kids. I wish you could be a part of our lives, but we can’t go back, no matter how bad we want to. I hope you’ve been at peace, and I hope you continue to be. I love you, mom. She walks to the edge of the cliff, and pours out the ashes. The wind takes them out to the ocean.

Anna tells Martin, so he’s alleging she followed Lucy to a public pier, and shot her in full view of anyone who might come by. He just said she went to spy school. So surely she’d have had a more clandestine method to eliminate someone at her disposal. She basically put herself out there to get caught. Does he see that this doesn’t make any sense? He says he sees the woman who blackmailed him. The same woman who, when he refused to spy for her, threatened to destroy his life. She uses people any way she has to, to even the score in her petty grudges. With people like her and Victor, that gets dangerous real fast. He watched his own brother do it for years. When the stakes get too high, when something goes wrong, someone like Lucy gets in the way, she’s got to get rid of the problem permanently. Jordan comes out, and asks Arden, what’s going on? Arden says, nice of her to join them, and Jordan says she was questioning a suspect. Arden says, she can tell Victor that he’s free to go.  

Olivia asks how long Austin said the MRI would take, and Robert says, he didn’t. She says, he didn’t answer her question from before. How is he holding up? He says, she means with his deceased ex-wife turning up alive and well? It’s overwhelming, in a nice, warm, fuzzy way. She says, it’s a miracle. Now he gets the chance to say all the things he didn’t think he’d have a chance to say.

Dante tells Austin, he was wondering if he could get an update on Holly, and Austin asks if Dante is family. Dante says, no, and Austin says, then Dante knows he can’t tell him anything. Dante says, it’s for the investigation. He doesn’t need details. Are they going to be admitting Holly? Austin says he’s recommending she stay for observation, but you can’t make a patient stay against their will. Dante says, what about that memory loss thing? and Austin say, so much for no details. There doesn’t seem to be any physical reason for Holly’s memory loss.

Chase tells Ned, singing at The Savoy was great; connecting with the audience, getting lost in the music. Ned says he’s sensing a but, and Chase says, he spent the whole time waiting for it to be over. He enjoys singing… Ned says, but it’s not his passion, and Chase says, he enjoys making people happy, and who doesn’t love a crowd cheering for them? But at the end of the day, it’s not making a real difference. Ned says, like he would be if he were on the force, and Chase says, exactly. He wants nothing more than to be a part of that investigation, and find out who’s going around attacking people with a hook. He wants to take that killer off the streets. Ned asks if Brook knows about this, and Chase says, managing him means so much to her, and he can’t be a cop right now, which is entirely on him. He lost his cool, he punched Linc, and now he’s paying the price. Ned thanks him for defending his daughter’s honor, but Chase says, no thanks needed. He regrets the outcome, but he can’t say he wouldn’t do it again, which is why the suspension is totally merited, but it doesn’t make him miss being a cop any less. It’s pointless focusing on something he can’t have. He needs to focus on something he can control… for Brook’s sake.

Brook finishes talking to the studio, and sees an email from Dante. The subject says: Letter of support to get Chase reinstated. She deletes it, and the phone rings. She says, hello, Linc. What can I do for you?

Maxie says she’ll be glad to help Mason if she can. What does he need? He asks if she can talk some sense into Austin, and convince him to come home to Pautuck for Thanksgiving. They miss him something fierce. Austin walks up behind him, and Maxie says she didn’t mean to take Austin away from his family, but Austin says, she’s not taking him away from anything. He’s right where he wants to be. Maxie would be welcome too, of course (🍷), and her kids; Georgie, James, and Bailey, right? She says, that’s impressive, and Austin asks if Mason didn’t say he had to be on the road. Mason says, always looking out, and tells Maxie, think about Turkey Day. Austin says he’ll walk Mason out, and Mason says, gobble-gobble, as they leave. Sasha says, he’s an interesting guy, and Maxie says, yeah…  Are they cannibals??? I’m intrigued.

Victor thanks Arden for her interest in this case, and Arden says, as soon as she was made aware, she knew it required her attention. Anna tells Jordan, she’s got to get out of here. If Victor set her up – which she believes he has – he’s not going to stop with the drone footage. There’s going to be other false evidence out there against her. Jordan says, go, and Anna moves to the door, but Martin says, no. There’s no way Anna is walking out of here. Jordan says, Agent Devane isn’t under arrest. But don’t leave town. Anna says, understood, and leaves. Martin says, isn’t that sweet? Does Jordan give all her friends preferential treatment, or only the guilty ones? Victor says he’s not following. Does Martin think Anna did something to Lucy? Martin says he knows she did. You can see it plain as day on that video. Victor says, the Commissioner failed to mention that, and Arden says, since Jordan’s judgement is clearly compromised by her relationship with Anna, it’s her opinion Jordan be removed from the case.

Drew asks if Carly is okay, and she says she’s feeling so many things; mostly free. When she thinks about that emergency landing in Jacksonville, she was so frustrated. She just wanted to get where she was going, and that’s exactly what happened. Her mother needed her to be there, and she needed to be here for her mother. He says, divine intervention, and she laughs. She says, it gave her closure with Virginia, and reminded her of who she is, and what’s important to her. Her family and her friends… He says, hermit crabs, and she says, hermit crabs, and him. She’s been focused on everything she’s lost in these past couple years, and it’s been a lot, but she’s also gained something. He asks, what’s that? and she says, him. He dropped everything to help her. He slept on a really  bad couch. He says, the couch was not so bad, and she thanks him for helping her. It meant so much to her. He says, it meant as much to him. Watching her face her past made him take a good look at his own life. She says, what did he see?

Holly is wheeled back to the exam room, and Olivia and Robert join her. Robert asks, how’s the head? and Holly says, still attached. He suggests she give Ethan a call; maybe he’ll pick up now. Olivia says, not exactly the kind of message you can leave in a voicemail, and Holly says, sorry, she is? Olivia apologizes, and introduces herself, saying, she was at the boathouse earlier. She brought Holly some clothes for later. Holly says, that’s really thoughtful, and Olivia says, of course (🍷). It’s so wonderful to finally meet Holly. Although Olivia feels like she already knows her. She was in Monte Carlo with Robert and Ethan when they were looking for Holly. Holly should have seen what Robert went through to find her. She’ll let Robert tell her, but it was really something else. Holly says, he did all that for her? and he says he doesn’t know why she’s so surprised. He’d do it again in a heartbeat.

Brook comes in and tells Chase, they did it. They got him. She just knew this would work. He says, feel free to fill him in anytime, and she says, Linc called. He took the bait.

Austin tells Mason, do not involve Maxie in this, but Mason says, he’s not; Austin is. Because he deluded himself into thinking he can keep Pautuck separate from his life here. He can’t. In all honesty, Maxie and her kids would do better to stay as far away from Austin as possible.

Jordan says she’s following the evidence without making assumptions. Arden saw the video. Can she say, without question, that the shooter is Anna Devane? Arden says, without question? No. Jordan says, she’s sending the video to IT. They’ll do their best to see if it’s been altered in any way. Victor thinks it might be worth mentioning that whenever he was with Lucy and Anna’s name came up, Lucy was visibly uncomfortable. Martin agrees, and Victor says, he didn’t think anything of it at the time, but now he’s wondering if Lucy might have been afraid of Anna. Roz tells Jordan to add that to the evidence she’s following, even though it’s hearsay. Jordan asks if Victor is willing to make an official statement, and he says he supposes so. Arden asks if this means Jordan’s changed her mind, and Jordan says, if the shooter in the video proves to be Anna, she’ll reassess. Martin says he can’t listen to any more of this, and walks away. Jordan says, until then, nothing links Anna to Lucy’s presumed death

Anna puts on gloves, and opens her car. She wonders where evidence would be planted. She feels around the seats, and looks in the glove compartment.

Drew tells Carly, the life he came back to a year ago, wasn’t the one he left, and it took him a while to see it, but there’s beauty in that. She says, in new beginnings. He says, a new beginning for both of them, and she says, new beginnings can be scary. He says, they can, but they also can be exciting and hopeful, and full of possibility, and she says she likes the sound of that. He says, so does he. He smooths her hair back from her face, and asks, is this okay? She says, yes, and he doesn’t have to ask ever again. He kisses her, and we get a spinning crane shot like the one at the end of The Beastmaster when Dar kisses Kiri.

Sasha sees Martin at the hospital, and says she didn’t realize he was back in town. Has he heard from Lucy? He says, nothing, but he’s not giving up until they find her. He was actually here to check the ER. He knows it’s futile… She says, but better than sitting around waiting. He asks how she’s holding up, and she says she’s taking it day by day. It’s hard to think beyond that. He says he heard from the judge, and has an update on her future.

Brook tells Chase, right after she got off the phone with the studio, Linc called. He said he wants Chase to do a duet with one of his rising stars. Brook’s actually heard of her; she has a pretty big following. She thinks she has the perfect song for them to sing together. It will be huge boost for Chase’s career. He says, and one step closer to exposing Linc for the predator he is, and she says, that too. He says, this is really happening, and they hug.

Holly says she’d like to change into these clothes, but Robert says, she won’t be needing them, because she’s staying. Holly says, she’s not, and Olivia wisely says she’ll leave it between the two of them, and gets the hell out of there. Holly tells Robert, Austin said she’s fine, but he says, Austin never said anything remotely like that. She says, she will be once she’s had a long bath and a decent meal, neither of which she’ll get here. He says, he’s not going to win this one, is he? and she says, when does he ever win with her? She assumes the MetroCourt is still around, and he says, it is. She says, perfect. She’ll need a full English breakfast, and some tea, preferably with whiskey in it.

Arden says she’s sorry the police wasted Victor’s valuable time, but Victor says, all that matters is justice for Lucy. As the Commissioner said, just follow the evidence.

Anna looks in her amazingly neat trunk, taking out the few things in it. She lifts the bottom, where there are blankets stored underneath. Underneath the blankets, she finds a gun.

On Monday, Sasha says, the Judge made a decision on her guardianship: Mac says. Lucy may have been the victim, but is Anna the real target; and Anna tells Dante that there’s something he needs to know.

💕 And It Feels So Good…

Who Holly is, for those needing to catch up, and the feelings about her return.

🍻 Another Round…

This show sounds promising.

🧂 ShahBoom…

This does not compare to Teresa Giudice’s situation. I’m not a Teresa fan by any stretch of the imagination, but even I can see she was just a moron whose husband said, sign this, and she did. Jen is a whole other level of thief.

🍊 Was It With Paul…?

Is Noella even coming back? This is kind of a non-story.

🤸 Script Flipping…

I like Taylor, and she’s been through it. I’m interested to see what she brings to the mix.

https://people.com/tv/bravocon-2022-taylor-armstrong-went-through-so-much-rhobh-drama-different-side-real-housewives-of-orange-county/

🤼 BravoCon Smackdown…

I can’t imagine what they were like by the end of the night.

https://people.com/tv/bravocon-2022-melissa-gorga-calls-rhonj-costar-jennifer-aydin-toxic-trashy-for-throwing-drink-at-joe-gorga/

Andy isn’t going to be happy until there’s a lawsuit. And not that any of these cretins with money are any kind of role model, how did it get to be okay to throw drinks on people, shove them, and throw whatever is in front of you at them? I’ve noticed a lot of drink throwing on 90 Day Fiancé lately too. It’s not okay. Stop it. And if you do it to me, you’d best run fast.

💋 Don’t Go Away Mad…

Yeah, that’s the problem. She thinks she’s in the WME when it’s supposed to be a reality show.

💎 Not Funny…

They always say they’re joking when they realize it’s not well-received.

🍹 From Down South…

Patricia picks sides.

And makes no excuses.

https://www.bravotv.com/southern-charm/bravocon-2022/patricia-altschul-explains-whitney-sudler-smith-bravocon-absence-naomie-olindo-update

⚰️ About That Horror…

The latest on American Horror Story: NYC.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/michelelbird/ahs-nyc-cast-guide

https://ew.com/tv/american-horror-story-season-11-ahs-nyc/

🐹 But Of Course…

To make you feel warm and fuzzy after all that angst.

🌩 Quotes of the Week

Many things—such as loving, going to sleep, or behaving unaffectedly—are done worst when we try hardest to do them. – C.S. Lewis, Studies in Medieval Literature, compiled in Words to Live By

What are you waiting for? How long will you keep waiting? Don’t sit back and wait for life to happen to you. Have a plan and take the needed steps to create what you want. – Steve Maraboli (Dude is a real taskmaster.)

Healing comes from taking responsibility: to realize that it is you – and no one else – that creates your thoughts, your feelings, and your actions.Peter Shepherd

We can have peace if we let go of wanting to change the past and wanting to control the future. – Lester Levinson

Dare to be true: nothing can need a lie: A fault, which needs it most, grows two thereby. – George Herbert

Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong. – Ella Fitzgerald

A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success.Elbert Hubbard

This adoration of an artist as a lone genius is quite misled, I think, because they are very much part of their time and their community. – Hannah Gadsby

It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it. – Benjamin Franklin

Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less. – Marie Curie

I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people. – Isaac Newton

🛣 Easing On Down the Road…

See you when the bell tolls for the Dead. Until then, stay safe, stay getting all the facts before picking a side, and stay not being frustrated by emergency landings. Sometimes they get you where you’re going.

August 12, 2022 – Jordan Shows Compassion, Dominique, New Gig, Reprise, Confused, a Break-Up, NYC Revealed, Dead Talk, Exactly 12 Quotes & Runnin’

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Portia says she’s going to inject Oz Haggerty with the reversal agents, and Curtis says, what if something goes wrong? and She says she knows there’s a risk of him waking up too fast too soon, but it’s her only option. She has to go through with this. He says he’s not talking about the risk to Haggerty; he’s talking about the risk to the woman he loves.

Dante leads Cody into the station, and says, next time, maybe he’ll think before he sucker punches somebody. And don’t pick a lawyer like Scotty; he sues people. Cody says, the only thing he regrets is only landing one punch. They go into the interrogation room, and Cody asks if they can ditch these cuffs. How about doing his old buddy a favor and letting him go free? Dante says he is doing Cody a favor by talking to him like this, because next time, it could be through the bars of a cell.

At Charlie’s, Britt examines Scotty’s nose, and tells him, it’s not broken, and he’s lucky it’s not. He says he didn’t deserve to get sucker punched by her boyfriend, and she says, Cody is not her boyfriend, and from what she heard, he had a score to settle with Scotty. Scotty says, he’s never seen that guy before in his life, until Cody punched him. And this whole Dominique, this cockamamie story. If Dominique had another kid out there before Serena, she would have told him. Obrecht asks if he’s sure, and he says he is, because they shared everything. Obrecht says, perhaps he didn’t know her as well as he thought.

Rory tells Jordan, no need to stick around. He’s got it from here. She says she wants to believe that, but he hasn’t answered her question. Can he put his badge above his feelings for Trina Robinson? He says, it’s because he cares about Trina that she can trust him.

Trina asks TJ to please tell her that bartender is coming out of his coma. Her attorney thinks the jury is close to reaching a verdict. Oz Haggerty is the only one who can prove her innocence. He says, Oz Haggerty’s medical team is bringing him out of his medically induced coma, but unfortunately, it’s a painstakingly slow medical process. He still has a long way to go before he regains consciousness. She says, which means the jury is going to reach their verdict without knowing Esme is the one who bought the black market cellphone. He says he’s sorry to be the bearer of bad news, and she says, the closer they get to the verdict, the harder it is to stay optimistic.

Portia tells Curtis, the only thing that matters is that Haggerty wakes up in time to tell the truth before that jury comes back with a verdict. Curtis says, is it vitally important that Oz wakes up? Hell yeah, but it’s not the only thing that matters. Even if she talks her way into that  room, she won’t make it out if her attempts to wake him up go sideways. She says she already told him, she’s willing to take that risk, but he says, give herself a cover. Be smart about it. Don’t go charging in there asking to incriminate herself. She says, if anyone goes to prison, it’s better her than her daughter, but he says he won’t trade Trina’s freedom for hers.

Dante says, he and Cody have always been honest with each other, right? and Cody says, more or less. Dante says, so why doesn’t Cody be honest with him right now? How long has he been hunting down Scott Baldwin? Is that why he stuck around town? Cody swears he didn’t come to Port Charles for anything other than a paycheck. The surprise bonus was running into Dante. Dante says, Cody had to know he’d run into Scotty sooner or later, right? and Cody says, if he came to town to find Scotty, doesn’t Dante think he would have made it happen sooner? He didn’t even know who Scotty was until a couple of months ago, and believe him, when he found out who Scotty was, and what Scotty did to him, he didn’t want anything to do with that piece of trash. Today, when Scotty was standing right in front of him with that smug grin on his face, he just kept thinking about everything he’d heard, and how Scotty had taken everything that was rightfully his, and he just got so mad… He’s sorry. He couldn’t stop himself. Dante asks how Cody got to this point in his life and not know Scotty stole something from him, and Cody says he didn’t know about Scotty, because he didn’t even know Dominique was his mom. Dante asks how he found that out, and Cody says, he heard it from a dead woman.

Scotty says, he and Dominique had no secrets. If she had a son out there, Scotty would have found him, and had him live with them. Scotty would never turn his back on him. Obrecht says she knows he wants to believe in Dominique, but if they shared everything, why would she go to her grave without telling him about Cody? What would have motivated her to stay silent? Britt says, people stay silent for lots of reasons. Sometimes it’s because they don’t trust people, sometimes it’s because they’re so afraid of what they’ve kept inside, they can’t face it. Obrecht says, and sometimes we’re brave and don’t even know it. Maybe it wasn’t so much that Dominique was keeping a secret from Scotty. What if she was trying to protect him? Scotty says, maybe she was trying to protect herself.

Jordan tells Rory that she cares about Trina too, but as they were taught at the Academy, the badge comes first. He says he knows he’s just a rookie, but does it have to be either or? Can’t a police officer be true to the badge and still have compassion? Yeah, he wants Trina to be found not guilty, and the best way for that to happen is for the man inside this room to wake up, and testify that Esme Prince bought that black market cellphone, and that Trina wasn’t involved. She says, the problem is, Miss Prince is no longer living at Windymere, and they’re having trouble finding her. He says he wants to help with that too, but first, she can trust him that no one, not Esme Prince or anyone else not on the list, will enter this room and interfere with the recovery of Oz Haggerty.

Trina tells TJ, she’s usually a glass half-full kind of person, but she’s not that sure the truth is going to come out in time to vindicate her. And if Diane’s right, time’s almost up. She sits, and TJ sits next to her. He says he wants her to keep reminding herself how many people are on her side. Her mom and Curtis are doing everything they can. Joss and Cam, the victims, both testified on her behalf. That’s got to mean something to the jury. She says, but Joss and Cam don’t have any hard proof that she’s innocent. The only one who can exonerate her is that bartender Oz. She knows he’s not in a natural coma; he’s medically induced. Can’t they get him out of it faster? TJ flashes back to telling Portia that he plans on administering drugs to wake Oz up, and Portia saying, Oz was put into a coma for a reason. To forcibly wake him up would be completely denying his medical needs, and that’s the very definition of unethical. He tells Trina, even if there were such a way… She says, wait. If it was impossible, he’d have said so, but he didn’t. He just talked around it, and made it a hypothetical. Does that mean he can force Oz to wake up?

Portia asks Curtis, where was all this concern when TJ was the one who was going to revive Oz? He was willing to risk his entire career, his freedom, to inject the reversal agents. Curtis says, they were desperate. Besides, TJ stood a better chance of getting in and out of Oz’s room without suspicion. He can’t say the same about her, considering she’s Trina’s mother. She asks if he’s telling her she should give up. She should trust twelve total strangers in that jury room? He says, hell no; he’s not saying that. He’s saying they’re a team, and should share the same risks and the same consequences, which means they should stick to the original plan. While he distracts Rory, she slips into Oz’s room, and gives him that injection. She says, and if it fails? All three of them end up in Pentenville? He says, at least they’ll be together. He takes her hand, and asks what she says. She says, let’s do it.

Cody tells Dante, life could have been different. He grew up in the shadows of Serenity. It was originally owned by the Stanton family. The Bells, who he thought were his real parents, lived in the caretaker’s cottage. That’s where he learned to ride horses. It’s also where he learned he’d never amount to more in life than being a cook’s son. The love of horses came naturally to him; no other lesson ever stuck. He grew up hearing these stories about the house on the hill, where the beautiful Dominique and her shady husband Leopold Taub used to live. Dante says, it’s an interesting story, but how does Scotty fit in?

Scotty says, Dominique’s marriage to Leopold Taub wasn’t a love match. He was a social climber. The Stantons represented everything he wasn’t. Britt says, Leopold Taub. Why does that name sound familiar? Obrecht says, Leopold Taub and Cesar had certain… dealings, and Britt says, her father and Cody’s father.

Cody says, he knew Leopold was a bad man because he was cruel to the horses. Apparently, he was also cruel to his wife. It was just a story, until… Dante says, until what? and Cody says, a few months ago, he got that call you never want to get. His mom – or the woman he thought was his mom – was dying. So he dropped everything and went home to say goodbye. Dante says he’s sorry, and Cody says, thanks. He was out of a job, so it was easy to drop everything. He came home to that sad little caretaker cottage, and he was right beside her when she took her last breath. Dante says, again, he’s sorry, but at least Cody got to say goodbye. Cody says, before he did, she took his hand and told him that she couldn’t die before she told him the truth. She didn’t give birth to him. His birth mother was the beautiful, very wealthy Dominique Stanton.

Jordan looks through the window at Oz, and says, there’s no sign of him waking, is there? Rory says, not since he’s been there, and she says, part of her wants to walk in there and grab him by the shoulders, and tell him to snap out of it. He says, Trina matters to her too, right? and she says, Trina matters to a whole lot of people in this town. They know who she is, and who she isn’t, but the evidence… Rory says, Esme Prince manufactured the evidence to point to Trina, and she says, unfortunately, they can’t prove that. He says, no, but Oz can. If anything happens, Jordan will be the first to know. She thanks him, and leaves. He looks at Oz.

Trina asks TJ, if they can speed up the process and bring Oz out of his coma, why haven’t they tried? He says, because it can backfire. It can make the coma permanent or worse. She says, he means it might kill Oz, and he says, there’s always a chance. Even if the reversal agents were to work, there’s no way to guarantee Oz would wake up with his faculties and memories intact. She says, okay, so no injection. The doctors stick to whatever protocol they’re using now. How long will it take for Oz to wake up? He says, it could be days, or weeks, and she says she doesn’t have that long. He says he knows. They’re just doctors. They took an oath to do no harm. He was so determined to help her that, for a moment, he almost forgot that. Curtis and Portia come down the hall, looking guilty, and Portia asks what Trina is doing here. Curtis says, let him guess. Diane got ahold of her. Trina says, Diane messaged her that jury is close to reaching a verdict. She guesses that means she might not be coming home for dinner tonight. Portia hugs her, and TJ says he’ll let them have some family time alone. He leaves, and Portia says, Trina shouldn’t be here. She should go home and spend some time with her friends. Trina say, it’s not their fault. They’re trying to cheer her up, but she doesn’t feel like pretending it’s all going to be okay. Portia says, Trina has to have faith. Believe it or not, miracles still do happen. Trina says, Portia doesn’t have to pretend with her either. TJ told her that she stopped him from taking extreme measures to wake up Oz. Portia looks at Curtis, and it’s not lost on Trina. Trina says, don’t get her wrong, she understands. Portia didn’t want TJ risking a patient’s life or his career doing something unethical. She’s glad Portia stepped up and told him to do the right thing. Portia says, there’s nothing she wouldn’t do for Trina, absolutely nothing, and Curtis says, he hates to break up this moment, but didn’t Portia have a patient she’s worried about? Why doesn’t he stay with Trina, and she can go do what she’s got to do. She asks if he’s sure, and he says, go; they’ll be right here. She tells Trina to take care of herself, and leaves.

Cody tells Dante, that deathbed confession turned his world upside down. Even his last name wasn’t right; he wasn’t a Bell. He was a wealthy Stanton who was supposed to grow up in that house on that hill. Dante says he can kind of relate. What he got to Port Charles, he didn’t know Sonny was his father. He was undercover in Sonny’s operation, trying to take him down from the inside, and he found out Sonny was his dad after Sonny shot him. Cody says, Dante’s story beats his, and Dante says he’s not trying to one-up Cody. He’s just saying he can relate. To find out as an adult you’re not who you thought you were messes with your head. Cody says he never knew if Dominique thought about him or wanted to provide for him. After she died, Serenity was sold off, and the proceeds went to the love of her life, the father of her daughter Serena. Dante says, enter Scott Baldwin, and Cody says, does Dante want to ask him again why he punched that smug son of a gun? He stole everything Cody didn’t even know he had. Dante says, and Scotty swears he didn’t know about Cody? Cody says, yeah, but he also claims Dominique was the love of his life. If they were so close, why didn’t she ever tell him about her first born child? Dante asks if Cody is mad at Scotty, or mad at his mother for what she did to him?

Scotty ices his nose, and says, if Dominique was trying to keep her son away from Leopold, it makes sense she would give him to the Bells to raise. Obrecht says, kind of like Maxie trusting Brook with Bailey to keep her safe from Peter. Britt says, but the one big difference is, Maxie’s situation was temporary, where it sounds like Dominique’s situation was never-ending. Obrecht says, that would explain why Cody never knew who he was; Dominique kept silent to the end. Britt says, it all fits together, doesn’t it? Unless the pieces fit a little too well. Scotty asks what she’s driving at, and Britt says she hasn’t known Cody long, but from the first time she met him, he was always working some angle. So what if that’s what this is, and none of the story is true?

Curtis hands a bag from the vending machine to Trina, but she says she’s not hungry. He says, humor him. She’s got to keep up her strength because she doesn’t want to lose hope. Remember what her mom said about miracles. She takes the bag from him, and says she wants to have faith, but she doesn’t want to fool herself. Things aren’t going her way, and TJ said, even if Oz comes out of his coma, they don’t know if his memories will still be intact. He could have totally forgotten he was selling that black market phone to Esme, and even if he does, it could take weeks or months, and by then, the jury will already have decided, and she could be in Pentenville. He says he can’t promise how this is going to turn out, but he can promise that everyone who cares about her is doing everything they can to prove her innocence. She puts her head on his shoulder, and he puts his arm around her.

TJ looks at his tablet, and Jordan asks what he’s studying so intently. He says, Oz Haggerty’s chart. He’s looking for any glimmer of hope that his awakening is speeding up. She says she knows how badly he wants to help Trina; so does she, but they can’t force things. He says, that’s the thing. Just like he told Portia and Curtis, there’s a way to force Oz into consciousness.

Rory asks if Portia has heard from Trina; how is she? Portia says, she’s waiting, like the rest of us, for the patient in that room to wake up. Actually, that’s why she stopped by. She was just going to check on Oz, and see how he’s progressing herself. He says he’s sorry, but he can’t let her in, and she tells him that she’s a doctor. He says he knows it’s unusual to stop a doctor from seeing a patient, but unfortunately, her name isn’t on the approved list, and he can’t let her inside. She says, good for him, going by the book. She’s not on the list because she’s not the attending on the case and not a consultant on the case. Did he think she wanted to go in there to treat the patient? She just wanted to take a look at him with her own two eyes. Obviously, she has a vested interest in seeing everything is done to restore Mr. Haggerty to full consciousness. And he wants the same thing, doesn’t he? He says, of course (🍷). That’s why he’s grateful Commissioner Ashford assigned him this post. He promises her, nobody will interfere with the recovery of Haggerty. And when he comes out of this coma, he can ID Esme as being the one who bought the black market phone. Rory thinks that will be enough to convince the jury that Trina’s not guilty. She says, of course (🍷), but by then Trina could be in Pentenville for weeks, if not months. Can’t he… She goes to the window, and he says he doesn’t understand. Can’t he what? Is she sure he can’t help her? She says, yes, she’s sure, and walks away.

Cody tells Dante, maybe it’s easier to blame Scotty than his mother, but put himself in Cody’s shoes. Dante says, that’s what he’s trying to do. Telling Cody about Sonny, and discovering Sonny was his father. It’s not the same thing, but it still threw him for a loop. His whole career is crime fighting, and Sonny’s is the exact opposite. He’s sympathetic to Cody’s situation. Cody says, his whole life, no matter how far he’s traveled, no matter how hard he’s tried to fit in, he never felt like he belonged. And now, he finds out the home and life he was supposed to have has been sold off, and the proceeds go to Scotty and his daughter, who Cody’s mother obviously loved more than him.

Obrecht says, what if Cody made up the whole story just to get money out of Scotty? and Scotty says, there’s no money to get. Everything Dominique had, she left to Serena, and Serena spent all that money saving the whales. Britt says, if he wants her to arrange a DNA test to see if Cody is Dominique’s son, she can make that happen, but Scotty says, that’s not necessary, because he saw it in Cody’s eyes; the same thing he sees in Serena’s eyes, Dominque’s eyes. Obrecht says, that’s all the proof Scotty has? He says, it’s not just the eyes; it’s the hunger Cody has. Obrecht says, a hunger for his lost money, and Scotty says he’s not just talking about that. The hunger Cody has for the meaning in his life. He thinks Britt knows what he’s talking about, and Britt says she doesn’t think she would have described it quite like that, but now that Scotty has, she’s seen that too. Scotty says, then she knows he’s right, and Obrecht says, very well. If Cody is who he claims to be, what is Scotty supposed to do about it? He says, if she’s the Liesl he thinks she is, he thinks she already knows the answer. The question he has to ask himself is, what would Dominique want him to do? He gets up, kisses the top of Obrecht’s head, and says he’ll see them.

Jordan asks what exactly TJ told Portia and Curtis, and TJ says, that he was so laser focused on helping Trina, he considered using extreme measures to shock Oz’s system, basically to try and force him out of his coma. But don’t worry. Portia wasn’t having any of it, and reminded him that he needed to put the patient first. It’s just too risky of a procedure. She says she’s relieved to hear that, no matter how much it would help Trina. He says he knows the law is the law. He just wishes he was as confident as Jordan that justice will be done.

Trina says she knows what Curtis is thinking. He’s worried that his phone is going to ring, and it’s going to be Diane telling them the jury’s reached a verdict. She’s having the same feeling. Portia comes by, and Trina asks, what happened to her patient? She says, unfortunately, her patient’s condition remains unchanged. Trina is so lucky to have a friend like Rory. He won’t let anyone or anything compromise the witness who can clear her. He’s not letting anybody in that room who’s not on the approved list.

Rory calls Jordan, and she asks if everything is okay. He says he thought she’d like to know, something out of the ordinary happened. She says, what’s that? and he says, Oz Haggerty had a visit from a doctor not on the approved list. She says, which doctor? and he says, Trina’s mom, Dr. Robinson. She asks if Portia said why she was there, and he says, she just wanted to see if Haggerty was any closer to waking up. Being Trina’s mom, he can totally understand that, but she wasn’t on the approved list, so he didn’t let her in. When he arrested Spencer and Cameron, Jordan said he was a bit over-eager, and needed to use better discretion, so he just wanted to check in, and make sure he did the right thing. Jordan assures him, it was the right thing to do

Cody asks, what’s next? and Dante says, he’ll be taken to his cell. If he needs a lawyer, Dante can give him a couple of recommendations. If money’s an issue, he’ll be assigned a public defender. Cody says, really? He pours his heart out about how his world’s been turned upside down, and Dante can’t show his buddy a little bit of compassion? Dante asks what Cody expects him to do. He punched a guy in the face in a public setting in front of a bunch of witnesses, and now the guy’s pressing charges. There’s literally nothing he can do. Cody says, it pays to know people in high places, huh? and Dante says, it usually does. He starts to bring Cody to his cell, when Scotty comes in. Cody asks, how’s the nose? Did he break it? Dante says, it’s not a great idea to antagonize the guy who’s pressing charges against him, and Scotty says, his nose is fine. He can smell a phony baloney a mile away. Cody says, Scotty spends his inheritance, and has the nerve to call him a phony baloney? Take him away. Prison’s a step up from this guy. Scotty says he can also smell the real McCoy, and he thinks Cody is, so he’s dropping the charges.

TJ asks if Jordan is planning on being in the courtroom when the jury reads the verdict, and she says, her presence in the courtroom goes with the job, but this is one time she’d give anything not to be there. She walks away, and sees Trina talking with Portia and Curtis, and listens from around the corner. Trina says she guesses there’s no point in waiting around here. Even if Oz wakes up now, it’s probably too late to change anything. Portia says, it’s never too late, and Curtis tells Portia that he knows what they both want. What if it’s just not possible? She says, nothing’s impossible. Isn’t that what he always tells her? He’s so sweet. She hugs him, and whispers, she’s got to find a way in that room. Please just get Trina out of here. She says she keeps getting all these texts, but Trina says she didn’t hear Portia’s phone. Portia says she keeps her phone on silent at the hospital. Her patient still needs her, and she’ll catch up with the two of them later. She hugs Trina, saying she loves her, and jets. Trina asks if that seemed weird to Curtis. He says, her mom has a lot on her mind right now. She wants to help Trina, but she’s got to focus on her patients. He’s sure that’s all it is. She says, wait. She still thinks that goodbye was strange. Maybe she should talk to her mom before they go. He tells her, she heard what her mom said. She needs to focus on her patients, and tonight she can come home and worry about Trina. Trina says, if the worst happens and she goes to prison, Curtis has to promise he’ll take care of her mother, and he says, first of all, he doesn’t want her thinking that way. Whatever happens, of course (🍷) they’re going to take care of her mother. She just wants a happy and fair ending to Trina’s trial, just like all of them. Come on; let’s go. Trina says, what if Diane calls and she has to go to the courthouse, and she won’t be able to see her mom until she’s behind bars? Curtis says he promises as soon as he gets a phone call from Diane saying the verdict is in, he’ll get her mother to the courthouse, so she can be there to support Trina.

TJ sees Jordan, and says he wishes there was something more they could do for Trina and her family. If only Haggerty would wake up and tell them what he knows.

Britt asks how Obrecht let Scotty leave without her. Isn’t she afraid he’ll do something foolish? Obrecht says she was tempted to stop Scotty, but the truth is, she’s proud of him. Britt says, even if it means doing right by the former love of his life, Dominique? and Obrecht says, maybe if Dominique was still alive, she’d be concerned, but she died years ago. She’s not afraid of Scotty’s past. On the contrary. The fact that he was able to love someone so strongly, so deeply, means he’s capable of loving her even more. Britt says, either that’s a terrific spin on the situation, or Obrecht really does believe in true love. If that’s the case, she envies Obrecht. Obrecht says she never had that faith in the past, but she found it for the first time with Scotty. It may take some time, but it’s out there waiting for Britt; she’s sure of it. Britt says, true love’s not for everyone. She had a shot with Jason, briefly, but he’s gone. And let’s face it, she’s damaged goods. Obrecht laughs and takes Britt’s hands, saying, they’re all damaged in one way or another. She is, and so is Scotty. When you find the right person, you help each other heal.

Scotty asks Dante what the DA’s office said, and Dante tells him, if Scotty’s not pressing charges, there is no case, and they can let Cody go. Cody says, so he’s a free man? and Dante says, as soon as he gets the cuffs off. Scotty says he doesn’t expect Cody to thank him, and Cody says, good, because he’s not getting a thanks. Dante unlocks the cuffs, and Scotty says, Cody can choose to believe him or not, but he didn’t know that Dominique had a son. When they found out she had an inoperable brain tumor, they spent a lot of time together, and she would have told him about Cody, but she didn’t, so she must have had her reasons. Cody says, Scotty can tell himself that at night if it helps him sleep. For him, it’s a whole load of BS. Scotty leaves, and Cody says, does Dante believe that guy? Dante tells him, he hates to say it, but he thinks Scotty is telling the truth.

TJ tells Jordan that he has to get back to his rounds, but he’ll see her later. They hug, and Jordan waits for the elevator. She sees Curtis with Trina, and gets in. She flashes back to what TJ told her about using extreme measures to wake Oz up, and Portia telling him it was too risky. She remembers asking Rory about why Portia wanted to see Oz, and Rory asking if a police officer can’t be true to the badge, but still have compassion. She pulls the emergency alarm in the elevator. Aw. I want to cry. That’s so good of her.

An officer tells Rory, someone must be trapped inside the elevator, and Rory says he’s coming too. No one is around Oz’s room, and Portia – I’m sure not believing her luck – goes inside and closes the door. She closes the blinds and goes over to Oz. She says she knows he can save her daughter. He’s the only one who can. She takes a syringe out of her pocket.

On Monday, Victor says, Nikolas is hiding something, and they both know it; Josslyn tells Cameron, there’s another reason Dex is interested in Trina’s trial; Trina says, the jury has reached a verdict; and Portia asks if Oz can hear her.

☝🏽 BTW, for the past two days, the ABC affiliate here has forgotten their news is on at 4, and broken into GH to tell us nothing that couldn’t wait. Yesterday, I bounced around, piecing it together, since no one source had it in its entirety. Today, I was quick enough to catch it before ABC had a chance to pull for unlicensed content or whatever. My point is, WTF, ABC? If we’re at war, let me know, but it’s unnecessary to have everyone chiming in, including the subject’s kindergarten teacher, about a document. It can wait a half hour.

🤔 Who’s That Woman…?

All about Dominique. I have a vague recollection of the actress, but not much about the storyline.

👾 Trina Transformed…

Is there anything this girl can’t do? Now she’s balancing school and work. Although she can come to work in fuzzy slippers.

💪🏼 Kicking It Again…

Another GH alum, but with a new/old gig.

https://www.etonline.com/cobra-kai-sean-kanan-reprises-karate-kid-iii-role-for-season-5-188786

💎 It’s Her Nickname…

I think Kathy is a ditz, but harmless. She also confused Garcelle with Kyle, so there’s that.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/morganmurrell/kathy-hilton-lizzo-precious-comment-backlash

🍹 A Real Shocker…

Finally, Taylor got a clue and moved on. This dude is going to be perpetually 14, but he never made a secret of being a Peter Pan. Kudos to him for that.

🗽 New New York…

The latest ladies from the Big Apple.

⚰️ Dead Happenings…

Fear’s final season.

https://ew.com/tv/fear-the-walking-dead-showrunners-finale-season-8/

Tales of the Walking Dead premieres this Sunday night. It sounds like it’s up my alley, so I’ll definitely be taking a look.

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/tales-of-the-walking-dead-schedule-when-where-to-watch-early-amc-plus/

https://ew.com/tv/tales-of-the-walking-dead-musical-episode/

📻 Quotes of the Week

Our most significant opportunities will be found in times of greatest difficulty. – Thomas S. Monson

We are all ordinary. We are all boring. We are all spectacular. We are all shy. We are all bold. We are all heroes. We are all helpless. It just depends on the day. – Brad Meltzer

Courage – a perfect sensibility of the measure of danger, and a mental willingness to endure it.William Tecumseh Sherman

The man who insists on seeing with perfect clearness before he decides, never decides. – Henri-Frédéric Amiel

We could never learn to be brave and patient, if there were only joy in the world. – Helen Keller

Being good is easy, what is difficult is being just. – Victor Hugo

My past has not defined me, destroyed me, deterred me, or defeated me; it has only strengthened me. – Steve Maraboli

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. – Steve Jobs

Every one of us is losing something precious to us. Lost opportunities, lost possibilities, feelings we can never get back again. That’s part of what it means to be alive. – Haruki Murakami

The only real limitation on your abilities is the level of your desires. If you want it badly enough, there are no limits on what you can achieve.Brian Tracy

I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order. – John Burroughs

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

🔌 Unplugging…

It’s time to call it a week, and it’s certainly been one. Fighting technical dragons is exhausting. Plug back in with me on Monday for soap and what’s on Deck. Until then, stay safe, stay not being wishy-washy, and stay knowing, sometimes we’re brave and don’t even know it.

January 21, 2022 – Memorial To an Anti-Hero, a Return, Reunion Woes, Baby #2, Summer Tea, Moving, Loss Of a Legend, Dead Talk, Close To 10 Quotes & Objects

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Laura looks at a portrait of Luke behind the bar on the Haunted Star. Curtis comes in, and says, hello, friend. Laura says she didn’t know he was going to be here, and he says, Doc called and said he had a patient emergency. Laura says they talked about it, and she’s fine with it, and Curtis says he knows memorials can be hard. He wanted her to know he’ll be here for her, assuming she doesn’t object. She says, not at all. She’s prepared to do this solo, but she’d rather do it with a friend by her side.

Dante finds Sonny in Charlie’s, and Sonny says he and Phyllis are going to have a shot in memory of Luke. Does Dante want to join them? Dante declines, and Sonny asks if Dante is keeping tabs on him, but Dante says, no. He saw Frank outside, and figured Sonny was in here. Dante says, he knows how important Luke was to Sonny, and Sonny throws back a shot. Dante says, Luke was important to him too, as Lulu’s dad. Sonny says he knows Dante can’t be with Lulu because she’s in a coma, but he can be with Carly, and thinks they should be together when they say goodbye to her Uncle Luke.

Bobbie meets Carly at Kelly’s, and says she couldn’t bring herself to wear black. Luke would hate that. She thanks Carly for meeting her, and says she doesn’t think she could get through this memorial without Carly by her side. Carly says she was just thinking about Uncle Luke and how he always called her Caroline. He insisted on it, and not because he was trying to make fun of her. It was a reminder that he knew exactly who she was, and to never forget where she came from. She asks how Bobbie is; Luke was her big brother. Bobbie says she’s a little wobbly, but just like when Aunt Ruby died, they’ll get through this together. Carly hates that Lucas has to work; he should be here. Bobbie named him after Luke. Bobbie says she thinks Carly’s brother hasn’t quite gotten over losing Wiley, and she thinks working is easier for him than facing his family. Carly says, yeah, but they need him too. Bobbie says she needs Carly by her side, but something tells her that her bright, beautiful, incredibly brave daughter might need her even more. Carly says, more than she knows, and Bobbie takes her hand.

Felicia and Anna arrive at the memorial, and Anna says, it’s very Luke. Laura says Anna should really be saying that to Tracy. It’s her event. Laura is just here to pay her respects and see her friends. Anna says she keeps half-expecting Luke to show up (as we all do), and Felicia says, the man is a legend. Anna says, in so many ways, and Laura thanks them for coming. She tells them to help themselves to a drink. She doesn’t know where Tracy is right now. Anna and Felicia go to the bar, and Nikolas comes in with Ava. He asks how Laura is, and she says, better now that he’s here. Ava says she’s so sorry to hear about Luke, and Laura thanks her. Nikolas asks if she’s heard from Lucky and Ethan; are they going to make it? Laura says, unfortunately, they’re not. There was an outbreak of cholera in the village where Lucky is volunteering, so for him to come home, he would have to quarantine in Africa for two weeks, but Tracy is having another memorial in Amsterdam in a few weeks, so hopefully Lucky and Ethan will both be at that. Nikolas says, it’s nice for Lucky and Ethan to have each other, like he’s here for Laura now. Ava and Nikolas go to the bar, and Spencer says, hello. grandmother. Laura says she’s happy to see him, and he tells her, Esme sends her regrets. She’s interning at Spring Ridge, but he’s here for her. He hugs Laura, and Victor tells him, well said. Tonight they are indeed all one family, despite their differences. Oh Luke. In life, he always cast a large shadow. To die in such a random accident just doesn’t have the sense of poetic beauty one would have expected of him. Laura tells Victor, get out of here, and – she gestures toward his bodyguard – take his burly Doberman with him. Victor says, Yohan isn’t just there for him; he’s there for all of them. Luke may be dead, but he has a long list of enemies, and they’re all still very much alive.

Tracy stands on deck, holding a beautiful covered urn. Alexis approaches her, and asks if that’s what she thinks it is. Tracy says, yep. Luke.

Dante says he knows Sonny wants to be with Carly, and he knows it’s hard, but she’s asked for space and he has to respect that. Sonny says, Carly moved out. How much time does she need? Luke is her uncle, and his longtime friend, and they should be together. They lost almost a year of their lives. They can’t get that time back. What does Dante think Luke would do to get just a couple seconds of that time back? He’s not wasting any more time.

Alexis asks if Tracy is okay. Would she like Alexis to call Ned? Tracy asks if Alexis doesn’t think she’s capable of calling her son herself. And why wouldn’t she be okay? She’s holding Luke in a jar. Everything is peachy keen in her life. Alexis says she’ll see Tracy inside, and Tracy says, wait. She’s sorry. She didn’t mean to snap at Alexis. Alexis says, Tracy is having a hard time; she understands. Tracy says, does she? Because she wouldn’t after what she did to Alexis.

Anna says Victor knows he doesn’t belong here, and Luke would be the first to tell him that, so get out. Victor says, unless Luke is silent, and likely to remain so, and Felicia says, Mac will be happy to send a patrol car to get Victor off the boat. Victor asks if calling the Police Commissioner isn’t a bit of an overreach, and Felicia says, not when he’s her husband. Curtis tells Victor to ask himself if he really wants this to escalate. The time to tap out is before things get broken. Spencer says, a gentleman shouldn’t stay when he’s been asked to leave, and Victor says, he’s so right. He tells Yohan that they’re leaving. Do give Luke his best. Laura says, hopefully, Victor can tell Luke himself, in person, the sooner the better. Victor laughs and leaves.

Bobbie tells Carly, so much of her history with Luke is so dark. Carly knows their story. Their dad was an alcoholic and beat their mother. When mama died, she and Luke just took off; they went to Florida. They moved in with dad’s sister Aunt Ruby. They loved that woman. She did the best she could, but honestly, she and Luke raised themselves as much as Ruby did. Then when Bobbie came back to Port Charles, Luke followed her. It was like a second chance for them to make something of themselves. Carly says, and Bobbie did it. A nursing degree, a career, a family; she should be so proud of herself. Carly is extremely proud of her. Bobbie thanks her, and says, if she managed to survive, even thrive here, it was always because she knew her big brother had her back. She was the one who recruited Luke to come back to Port Charles. Granted, her plan was to have him break up Scotty and Laura, so she could have Scotty all to herself; that wasn’t exactly noble. Carly laughs, and Bobbie says, but she called Luke to help her, and he came running, just like he always did. Now she doesn’t know what she’s going to do next time she needs Luke’s help. Carly tells Bobbie, look at her. Bobbie is going to call her, or Lucas, or Josslyn, or Michael, and they’ll come running. Bobbie says, okay. That’s a two-way street. Carly says she knows, and Bobbie says she has the rest of her life to grieve her big brother. Meanwhile, her daughter is living in a hotel, trying to figure out how to save her marriage. Talk to her. Carly says, that’s the thing. She doesn’t know whether there’s a marriage left to save.

Dante says, Sonny may have lost time in Nixon Falls, but he wasn’t alone. Sonny says, Nina is not the problem, but Dante says, she is to Carly. Sonny’s got to see that. Carly’s got to know that it’s over between Sonny and Nina. When Sonny got on the witness stand and said he wasn’t a victim, that didn’t help things. Sonny says, it is over between him and Nina. What does he have to do to prove that to Carly, so she’ll give him a chance?

Robert and Scotty walk into Charlie’s, and Robert asks what they’re doing there. When they left the courthouse, the idea was to go to the Haunted Star for Luke’s memorial. Scotty says, Robert got an invitation. He’s going to have to crash that thing, so he needs a couple of cocktails to do it, and if anybody’s boo-hooing over Luke, he won’t care. Robert says, if Scotty ever loved Laura, he strongly advises against it. Dante and Sonny watch them, and Robert says, he knows Scotty hated the guy, and he probably had his reasons. Let’s just go. Scotty tells Dante and Sonny, if life was a horserace, it would probably be neck-and-neck as to who he hates more; Luke Spencer or Sonny Corinthos. Guess what? Sonny wins, by a photo finish. Sonny says he doesn’t know if Scotty knows or not, but he owns this bar, and nobody comes in there and insults Luke. Dante says he has an idea. Why doesn’t Robert take Scotty to the memorial? and Robert says, sounds like a great idea; let’s go. Scotty says he’s not going anywhere until he’s had a couple of drinks. So why doesn’t Dante take daddy here and vamoose? Sonny laughs, and tells Dante to go ahead without him. Dante asks if he’s sure about that, and Sonny says Dante should be with Laura. Dante says he wants to be with Laura, but remember, it’s a about Luke. Sonny says, yeah, and Dante leaves. Sonny tells Phyllis to give these two gentlemen whatever they want to drink on his tab, but Scotty says he doesn’t think so; they buy their own drinks. Sonny walks up to Scotty, and says, Scotty thinks he scored a touchdown at the hearing for Nina. Robert suggests he and Scotty go to the MetroCourt; he’ll buy the drinks. Scotty says he kind of feels bad for Carly, but it made his day that Sonny got caught stepping out on his wife. He pokes Sonny in the lapel, and Sonny tells Scotty not to put his hands on him. Scotty asks what he’s going to do. Come on.

Bobbie asks if Carly is going to return home, but Carly doesn’t know. The man who disappeared over a year ago is not the man who came back to her. Bobbie says, losing his memory, and living as another man changed Sonny. Carly says she gets that, but in the past, she and Sonny would have a knock down drag out fight. She never doubted that Sonny loved her. Bobbie says, now she does? and Carly says, Sonny refuses to acknowledge that what Nina did to them was awful. He refuses to acknowledge the damage, and the hell Nina put Carly and her family through for her own selfish reasons. Sonny claims Carly comes first in his life, and she told him the way he could prove it was to kick Nina to the curb, and he won’t do it. Maybe he can’t do it. And that’s a dealbreaker for her. If Sonny can’t put her and her family first, then all his promises mean nothing.

Nikolas says, with Victor mercifully gone, they can focus on the celebration of Luke’s life, and Laura agrees. Spencer says, Nikolas really is shameless. He’ll use anything, even Luke’s death, to make himself out to be the good guy. Laura asks if they can drop this for one night, and Ava says she’s going to do Laura a favor. She’s going to take these two guys out of here. Spencer protests, but Ava says, too bad, and steers them away. Curtis asks if Laura is okay, and she says, honestly, she could use some fresh air. He says, luckily, they’re on a boat; a boat with several decks. Let’s go.

Anna tells Felicia, she feels like Luke would have loved this, and Felicia says, 100%. The only thing Luke would have loved more is if someone would have punched Victor Cassadine in his smug face. Anna says she was so close.

Robert says, emotions are running rather high at the moment. Let’s all go to our respective corners. Phyllis says, he’s right. Aren’t they all honoring someone’s memory tonight? Sonny says she’s absolutely right. In memory of Luke, he’s going to teach Scotty a lesson. Scotty says, all right, then shut up and fight, and Frank asks Scotty if there’s a problem. Scotty says, there it is. Same old story. A stooge does all the fighting for you, chicken. Sonny tells Frank, back off, and takes off his jacket, saying, it’s about time he teaches this guy… Robert says, now listen, he is the DA. They don’t want to be doing this in front of him. Scotty takes off his jacket too, and says, then get lost. Phyllis tells Sonny, she’s asking, as her friend, please stop this now, when Victor comes in with Yohan. Victor says, look what we’ve just walked into, and Robert says, a Cassadine, just what they need. Victor says, the mob boss and the ambulance chaser. Too bad Luke Spencer isn’t here. He was just crass enough to enjoy this sort of thing. Sonny says, who’s he calling crass? and Scotty says, who’s he calling an ambulance chaser? Sonny tells Scotty, what do you say? and Scotty says he thinks he hates Victor more than he hates Sonny. He’s in. Victor takes his jacket off, and says, it’s time they were taught a lesson. Sonny shoves a table aside, and Phyllis yells, stop it now. They start slugging each other, and Phyllis runs out from behind the bar, yelling for them to stop.

On deck, Curtis says, better? and Laura says, definitely. He says, life sure has a lot of twists and turns, doesn’t it? and she says, tell her about it. She and Luke were quite a team. He was a part of her, and she was a part of him. Curtis says, must have been hard to let him go, but Laura says, he’s been gone for a long time. Not all at once; it was in stages. First they got separated, then divorced. Luke fell in love with Tracy, then she met Doc, thank God. She mostly feels sad about the grandkids. The only way they’ll know Luke is from pictures and stories, and some of those stories will be true.

Ava takes Spencer and Nikolas to a state room, and says, get in there, both of you. Spencer says he resents being treated like a wayward adolescent, and she says, then don’t act like one. He says she doesn’t get to tell him what to do, and she says, enough. Can the two of them please just set aside their differences for one night, and think about somebody else? Nikolas says, she’s right. He should be focused on his mother, not himself. Spencer says, with all due respect to grandmother’s loss, Luke Spencer was a grifter; he was a con man. Ava says, Luke Spencer came from nothing, and he made something of himself. People loved him, respected him, admired him. Spencer came from everything. He had everything handed to him on a silver platter, and he throws it all away.

Dante comes in to the memorial, and asks where everyone is. Did he miss it? Felicia says, they’re just walking around the boat; the memorial will start soon. Anna says, since they’re here to remember Luke, she thinks he should expect the unexpected. They hear a crash, and Felicia says, what was that? Anna says she doesn’t know, and they all go to investigate.

Tracy says she knows if Alexis had chosen to testify against her, she’d be headed to trial and quite possibly to a stay at Pentenville. And because she didn’t, Tracy gets to be a free woman and come here and say farewell. Alexis says she did what she did for Luke, because she knows he was better off with Tracy than without her. She also did it for herself, and she did it for Tracy, because everyone deserves a second chance. Tracy thanks her, and Alexis says she’s welcome. Now how about if they go in there, and get the party started? Tracy asks how she sums up a life as complicated as Luke’s, and Alexis says she can’t, but if Tracy doesn’t do it, someone else will. She understands Lucy might be making an appearance, and she has a 42 page speech prepared. Tracy asks what they’re waiting for, and they go inside.

Sonny asks what Victor is waiting for, and Phyllis pulls him away. She asks if he’s happy now, and he says, yeah. He definitely feels better. Scotty says, so does he, and Robert dabs at his mouth, saying, that’s what he gets for trying to mediate. Scotty tells Sonny that he has a helluva right cross, and Sonny says Scotty did pretty well himself. Phyllis asks which one of them is going to pay for the damages, and Sonny says he owns the bar; he’ll make up the cost. Victor says he’s got this. He insists on paying for everything, but Scotty says he’ll pay. Victor says he’s heard Scotty is as tight as a bad oyster with his money, and Robert asks if they’ve all forgotten there’s a memorial to attend. Sonny tells Frank, let’s go, and they all walk out, leaving Victor and Yohan behind. Victor tells Yohan, nice work. It looks like all those hours at the gym are paying off. He’s got a nice fat bonus coming to him. Outside, Sonny looks through the window, and says, they’re laughing. He’s going to smack Victor right now. He starts to head back in, but Robert says, enough. Carly is waiting. Sonny says, that’s right, Carly. Whatever.

Tracy puts the urn on the bar, and Ava comes back in with Nikolas and Spencer. She wonders if they missed something, when Laura and Curtis come back in. Laura hopes she didn’t keep everybody waiting, and everyone gathers. Everyone is wearing black, and even Bobbie has dark purple on. They look so solemn, and I’m thinking, Luke wouldn’t have wanted them to wear black. Tracy says they should get started, but Anna asks if she can wait a minute. Tracy asks, why? and Dante wonders if someone is trying to send them a message. Who brought in the giant TV? Tracy says she didn’t order it, and Anna says, they heard a crash. When they went to investigate, they found an envelope with a DVD and a note. Felicia takes the note out, and tells them, all it said was, play me. Nikolas says, maybe Lucky sent a message from Africa, but Laura says, he didn’t mention anything on the phone, besides, he’s in a very rural area. She doesn’t think so. Alexis says, her money’s on Luke. He always did want to have the last word. Anna says she wonders if he had an inkling this day was going to come sooner rather than later, and Dante asks what Tracy wants to do; this is her event. Tracy says, if it’s from Luke, she wants to hear it, and Dante puts the disk in the TV. Helena appears, and says, hi. We meet again. Alexis says, oh my God, and Laura says, Helena.

At the dock, Scotty asks Robert if he looks presentable, and Robert asks, why start today? He suggests they board the Haunted Star, but Sonny says he’s going to wait for Carly. Robert asks if Scotty is in, but Scotty says he doesn’t think so. He was at the Luke and Laura wedding. Robert says he remembers, and Scotty says, he caught the bouquet; he got a black eye then too. Robert says he’ll see Sonny over there, and he and Scotty go in separate directions. Carly arrives at the dock with Bobbie.

Helena asks if she surprised them, and laughs. Nikolas says, leave it to his grandmother to upstage a man at his own memorial. Helena says, if they’re seeing her now, it’s because she went first, and Luke Spencer has finally done the world a favor by following her into the Great Beyond. Tracy says, she hates that woman, and Helena says she hopes they’ll pardon her if she gloats, but she always told Luke that she would have the last word. And now, she’s going to have it. Nikolas says, here she goes, and Helena says she always considered Luke a parvenu, and since none of them is familiar with that word, let her explain. A parvenu is somebody who’s suddenly reached the level of unaccustomed power and wealth, but has not yet gained the prestige and dignity associated with it. Luke was a cheap, tawdry rhinestone, even though he fancied himself a diamond in the rough. The truth is, Luke Spencer was always destined to lose in the end. Laura pulls the plug on the TV, and says she doesn’t know about the rest of them, but she’s heard enough out of that woman to last her a lifetime. Dante says, here, here, and Anna says, thank you.

Bobbie tells Carly, they’re going to be late, but Carly tells her to go; she’ll meet Bobbie there. Bobbie goes past Sonny, giving him a look, and gets on the boat. Sonny tells Carly, he knows he’s not her mother’s favorite person at the moment, but he’s here, and she’s here, and that’s all that matters. Why don’t they go say goodbye to her uncle? He tells Frank to go get in the car, and asks Carly if she’s ready. He holds out his arm, and she asks, what happened to his hand? He says, Luke happened, and she says, he has to go to GH after Luke’s memorial and make sure he didn’t break any bones in his hand. He says, it’s fine. The night wasn’t a total loss. Does she know why? She asks, why? and he says, believe it or not, he and Scotty teamed up, and ripped Victor a new one. Forget about that; they’re here for Luke. He holds out his arm again, but she walks past him onto the boat, and he follows.

Tracy thanks everyone for coming to honor a man they all loved. Well, she guesses some of them loved him. Some of them probably hated him, but she bets most of them did both. It doesn’t matter what they thought of him. The truth is, they’re never going to forget him. Luke made her promise if this day ever came, that nobody would call him a hero, or even a good guy for that matter – no danger of that. So he was just Luke, a walking, talking contradiction. He could be cruel, then turn around and dazzle you with his kindness. He was cunning, yet caring. He was generous at the same time as impossibly selfish. He brought out the worst and the best in all of them. And she thinks ultimately, he changed them. Every one of them. Forever.

Scotty sits on a bench at the dock, and says he hopes Luke’s enjoying himself on his beloved Haunted Star… All the people singing his praises, including Scotty’s wife Luke stole from him 40 years ago. Luke is dead and gone, and Scotty’s still standing. So you lose, you son of a bitch.

Standing on the deck with the urn, Tracy tells Luke that she did it. She got through the speech. She thinks they appreciated it. Now it’s just them… She has no words. She opens the jar and dumps out the ashes. The wind carries them away.

On the docks, Scotty says, so long, Luke Spencer, and gets a face full of ashes. He says, what the…?

Sonny tells Laura that he knows it’s not the right time, but he got confirmation on the warning Cyrus gave her. She says they’ll talk later. Bobbie asks Carly is she’s sure she doesn’t want to join them, but Carly says, Avery and Donna were looking forward to their sleepover with Bobbie. She doesn’t want to crash the party. Bobbie says, it will be lovely to be surrounded with all that youth. Maybe she won’t miss her big brother so much. Bobbie leaves, and Sonny watches as Carly follows.

Laura thanks Curtis for coming, and he says he can hang out a little longer if she wants, but she says, he’s got a club to run, and she has a life to get on with. He says he just wants her to know he’s there if she needs him, and she thanks him, and says, she knows he is.

Ava tells Nikolas, this was a fitting sendoff for Luke; the roving rascal. She does have a soft spot for rascals. He says he can’t stop thinking about the way Victor left. He was so angry, even hurt, and you know what they say, a wounded tiger is twice as dangerous.

Felica says, Sonny and Scotty fought on the same side? Who would have ever thought? Robert says he guesses they hated Victor Cassadine more than they hated each other, and Anna says, good point.  

Victor helps Phyllis right a table, and says if she won’t let him pay for the damage, at least let him offer her a more conventional transaction. Give him a bottle of her top-shelf Napoleon brandy please, and a couple of glasses. She says, that will be $55. He puts a hundred dollar bill on the bar, and says, keep the change. She puts the bottle and glasses on the bar, and he says, and his apology. He pours two brandies, and puts one at the empty seat next to him. He says, here’s to you, Luke Spencer, champion of Port Charles. He should just tell Luke, the good people of his fair city are in for a big surprise. He clinks the other glass with his, and says, cheers.

Bobbie sees Scotty, and asks, what happened to him? He says, he caught the bouquet.

Alexis says, she can’t believe she’s saying this, but does Tracy need a ride home? She can be the designated driver. Tracy laughs, and says she deserved that. She has one thing to do first. She goes over to Laura with what looks like a jewelry box. Laura says, it was a very moving speech, and Tracy says, she has something that was a keepsake of Luke’s that she thinks really belongs to Laura. Laura says, if it’s the Ice Princess, she wants no part of it, and Spencer asks if it’s the actual Cassadine diamond.  Laura says, that thing has never done anyone any good, and tells Tracy to throw it into the sea when she scatters Luke’s ashes. Tracy says she can’t do that, and walks away. Laura asks Spencer if he’s disappointed, and he says he wouldn’t mind seeing it, or maybe holding it just once. She says, trust her, that thing never did anybody any good, and he says he won’t argue with her; not tonight of all nights. She thanks him for being there, and says she knows he’d rather be with his friends, but he says, of course (🍷) he wanted to be there with her. He knew tonight was going to be difficult for her, and wanted to be there. Once the bad stuff is over with, he hopes he can make her proud of him. She says she’s proud of him now, and they hug, and she says, let’s go home. They start to leave, and she looks back, and blows a kiss to Luke’s portrait. She says, goodbye, my love. A woman in a black veil comes in, and stands in front of Laura. She removes the veil, and Laura says, Jennifer Smith?

Carly stands on the deck, and says, Luke. Are you out there? Sonny comes out, and puts his hand on hers.  

On Monday, Maxie tells Brook that she’s there for her daughter, Curtis asks Marshall to stop by, Victor says he and Valentin are going to need each other for what’s coming next, and Sonny says he’s going to show Carly how much he loves her.

🕶 Old Villains Never Die…

Told you she’d be back. I don’t think Luke is dead either.

🧂 Salty Reunion…

I hear if you ditch the Reunion, you won’t be asked back. Except for LVP, who can do whatever she wants because she’s Queen of the World and can do no wrong.

Maybe she didn’t have a dress horrible enough to wear. Although I don’t think the outfits are all that bad. Except for what Meredith is wearing. What is that?

👶🏽 Friend Of Shahs Baby…

I didn’t even know about baby number one.

🏖 Summer Choices…

Paige spills the tea about Lindsay and Carl.

And about herself.

🎶 It’s Off, It’s On, It’s Moved…

The newest news about the Grammys.

https://variety.com/2022/music/news/grammy-awards-moving-to-las-vegas-on-april-3-1235156447/

🎤 Goodbye To a True Artist…

I had the pleasure of seeing Meat Loaf in concert a few times, meeting him a couple of times, and being in the audience of a special he did for VH1. (Hint: If you wear black because you think it’s slimming, you will just blend into the crowd. Go bold.) He and Jim Steinman will be forever missed.

⚰️ Look At the Flowers…

Watch your back when Carol goes domestic.

https://ew.com/tv/walking-dead-11b-trailer-carol-cookies/

BTW, Walking Dead is sort of returning this Sunday, with something called Origins. I’ll be watching, but not recapping this one. First up is Daryl’s Story.

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/the-walking-dead-origins-stories-air-amc-season-11b-daryl-carol-maggie-negan/

📋 Quotes of the Week

If you’re trying to achieve, there will be road blocks. I’ve had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.Michael Jordan (Or kick it down.)

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

Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength. – Corrie  ten Boom

And that, my dear, is how you run an asylum. – Matron Grady (Judith Light), Escaping the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story

The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any. – Alice Walker

Those who do not find time for exercise will have to find time for illness. – Earl of Derby (I don’t have time for illness either.)

The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. – Amelia Earhart

For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. – Nelson Mandela

The ultimate measure of a person is not where one stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where one stands in times of challenge and controversy. – Martin Luther King, Jr

🚂 Midnight Train To Dr. Phil Reruns…

It’s that time of week where either two days off work is appropriate, or you’re living the life of the resigned. I’ll be changing writing hats, and taking down those pesky decorations before I have to dust them. (I was busy last weekend, okay?) Join me on Monday for soap and what’s on Deck. Until then, stay safe, stay inquisitive, and stay knowing that, even if you’re dead, you can still have the last word.

July 23, 2021 – Jason Wants To Help Elizabeth, KJ’s First Sale In Rye, Postponing, Two Stellar Quotes & Lemon

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Spencer and Nikolas walk into the pool area, and Spencer says, the sun is out, and they’re spending quality father and son time together. Isn’t this what Nikolas wanted? Nikolas says it is, and Spencer suggests Nikolas grab them something to drink while he changes into his suit. Nikolas sees Ava by the bar.

Shawn goes into the station, and asks if it’s a bad time. Jordan says, it seems like there’s never a good time there. She didn’t know he was stopping by, and he says he didn’t either. He just met with his lawyer, and he has news.

Sam gives Alexis some coffee, and says she’s glad it worked out this way. A rehabilitation based facility, they’ve got to have vocational training, therapy, AA meetings. And just think, she can walk the parameter without having to worry about getting chopped up by barbed wire. Alexis says, sounds like heaven, and Sam says she’s so sorry. Alexis says, no way Sam is putting a positive spin on it. She’s really grateful for this shift, but it’s still prison any way you look at it.

Lenny carries a keg into the bar, and Phyllis says she doesn’t think this is what the doctor meant when she said take it easy. Sonny takes it from him, and Lenny says he’s fine. Phyllis says he should be resting. He says, for what? and she says, his exploratory surgery in Llanview tomorrow. He says he’ll be lying in a hospital bed. He’ll have plenty of time to rest then. Business is finally booming, and he wants things in order if he’s going to be laid up. She says, an answer for everything, and he says that’s why she loves him. She says, no more heavy lifting, and he says, deal. He goes in the back, and there’s a knock at the door. Phyllis says they don’t open for another hour, and Sonny says he’ll get rid of them. Phyllis joins Lenny, and Sonny opens the door, saying, sorry, they’re closed. Nina says, hi, and he says, hi yourself, and they hug.

Valentin says he’s sorry he couldn’t meet Anna last night, and she says, don’t be silly. He wanted to spend time with his daughter; she doesn’t blame him. She’s an angel. He says she doesn’t get it from him. Does she want to tell him her new theory? She says, they were trying to figure out who Peter’s accomplice was, and he says, she thinks they should be looking for an enemy.

At the hospital, Elizabeth asks Finn if Violet is still celebrating her big hit. He says, according to his daughter, he’s ready to go pro, and she says, knowing his daughter, she just might. It was so nice to do something normal. She’ll take a T-ball game over thinking about Peter any day. Terry comes out, and says, what’s this about Peter?

Britt comes down the stairs, and flashes back at being with Jason in the gym, and almost kissing. She says, pull it together, Westbourne. She sees Jason at the reception desk, asking if Monica is in, and the nurse says she’ll have Monica paged. He and Britt lock eyes, and she goes to the desk. He asks if it’s okay for him to say hello. She just looks at him.

Britt says, if Jason wants to say hello, he can say hello. She doesn’t tell him what to do. Just as long as he’s clear on where they stand. He says, just as long as she knows where to find him if she needs him, but she says she won’t need him. Austin approaches Britt, and says he understands you have to sign off on everything in this hospital, and he has something for her. She says she’s a little busy, and he says, it won’t take long. She says, neither will this, and he says, gotcha. He tells Jason, hi, cuz. How’re you doing? Jason says he has to find Monica, and leaves, and Austin asks what’s going on with Britt and that guy?

Elizabeth tells Terry that Finn was updating her on Anna’s search for Peter. Finn says, she’s hit a dead end, and Terry tells Elizabeth, she’s so sorry. That monster took Franco from her, not to mention what he did to Finn’s brother. Prison would be too good for Peter. If there were any real justice, someone would finish him off and be done with it.

Anna tells Valentin, they’ve been looking for Peter’s ally, but if it’s the opposite, it all adds up. David Hopkins said he saw another man on the roof besides Peter, and that this man scared him off from landing. Valentin says, he was denied clearance, and she asks if Valentin really thinks it would have stopped him, given what Peter was paying. He says, probably not, and she says, Hopkins assumed this other man was trouble, and he wanted to avoid that. Why didn’t Peter call him back and explain, say, this man isn’t a threat? Valentin says, because he was a threat.

Sonny asks if it was hard for Nina to leave her grandson, and she says, it was, but they have all the time in the world to be together, and this is where she needs to be right now. He says it’s good to see her, and she says it’s nice to see him too. He says it’s going to do a world of good for Phyllis that she’s here, and Nina says she hopes so, but if she’s being honest, Phyllis isn’t the only one she’s there for.

Alexis tells Sam, she’s really happy that she’s being transferred. She just can’t forget that she pled guilty because she is guilty, and needs to serve her time, just like anybody else. Jordan comes in with Shawn, and says she hopes they don’t mind, but Shawn has some news he’d like to share with them. He says, it’s official. All the paperwork is filed, and as of today, he’s a free man.

Nikolas says he didn’t realize Ava would be there, and she asks if it’s a problem for him. He says, no, of course (🍷) not. It’s always good to see her. Trina says she’ll find them a spot, and gets out of there. Ava says, the gallery was slow, and it was such beautiful weather. He says, beautiful isn’t the word, and she says, she decided to close up shop, and play hooky. He says he can leave if it would be easier for her, and she says, what about us? It’s never been easy, huh? She goes over to sit with Trina, who says she’ll be right back. Trina goes toward the bar, and sees Spencer. She says he owes her one, and he says, hello to her too. She says she could have blown his story, and told his dad that he’d been in town for weeks. He says, but she didn’t, and he’s grateful. Does he need to say he’s sorry again? She says, nah, especially since she knows how he can make it up to her.

Sonny asks Nina what that means, when Phyllis comes out. She throws her arms around Nina, and says they weren’t expecting to see her so soon. Nina asks if Phyllis thought she could stay away. She wanted to be there for her and Lenny. Phyllis says she’s already done so much as it is, and her family needs her in Port Charles. Nina says Phyllis is her family too, and Phyllis hugs her again. Lenny joins them, and Nina says, there he is. Lenny says, they have a lot to say to each other.

Alexis says, so the governor signed off on it, and Shawn says, according to the powers of his office, his sentence was commuted, and the paperwork was recorded and finalized. Sam says, so that’s it? No jail time? Shawn says, time served, with no parole restrictions. As for Judge Carson, the governor urged her to resign from the bench, or risk consequences from the Judicial Review Board. Alexis asks, what about the other defendants that were treated unfairly? and he says, the governor is putting pressure on the Board to expedite the process. Alexis says, that’s it; it’s over. Jordan says they’re making plans with TJ and Molly to tell the other defendants tonight. Alexis says, they did right by us, and Shawn says she made sure of that. Alexis says she’s happy for him, and Sam says she is too. She’s kind of jealous of the no parole thing though. Alexis says, what’s next? Shawn has his whole life ahead of him. He says he has time to think about that, but for now, his focus is on making sure whoever shot Hayden is brought to justice.

Nikolas looks at Ava, and Trina pulls Spencer aside. She says his father and Ava are completely miserable. They need to make a parent trap. He asks if she has a twin, and she says, no. They need to convince this couple that they belong together. He says, what if they don’t? Someone hates them so much, Ava is terrified for her daughter’s safety. Trina says, that’s why Ava shouldn’t give into him. Ava and Nikolas are stronger together. He says he doesn’t know. The incidents have stopped since they broke up, which tells him that this creep is going to leave Ava alone now. Trina says, then that’s cool; they’ll just give in to a terrorist. He asks if he can be completely honest, and she says she doesn’t know. Can he? He says, even if he agreed with her on the terrorist thing, he was never really a fan of her boss to begin with. She says, whatever. She’ll do it herself. She walks away.

Britt says she’s been meaning to seek Austin out. He says he’s flattered, and she says, as she’s sure he’s heard, things are in flux around there. He says, the Chief of Staff thing, and she says to retain her position, she’s going to need as many allies as possible. He says he understands, and she says since she’s the one who hired him, she’d appreciate his support. He says he’s sure she would; what does he get in exchange? She says, other than she’s the reason he has a job? and he says, other than that, correct. She says, advocate for her with Dr. Quartermaine, and she’ll sign off on whatever he needs. He says, whatever he needs? and she says, whatever. He says, okay, done, and she thanks him.

Monica finds Jason in her office, and he says he hopes she didn’t mind he stopped by, and she says she’s always happy to see him. She has the feeling he’s there to give her an update, and he says, Spinelli did a deep dive on Austin. Seems legit. Son of Jimmy Lee Holt and Charity Gatlin, no felonies. He is who he says he is. She thanks him and Spinelli for looking into it, and he asks if she needs anything else. She says he can read her very well. Actually, she’d like to talk to him about his engagement.

Valentin says, there were plenty of people at General Hospital that day who wanted Peter brought to justice, and Anna says, whoever was on that roof with him, Peter knew a clean getaway was impossible because this person was a witness. He asks if she thinks Peter took them out, but she says, there’s no one else reported missing. The only reason that person didn’t come forward is, they had something to do with Peter’s disappearance. He says, so she’s saying, Peter never left the hospital because he was incapable of doing so.

Lenny asks if he and Nina could have a minute alone, and she says she’d love that. It’s been a while since they had time to catch up. They sit at a table, while Sonny and Phyllis go to the bar. Lenny says he just wants to make something clear. He’s incredibly grateful for her connections. The fact that he’s getting this surgery tomorrow, so close to home, is all because of her. Nina thanks him, but says it’s really because of her late ex-husband. He was very close to Dr. Hartman, and Dr. Hartman was happy to do it. As was she. He’s always been so kind to her, and he knows how she feels about Phyllis. He says he does, which is why he needs to level with her. he went into this with a lot of reservation. She says, he had some hesitation about the cost? and he says, it’s not about the money; it never was.

Shawn says, some one tried to kill Hayden, and they’re still out there thinking they got away with it. Maybe it’s connected to her subsequent disappearance, maybe not, but he owes it to her – and to himself – to uncover the truth. Alexis says, of course (🍷) he does, and he should. Jordan tells Alexis, she hates to ruin the celebration, but they’re due at the new facility. Alexis says she gets an escort from the Commissioner. She’s honored. Sam asks if Jordan minds, and Jordan says, of course (🍷). Sam leads Alexis aside, and says she loves her. Alexis says she loves Sam too, and they hug. Sam says she and the girls will come and visit. Alexis gives Sam a kiss, and tells Shawn to go live his life, and everything that goes with it. He says, her too, and she tells him to do whatever he can to nail this son of a bitch. He says he’s on it.

At the pool, Nikolas lies on a chair next to Spencer, and Trina is next to Ava. A waiter brings a tray to Nikolas, and says, with compliments from the beautiful blonde in the last lounge chair, setting down an umbrella drink. Nikolas looks over at Ava, and a waitress brings her a drink, saying, with compliments from a certain gentleman. Ava asks, which gentleman is that? and the waitress says, over there, pointing to where Nikolas is, but Austin has just walked in. He’s near Nikolas’s chair, and Ava thinks it’s him.

Valentin asks if Anna thinks the man on the roof with Peter incapacitated him, or worse? and she says, yes. He says, and he’s been covering his tracks ever since? She says, yes, but like he said, there’s no shortage of people at the hospital who want Peter gone, dead. It could be any number of men. He says, it could be, but it’s obvious she’s zeroed in on one. That’s probably why she’s there, because she wants him to talk her out of it, but he can’t do that. He thinks they both know, there was a man at the hospital that day, who had every reason to hurt Peter. She tells him, don’t say it.

Terry apologizes, and says, her losing her cool probably isn’t helping either one of them, but Finn says they appreciate it. She asks if she can still count on their support in her bid for Chief of Staff, and Finn says she doesn’t even have to ask. Terry looks at her phone, and says she has to see a patient, and leaves. Elizabeth looks at Finn, and he says, what? She says she has an idea. He says, yeah.

Finn and Elizabeth walk in the park, and she says, it’s nice, being outside, getting a little fresh air, a little vitamin D. He says, a little private conversation, and she says, exactly. They have to figure this out. They can’t leave Peter’s body in the lab forever, but can they risk moving him when the cameras are running. He says, so they’re effectively trapped, like they’ve been for weeks, and she says, maybe not. If Terry becomes Chief of Staff, she can make the security cameras go dark again. He asks if she’s sure she wants to involve Terry, and she says they’ve been friends since they were little. If she asked Terry to do it, she would. They woudn’t even have to tell her about Peter. He says, no, and she says, that’s it? Just no? He says, pretty much. She says, the last thing she wants is for him to turn himself in to protect her, and he says, the last thing he wants, is for them to find Peter’s body with her DNA on it. He’d rather take the fall alone than implicate her in any way. The best thing for everybody is if the body is never found. She says, which, and he’s not going to like it, is why they should involve Jason

Monica says, first of all, she wants Jason to know that she’s not going to try to stop him. She learned a long time ago that she can’t control his life. She just wanted him to know what’s in her heart, and how much it hurts every time she thinks about what Carly did to his brother. He says, okay, and she says she knows AJ was a very troubled and very flawed man, but there was time when she really had hope. Despite all the bad decisions he made, she thought, maybe this one time, he could turn his life around. He can be better. He can do better. But Carly made sure that never happened. Because Carly always used AJ as a stepping stone to him, so that destroyed whatever was left of AJ. She knows this was a long time ago. Michael was just an infant, and Carly has gone on and lived her life. She’s just trying to tell him how hard it’s been for her. Jason says he respects her; she knows that. She says she does, and he says, obviously, she gets to feel how she wants to feel, but the truth is, he wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Carly. I don’t care. I still hate Carly.

Ava tells Trina, that was so nice; she should thank him. She gets up, and Trina says, wait, but Ava heads for Austin. She thanks him, and says she’d like to return the flavor. The next round is on her. He says, sure, but he doesn’t really… Nikolas gets up, and tells Ava that he appreciates the gesture of good will. Does this mean they can talk? She says, huh? and he says, the drink she bought him. She says, she bought him a drink? Austin bought her a drink. Austin says he didn’t buy anybody a drink. Not that he wouldn’t. He’s not cheap. Spencer says the only one who’s buying any drinks right now is Trina. She’s trying to Parent Trap them. Ava looks at Trina, who looks everywhere but at Ava.

Monica says she knows Jason owes a lot to Carly. Why does he think she’s cut Carly so much slack all these years? And they love each other completely, so she’s not judging him. He says, looking back at that time she was talking about, everything around Michael’s birth, all the lies, nobody wanting to give an inch… They were all wrong. How AJ treated Carly, how they treated AJ. He can see how AJ wasn’t that bad. She says, he can? and he says, yeah. He was just trying to get access to his kid. That was his right, but not the way he went about it. He had no excuse for his actions. She says, Carly does? and he says, Carly lied because AJ said he was going to take the baby as soon as he was born, and when Carly gets threatened, she comes out swinging. And that hasn’t changed. But what has changed is, she’s learned to love people, she’s learned to trust people. Now she understands that there are some things worth fighting for, and there are some things not worth fighting for. But they know exactly what they’re doing by getting married. He understands why it’s hard for Monica, but he’s just asking her, can she accept it? She says she just wants him to be happy, so one more thing. This was his choice, wasn’t it? This wasn’t some maneuvering of Carly’s; it’s his decision. He says, yes, they made the decision together. It’s what they both want. She says then she’s happy for him. They get up, and she says, just to let him know, it’s never going to be easy for her to be in the same room with Carly, but in all fairness, she thinks it works both ways. He says he appreciates her making the effort for Carly, because he knows she always makes it for him. She says she loves him. That is the one thing – no, Michael makes two – that she and Carly have in common. He says he loves her too, and they hug.

Lenny says, Mike/Sonny told him what Lenny told him; the bills for all this are on his mind. But the truth is, as soon as the doctors found that spot, there was another reason he was against her paying for everything. She wasn’t just offering money to Phyllis; Nina gave her hope. The lump they want to biopsy and explore, it’s on his pancreas. Everyone knows that’s often a death sentence. She says, often isn’t always, and I freak because I just had the same conversation with myself in my head. He says, true, but if this biopsy confirms what Dr. Kishore saw, the odds aren’t in his favor. He can get over that, but he’ll never get over someone giving his wife hope when there isn’t any.

Terry and Britt pass each other, and Britt says, Dr. Randolph, and Terry says, Dr. Westbourne. Britt says, Chief Westbourne, for now at least. They both turn toward each other, and Terry says, speaking of which, she couldn’t help but notice, Britt is having a lot of talks with Dr. Gatlin-Holt and Dr. Navarro. Britt says Terry is collecting her people, and so is she. She doesn’t like this competition either, so give it to her straight. What does she need to do to get Terry to drop out of the race? She knows Terry is only digging her heels in because she’s Team Elizabeth. So what can she do? Give Elizabeth a raise? Give more funding to Terry’s department? What? Terry says, this is the exact reason why she wants to be Chief of Staff. She’s just as qualified for the position, but she doesn’t double-deal or get into bed with scum like Cyrus Renault. She just wants what’s best for the hospital. Britt says, so does she, when Monica comes by. She asks if everything is okay, and Terry, says, perfect. Britt says, just peachy, and Monica says, good, because she’d like to see both of them in her office please. They follow Monica to her office.

Anna tells Valentin, she went to see Finn at the hospital just to update him. Valentin says, and? and she says, it was all there, in his body language, in the way he spoke, and it just made sense suddenly, the description; male, tall, light suit, dark hair to the color. That was Finn.

Elizabeth says, letting Jason in could be the solution to all of their problems, and Finn says, no thanks. If they get caught, any good will they had with the cops goes right out the window when they know you collaborated with a hitman. Elizabeth says, that’s the point. Jason doesn’t get caught. It’s his profession. Jason just happens to be walking along the ridge above them, and hears their conversation because he has supersonic ears. Elizabeth says, he’s been mixed up in multiple murders, and disappearances – of really bad people, by the way, people on par with Peter. Jason has never been convicted in any investigation. Why? Because there’s never any evidence, If anyone can get rid of this problem, it’s Jason. Finn says he doesn’t think they should risk bringing in Jason or anyone else. Peter was a threat. Now he’s not. Whatever mess that created, they clean up themselves.

Nina puts her hand on Lenny’s and says, hope is very powerful. She believes in that, and he’s very strong. She believes in him. He appreciates all the good energy, but he needs to ask something of her. He knows it’s a lot, on top of everything else she’s done, but she says he can ask her anything. He says, will she make him a promise? and she says, name it. He says, when it becomes clear that there’s no more battle to fight, she won’t let Phyllis hold on. It will just make it that much more harder when the worst happens. Can she do that for him? Phyllis asks if they’re done yakking it up, and Lenny tells her that he just had to say a proper thank you. He’s so grateful… for everything. They go in the back, and Sonny asks if Nina is okay. She says, it’s just really emotional. She feels bad that they’re going through this. One thing she’s happy about is that she’s there. She’s happy that she’s… He says, she’s home?   

Jordan walks into the new facility with Alexis, and says, someone will take her to her housing soon. That, the cafeteria, and most of the other sections are segregated by gender. Alexis points out there are men in the room, and Jordan says, except for this communal recreation area; visitations also happen there. Alexis says it’s not much worse than her freshman common room. Jordan says it definitely has much more privileges, but it’s still a prison, so she needs to be on guard. Alexis says, so the rules her prison advisor gave her still apply? and Jordan tells her not to let the cushy accommodations make her forget her place. If the warden senses this is about anything more than restitution and rehabilitation, she’ll make Alexis’s stay there difficult at best. Alexis says, and at worst? and Jordan says, she’ll take it all back, and send Alexis back to Pentenville.

Sam says she got Shawn’s voicemail, asking if she was still in the P.I. game, and he says he had a job for her. She says, let her guess. It’s to find the person who committed the crime he went to prison for. He says, and get them off the streets before they hurt someone else.

Austin says, Parent Trap. Is Trina a twin? Trina says, oh my God, and Spencer tells Nikolas, she’s trying to convince them that they’re still in love with each other. Nikolas says, she wouldn’t be wrong, and Ava asks if Trina has anything to say. Trina says she’s sorry. She knows it’s kind of juvenile. Spencer says, kind of? and Trina says she hates what it’s doing to Ava. She just wants Ava to be happy. Spencer says it’s obviously not easy for either of them, but Trina can’t play games with people’s hearts like that. She asks if he means like he is.

Valentin says it’s going to be difficult if Anna has to prove that the man she loves killed Peter, but she says they don’t know that Finn killed Peter. He says, okay, but if they assume that Finn was on the roof with Peter, then he would know how and if Peter left the hospital. It’s not impossible that Peter extorted Finn, and made Finn help with his escape, using one final dose of the antidote. Anna says, that is a possibility, but if Finn had developed the antidote, he would have come clean to her about that. Valentin says, so it’s possible Finn did something to Peter, and she says, there’s only one way to find out.

Elizabeth says she hears Finn. She understands what he’s saying, but they’re not equipped to handle this on their own. Jason continues to listen, and she says, they have no plan. Finn says he’ll make one. He just needs more time. It’s going to be okay. He has to get back to the hospital. He leaves, but Elizabeth lingers, and Jason calls to her, startling her. He says they need to talk.

Lenny opens a beer for him and Phyllis, and she says, drinking the night before surgery? He says it’s going to be a long time before his next one, and Sonny says, to Lenny. They all raise their bottles, and Lenny says, to hell with that. To family, the chosen kind. They all say, to family, clink bottles, and take a swig. Phyllis says, time to open up, and suggests Lenny help her. He says he thought she told him to take it easy. She laughs and leads him away. Sonny tells Nina, subtlety is not one of Phyllis’s strong points, and Nina says, God love her. Sonny clinks bottles with her, and says they’ve got a lot of catching up to do. How long is she staying? She says, as long as she’s needed, and he says, that could be a long time. She says, it could be.

Sam says, after what Shawn just did for her mother, there’s absolutely no way she could say no to him. She’ll do whatever he needs. She’s just going to ask her current parole officer, because she has three months before she can spend time around another convicted felon. He asks if she thinks it will be a problem, but she doesn’t think so. Her parole officer is lenient, considering. Long story. He asks when they can start, and she says, how about now? He says, the sooner they can get the ball rolling, the sooner they’ll get Hayden’s shooter.

Spencer tells Trina, don’t bother. His father knows all about how he tried pushing him and Britt together. Trina says, as long as everyone’s being honest with each other. She tells Ava, again, she’s sorry, and walks off. Spencer follows her. Nikolas asks Ava where this leaves them, and she says, right where they’ve been, in the midst of a divorce. And for her family’s safety, the six weeks can’t pass quickly enough. She goes over to Austin, and says, perfect timing. She suggests getting him another drink, and they head for the bar.

Alexis tells Jordan, she knows she’s not on a vacation. She has a lot of work to do on herself. Jordan tells her, good luck, and Alexis thanks her. A wheelchair is pushed in, and Alexis is shocked to see it’s Ryan.

Monica wants Britt and Terry to know that she’s made her first official recommendation for Chief of Staff. They look at each other.

Anna goes to Finn’s office, and he asks if she has an update on Peter’s whereabouts. She says she just might.

Jason asks Elizabeth, what’s going on? and she says, she’s fine. Really. He says, if that was true, he’d be glad, but here’s what he knows. About a week ago, she said Peter wasn’t anything they had to worry about anymore. She was about to tell him something else, and Finn walked up. Now she and Finn are in the park in the middle of a workday, talking about Peter and a mess that needs to be cleaned up. He understands she’s trying to protect Finn, but she doesn’t have to protect Finn with him. If she knows what happened to Peter, all she has to do is tell him, and he’ll help her.

On Monday, Alexis says, fancy meeting you here; Monica says they’ve made their decision; Anna says, if she followed Peter’s trail, the police won’t be far behind; and Jason asks Elizabeth to let him help.           

Million Dollar Listing New York

Ryan’s firm had been open a couple of months, and the talk of the town. Never in his wildest dreams did he think they’d grow this fast. Business was nuts. Broker Tammy in Sydney, Australia, had a client there who was looking to buy a place in NYC. They were doing it completely virtually, and Ryan thought it could set the tone for future deals. He had Tammy on one phone, and James on another to tour the apartment. James had business in the states, and decided to get an apartment there, hoping it would appreciate by the time he was ready to move. He’d emailed Ryan a list of his must-haves; 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a good location, and something between $4 and $7 million. Ryan decided to show him the 2838 square foot penthouse on West 19th Street, the flatiron district. Ryan said the apartment was an amazing triplex, built for entertaining. In addition to three floors, it had private elevator entry, 3 bedrooms and 3.5 baths, 2 gas fireplaces, built in speakers, and what Ryan introduced as, live from New York – the greatest closet ever. There was also a 1000 square foot deck with an outdoor kitchen. Purchase for $5.2 million in 2016, the asking price was now $4.5 million. After finding out Fosters is a terrible beer and that it was a misconception that all Australians drank it, James said it didn’t hit home for him. He wasn’t keen on the multi-levels, and only wanted one level. In Ryan’s interview, he said he’d hoped it was going to be a super easy and super fast decision, but that wasn’t how people worked. You needed to show them options. He supposed it was to be expected when someone was buying something from the other side of the earth.

Tyler had an offer for Whitney’s carefully styled apartment with all the fabulous wallpaper. Broker Ashley called saying she had clients who were interested, but the asking price was $4.995 million, and the offer was $3.8 million. The clients also didn’t love décor, and wanted it turned into a whitebox, with the seller footing the bill to do it. Even I was offended. In Tyler’s interview, he said his job had just been made ten times harder, and it was already hard. Whitney had said she didn’t want to sell to someone who didn’t appreciate her work, and had been very firm. The cherry on the cake was that the clients also wanted Whitney’s Tiffany safe thrown in – which was an engraved wedding gift, so the request seemed pretty odd. Tyler told assistant Kemba that it was a nearly impossible conversation with any seller, but especially a seller like Whitney. In his interview, he said he’d known it was going to be an emotional sell, and we flashed back to Whitney refusing to let people see it. It had been five months since Tyler had listed it, and it wasn’t going how he’d anticipated. He told Kemba that he was about to get his ass handed to him, and she told him, go work his magic.

Fredrik met with Kelly Bensimon, who he called a true New Yorker. She’s been a supermodel, socialite, Housewife, and was now a lecturing broker. He told her that he’d missed the energy of New York. It was hard to believe, he’d been a nobody when he started 15 years ago. Developer Cliff called, and we flashed back to Cliff saying he’d extend the listing deal for the East 10th Street penthouse if Fredrik agreed to live there. In Fredrik’s interview, he said his Instagram post had gotten a lot of attention, and he’d done a lot of showings, but the price was too high at $15 million. He told Cliff that was the feedback he was getting; it was a challenging market. He knew it wasn’t what Cliff wanted to hear, but thought they should make a big price reduction, asking Cliff to lower it to $9.995. Cliff balked, saying he’d be taking a 33% hit. Fredrik promised not to counter anything under that, and if it didn’t sell in three months, Cliff could find another broker. He thought the price was fair market value. Cliff hesitantly and reluctantly agreed, but told Fredrik not to call with anything not close to $10 million. In Fredrik’s interview, he said he was breathing, eating, sleeping, pooping, and showering at East 10th. Kelly said she was going to be a full-time empty nester. It was crazy, but exciting, and she was branching out; doing business in L.A. and Florida, and a developer friend had brought her in on the listing for a $33 million commercial penthouse. In his interview, Fredrik said Kelly was ambitious, which was the key to success in real estate. Kelly said she’d been thinking about possibilities, and wanted to work with Fredrik in a bigger capacity, being part of his team. He asked why she hadn’t come to him two years ago, and she said she thought she would get her feet wet and make mistakes at a smaller boutique firm. Fredrik is a shark, and she was a minnow. He said it wasn’t possible because she worked at Douglas Elliman, and he’d promised not to hire anyone form there. He said if she was serious go to Howard the owner, and if he gave his blessing, Fredrik would work with her.

Next, Ryan was showing James 20 West 53rd Street. He said when he first met James, James had few must-haves, but the list kept growing. Today, he was showing James a $6.5 million apartment with 2 bedrooms and 2 baths, in a central location that was one level, and he could see the park. He hoped that was it. KJ met him there, and congratulated him on his new firm. In her interview, she said it was incredible what Ryan had done in such a short time period, competing against big brokerages. He inspired and motivated her by what he’d done. Her sellers were overseas, and not coming back any time soon. They’d be taking a hit, but thought that was smarter than racking up fees and monthly taxes. Ryan called James, telling him that the apartment was off Fifth Avenue, and across from MOMA. He said the asking price was $6.25, even though the owner was in it for $6.5 million. James said their loss was his gain. Tammy aooeared on Ryan’s other phone, but this time KJ was there to help. The apartment was 1843 square feet on one level, had a gourmet kitchen with quartz counters and luxury appliances. Ryan said the finishes were the nicest in NYC. In Ryan’s interview, she said the Baccarat hotel was dripping with glitzy finishes, and they’d designed the apartment. He showed James the motorized shades, Lido white marble bathroom with radiant floor heating, and the second bathroom with Siberian marble. There was no outdoor space, but it was in the same building as the hotel, so the owner would have use of the amenities like the pool and gym. James said he wasn’t much of a razzle-dazzle guy, and Baccarat didn’t do much for him. It was a bit of a gamble, and he wasn’t wowed. He wanted to be wowed, and it was far from optimal. In his interview, Ryan said it was a buyer’s market, but NYC wasn’t like Build-a-Bear. You couldn’t pick the features and have them come together like a $4 to $7 million stuffed animal. The term for buyers who were super picky was picky Peters, and James was one of them. We also found out that James had a pet wallaby, which he said was uncommon in Australia. Ryan said they were totally common in NYC.

Fredrik still had the 8th floor apartment in the same building as the penthouse, with the asking price of $6.4 million, and it was getting lots of traction. Tyler’s client Andrea had made an offer of $4.5 million, and he was going to try to get Tyler to bring the offer up. Tyler met Fredrik at the apartment, and said Tyler’s offer was low, very low, but Tyler said the asking price was high. In Tyler’s interview, he said he was very aware they were coming in substantially lower than the asking price, but he was also aware that the penthouse had just been reduced by $5 million. He told Fredrik that the asking price was high for a good market. On its best day, the apartment would fetch $5 million, and this was not New York City’s best day. Fredrik told Tyler that his client had to come up with their best and final offer, because they weren’t countering anything too low. Tyler called his client, and in his interview, he said that with an apartment that had been on the market for three years like this one, the sellers could get desperate, and the buyer could get lucky with an aggressive offer. He told Andrea that $4.3 would start a conversation, and the apartment had checked all the boxes. Tyler told Fredrik that Andrea’s budget was maxed out at $4.3 million (don’t you wish yours was?), and Fredrik said he’d get back to Tyler, but knew it wasn’t going to happen. In Tyler’s interview, he said it was a buyer’s market, so they’d wait and see. Status, quietly optimistic.

KJ met agent Kim at the Hudson office, and prepared a spread for the owners of the Post Road house. She told Kim that she was glad the clients were coming in person, since the market outside of the city wasn’t going to last. In KJ”s interview, she said, since the open house, she’d had no other bites, and the first offer was usually the best. She and Kim would be pushing to make the deal happen. Co-owner Ravi showed up, and although his wife was at work, she was available via the phone. The asking price was $3.8 million, and the offer was $3.4 million. Ravi said an offer of $400K less didn’t seem serious, and was almost insulting. In her interview, KJ said it was significant, but not insult. She explained that a low opening bid gave them room for negotiation, and they’d priced to negotiate. In NYC they called it a low anchor. She thought they could definitely get them to come up. Ravi wondered if they’d be missing a better opportunity, since it had just been listed, but Kim said, if something was on the market for more than two or three weeks, it was overpriced. KJ said it was a good moment in the market, but they didn’t know how long it would last. In her interview, she said, there could be a point where the next bid was lower because the market shifted. Ravi called Lisa, and said Kim and KJ made good points. Buyers had been coming in droves, but that could change tomorrow. A bird in the hand. KJ said a fast offer meant they loved the house, and if they came back with a counter offer, it showed they were willing to work with the buyer. Ravi said there was no way he wanted to nickel and diming, and thought they should come back with a single counter that demonstrated they were serious about selling. Lisa asked what KJ thought, and KJ said $3.650. It would be better than they’re expecting, and she thought they’d take it. In her interview, KJ said she’d been on the other side, where there were no bids, and it was hard to do a deal. A lot of deal died mid-negotiation. Ravi made it clear if the buyer didn’t agree, they were walking away. Kim called her buyer, and said they weren’t unhappy, but took a lot, She told them the sellers weren’t interested in nickel and diming, and agreed to $3.65 million. KJ’s commission was $54,750, and in her interview, she said, it was like graduating again with honors. Her first Rye sale.

Tyler looked at an apartment in Tribeca, not for a client, but for himself. He’d been in Hell’s Kitchen for twelve years when covid hit, and he gave it up and went to the Hamptons. The virus had him craving a new beginning. Wesaw a clip of him getting all nostalgic over his now empty apartment, and he said it was a necessary step in order for the next beautiful thing to happen. It had been sold, and he had to be out two weeks. The apartment was 1543 square feet, 2 bedrooms and 3 baths, had skyline views, a walk-in closet, and a sleek modern kitchen. Tyler said it was glamor with a touch of humility. The rent was $12,500 a month. Yeah, I know. Whitney called, and Tyler said he was excited to say he had an offer, just not one he wanted to share with her. He told her that it was $3.8 million, which she found literally offensive, and she was obviously shocked over the buyer wanting the safe. She said, if her forehead moved, her eyebrows would have gone way up. In Tyler’s interview, he said he initially thought the apartment’s unique flair would help get it sold, and it was not for any old buyer, but he brought in expert to find out what it would cost to turn it back into a whitebox. The appraisal was $8-10K, which confirmed what Tyler suspected; it was time to pivot. He told Whitney that they needed to re-strategize, and suggested taking it off the market for the summer. Anything that was on the market for too long, would cause people to think there was a problem. He told her to enjoy it for one last season, then pack up her stuff, and they’d turn it into a blank canvas, and find a boring buyer. In his interview, he said he was giving Whitney news that was tough to hear, but he thought she knew he was trying to help her. She said she was going to spray paint Whitney Forever on one of the walls. He said it went better than he’d hoped, and the takeaway was that he had strong relationships with buyers. Whitney knew he valued her. In his experience, it wasn’t about a quick commission, but relationships. They lasted longer than money.

Ryan told us, clearly James had more requirements than he’d let on. It was his right, but Ryan had to regroup, and find new listings matching those requirements. Avi had requested Ryan meet with him at the development in Brooklyn. It had been a few months, and when they’d last met, the building and the conversation had been unfinished. A lot was in place now, and he hoped he would be in place as the broker. Avi told him, the uncertainty of the election was gone, and covid had made things challenging. They’d had good progress on the building, but still took a hit, so they were going with rentals. It was a financial decision since they were in this for a quarter billion dollars. Seeing his $8 million commission disappear, Ryan admitted maybe he’d do the same if he was in Avi’s position. Avi said Ryan had just launched, and wasn’t ready for a building that size. In Ryan’s interview, he said he could rent in his sleep. Avi said as Ryan matured, the more rentals he could do in a building of that size and stature. Ryan said, in a couple of months? but Avi said, sorry. He’d hired someone else. In his interview, Ryan said he’d worked on the building for two years. He’d been there from the beginning, and thought it was going to be an $8 million end. Avi said he still wanted Ryan involved, and Ryan wondered if Avi wanted him to be the doorman. Avi said he wouldn’t be leasing the building, but he wanted Ryan to be part of the marketing using Serhant Studios. They would be doing all the marketing for the building exclusively. Avi showed Ryan the duplex with 20 foot ceilings. He said once Ryan proved that he could run marketing, social, and creative, when brokers saw his success story, they’d come to him for everything, not just sales. In Ryan’s interview, he said part of him wanted to sulk, but it was good for him too. A test case that would help on future projects they did sales and leasing for. They shook on the deal.

Ryan said he chose to look at the situation as a happy accident that would help him grow his business. Challenge accepted.

Next time, KJ learns about TikTok, and Fredrik looks for properties for young people kicked out of their homes because of homophobia and transphobia.

🍵 Insert Tea Here…

It’s been a week, but I promise you an entire pot of tea next time.

⛳️ Quotes of the Week

An invisible thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but it will never break. May you be open to each thread that comes into your life – the golden ones and the coarse ones – and may you weave them into a brilliant and beautiful life. – Unknown

You have a right to experiment with your life. You will make mistakes. And they are right too. No, I think there was too rigid a pattern. You came out of an education and are supposed to know your vocation. Your vocation is fixed, and maybe ten years later you find you are not a teacher anymore or you’re not a painter anymore. It may happen. It has happened. I mean Gauguin decided at a certain point he wasn’t a banker anymore; he was a painter. And so he walked away from banking. I think we have a right to change course. But society is the one that keeps demanding that we fit in and not disturb things. They would like you to fit in right away so that things work now. – Anaïs Nin

🎻 Fiddle-Dee-Dee…

I would say TGIF, but my long week is only continuing through the weekend. Hopefully, things will be back to whatever passes for normal here next week, and we’ll have tea and maybe even a scone with that. Until then, stay safe, stay holding your head high, and stay not parent trapping unless you’re a twin.

August 17, 2020 – Ava Is Defaced, Hannah Is Confronted, Malia Is Still the Worst & Runnin’

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

At the MetroCourt, Brook asks Carly for a black Russian, but Carly suggests sparkling water instead. After Brook and Lulu trashed the place, she has a vested interest in not overserving Brook. Brook thinks there might be another reason, and Carly says, why? Brook says Michael is out as CEO of ELQ, and it might possibly, conceivably be her fault.

Anna tells Finn, someday, he has to put aside his differences with his father and stepmother. Finn says he would like Violet to have a relationship with her grandfather – someday. She asks if the wedding couldn’t be that day. His father could have been at Violet’s birthday. Finn sees Chase coming toward their table, and says, Violet also had her Uncle Chase there. What’s better than that? He tells Chase, sit; he’ll buy Chase a beer. Chase says, he just had  two. He left his credit card, and came back to pick it up. Finn says he’ll get Chase a Shirley Temple then. They’ve got a wedding going on. Chase says, okay, assuming he’s on the list. Finn says he’s the first alternate if someone cancels, but Anna says he’s in. She’s got him down for a plus one. Would that be Sasha?

Ava says she was going to make a speech, but what she’d planned on saying doesn’t seem important anymore. So she’ll just say she was so happy when Franco agreed to paint her portrait, and she’s proud to share it with them tonight. Without further ado… Franco lifts the covering, and everyone look shocked. Ava backs away, and Elizabeth shakes her head. Ava has a gorilla face, and there’s a graffiti tag on the painting. Franco says he didn’t paint this, and Ava says she knows he didn’t. Elizabeth says she knows Franco isn’t responsible, but guess who is. She looks at Ava.

Carly asks what Brook is talking about. Michael just got full custody of Wiley. Brook says, awesome; congratulations. Carly asks if Michael was voted out while he was in court, and Brook says, unfortunately, yes. Carly says, Brook voted against Michael, but Brook says, no; never. Carly asks how it can be her fault, and Brook says she sold her ELQ shares to Linc to get out of her contract, but he was just a front. Valentin now has controlling interest, with 50% of the shares. Because he backed Deception, Lucy voted with him as the tie-breaker. Carly says, Valentin pushed Michael out? and Valentin approaches, saying, no hard feelings. Michael didn’t do a bad job, but he’ll do better. Carly says she should throw Valentin out, but she’d rather take his money until Michael takes back his company, and he will. She says, Valentin and Brook can take a table far away. Brook tells Valentin that he can apologize any time. He destroyed her relationship with her family, especially her father. Deception is an unknown quantity, and could possibly fail, plus he handed GH over to a drug lord. He owes her a major apology.

Anna asks Chase how the custody hearing went, and he says Michael and Willow officially have sole custody of Wiley. Everything worked out the way it should, but he stopped to talk about the wedding. He supposes all of the guests are hers, since his brother is anti-social and only knows three people. Anna asks who the third is, and Chase asks if Finn is inviting their dad.

Elizabeth tells Ava to admit she did this, but Ava says she commissioned Franco to paint it; why would she destroy it? Elizabeth says it would make headlines, and Ava asks if Elizabeth thinks she wants this vandalism publicized. Elizabeth says Ava keeps saying, there’s no such thing as bad press, and here’s her crowning achievement. She wanted to show the world Franco is back and bad as ever. Ava says it’s a baseless accusation, and Franco says that’s not who Ava is. Elizabeth says, it’s exactly who she is. Look how she treated Kiki. She’s manipulated every person in town, and now she’s manipulating him. He says Ava chose him as a favor; to show the world he’s still making art. Not to mention she paid a pretty penny for it. Elizabeth says, she’d rather be broke than play along with this joke. Nikolas approaches, and starts to say something about Elizabeth, but Franco says he doesn’t get to be the guy who tells him anything about his wife. Ava says she’d like it if everyone would leave, and Maxie says, oh man. Just when it was getting good. Franco asks if Ava is okay, and she says, no; she’s not.

Peter and Maxie go to the MetroCourt, and Carly asks if they shouldn’t be at the unveiling. Maxie says, it didn’t exactly go as planned, and Peter says, there was a little bit of drama. When Franco removed the drape, the painting had been vandalized. Ava threw them all out, so they came in for a drink. Carly goes over to Jax and Nina’s table, and Nina asks if Michael has heard from the court yet. Carly says they got the best possible news ever. Michael and Willow got full custody, and Nelle didn’t even get visitation.

Franco tells Ava, the paint is still wet. Three hours ago it was perfect. She asks if he thinks it can be salvaged, and he says he can get rid of the spray paint, but… She says he’s not optimistic? but he says, it’s not that. No matter how hard he tries, his past has left a mark he can’t shake. Dustin asks Lulu if she has any idea who might have done it, and she says, Elizabeth might be right. Ava has a propensity for drama, but then again, so does Nikolas. Ava tells Franco, not in a million years would she do this, and he says he knows. She says she gave a platform to whoever did. She gave this party to show that she and Nikolas were a power couple, and look how it turned out. The best thing for her to do would be to cut her losses, and go home.

Nikolas finds Elizabeth on the parapet, and Elizabeth says if he expects an apology, he’s going to be disappointed. He says she has nothing to be sorry for, and she says, but he doesn’t think Ava did it, does he? He says he would never sing Ava’s praises. She’s selfish and vindictive, but she’s not dangerous, and he can’t imagine she’d paint a monkey over her own portrait. Elizabeth says, if he doesn’t think Ava is dangerous, he’s wrong. If he’s not careful, Ava will destroy what good is left in him.

Anna tells Chase, it’s so funny. They were just having that discussion. She thinks it’s time Violet met her grandfather, but his brother disagrees. She says, look at the time. She hopes Chase has better luck persuading Finn, and jets. Finn says, let’s hear it, and Chase says he’s only going to say what he always says. His dad and stepmom have been married for a decade; it’s time to let the hurt go. If not for Finn’s own sake, for Violet. Finn asks if there was a group meeting; Chase sounds like Anna. He’s not opposed to working things out, but he thinks doing it at a wedding would be poor form. Chase says, now he’s thinking maybe Finn shouldn’t invite their dad.

Peter tells Maxie, now they have an early night, so she can get some rest before Deception’s big launch at the Nurses Ball. It’s going to have major impact, so he’s glad they can celebrate before she’ll be too busy to see him. She doesn’t say anything, and he tells her, it’s her big moment. Why doesn’t she feel more excited?

Valentin says, Brook could have warned her father when she knew he bought the shares, but Brook says he offered to jumpstart her career, and she needed that. She did her research, and knows he worked a miracle at Cassadine Industries, bringing them back from the brink. ELQ is in good shape, but he can make it better, which is a gift to her family, whether they recognize it or not. He says that’s why he’s not bailing out the hospital, but she says he left the door open to a drug lord. He says, Cyrus was exonerated, and she says, so was he. Does that make him any less guilty? He says, touché, but if Cyrus is as bad as she says, Sonny will take care of the situation. She asks what he knows about Sonny, and he says he knows if Cyrus is a threat, he’ll be removed. Either by a tragic accident or he’ll go missing. He knows in time, GH will be grateful.

Carly brings Nina and Jax her best champagne, with her compliments. Nina says Carly should be celebrating with Willow and Michael, but Carly says, it was Nina’s testimony that showed Nelle for who she was. It’s an understatement to say it was important to the case. Jax asks if Nelle was denied visitation permanently, or can it be amended later?

Valentin tells Brook, he’s sorry she’s being held responsible for his presence in ELQ, but she says, controlling interest is more than a presence. He says, by the time she realized, it would have been too late, but she kept quiet, which shows good faith. He’s going to show good faith too. The Nurses Ball is a good start, and she deserves it.

Maxie tells Peter, at the risk of jinxing it, she thinks tomorrow will go well, but it’s still nerve wracking. If something goes wrong, it’s on her. Peter says, the bigger the production, the bigger the chance someone screwing up, and she says, exactly. They’re in a good place now. Georgie is living nearby, and Peter is bonding with her and James. Big changes are coming, and she doesn’t want anything coming between them. They’ve worked hard to get where they are. Peter says nothing is going to stop them, and she says she has something to tell him. Anna asks if she can join them.

Finn asks Chase where that came from. History has shown he’s always on their dad’s side. Chase says he’s a coward. He hasn’t told their dad that he and Willow broke up. He’d told their dad that Willow was probably the one. How is going to tell him that he broke her heart?

Lulu tells Dustin that her mother was hoping Nikolas was taking a turn for the better. How is she going to tell Laura about the plot Nikolas was working on? Nikolas just told her that he and Spencer teamed up to protect their inheritance. They want to make Ava feel guilty about Spencer rejecting his father, so she agrees to divorce Nikolas without taking the money. What if it works? Nikolas gets everything he wants, and his son inherits a fortune through manipulation. What lesson will that teach Spencer? Dustin says, do whatever it takes to win, and she says, exactly (WOTD). Which brings her to the spray painted graffiti. What if Nikolas is responsible? She doesn’t want to believe it, but she can’t put anything past her. She wanted to talk to him, but maybe they should just go. They leave.

Ava comes out, and says, damn you, Nikolas Cassadine. I go into shock because she doesn’t have a martini in her hand. Yet.

Nikolas wonders if he can ask Elizabeth a question, and she says, only if it’s multiple choice. He asks why she didn’t arrive with Franco, and she says she wasn’t coming at all. She believes in his talent, but hates anything that harkens back to hid bad boy days. He’s not that man anymore, and they’ve worked hard to create a solid, healthy family life. He asks if the boys are okay with Franco, and she says, there were issues with Cameron at the beginning, but the boys adore him, and Franco is devoted to them. Ironically, Franco took Ava’s commission so he could set aside money for Cameron’s tuition. Nikolas asks if she wishes now that Franco had never taken the commission, and she says, it’s bad enough Ava was generating publicity with his past, but to watch Franco go along with it… It was painful to watch him embrace this version of himself, after the years he spent convincing the world he’s changed.

Ava yells for Nikolas, asking where he is. Franco asks if she’s seen Elizabeth, and she asks if he’s sure she didn’t leave. Elizabeth wasn’t happy with anything that happened tonight. He says he’s sorry. He knows she had high hopes for tonight, and it didn’t turn out the way she wanted it to. He does have some good news. He’s pretty sure he can restore the painting. She says she can’t think of think of anything but her lying traitor of a husband. He asks what she’s going to do now, and she says, it doesn’t matter. She plans to remedy the situation permanently.

Peter tells Anna that he was just about to grab some drinks. Maxie says, nothing for her; she has an early start tomorrow. Anna says she does too, and Maxie tells him, go ahead. It will give them time for girl talk. He leaves, and Anna asks if Maxie is okay. She’s been quiet.

Finn says Chase should tell their dad that he was trying to do the right thing. He made a sacrifice so Michael and Willow could get custody of Wiley. Chase says he can’t tell their dad; the fewer people who know, the better. If the truth gets back to the judge, it could jeopardize everything. Finn says, Chase hasn’t told Willow that he never had an affair?

Dustin asks if Lulu thinks Peter will have her do a write-up, and she says she does remember too well what Franco was like before. Dustin says, it was tragic, but he was still a genius; a brilliant, revolutionary artist. She says, that’s right. He doesn’t know. She was one of Franco’s targets. He says, sorry. He had no idea. Brook comes up to them, and says she thought Dustin had her back and they were collaborating. He says, they are, and she says she called, but he didn’t answer. Lulu says, he’s not a border collie who will run to her when she calls. He says he’s there now; tell him what happened. She says her father kicked her out.

Carly tells Jax, the judge said he might reconsider if Nelle becomes a super productive citizen, but they know that’s not going to happen. Jax says, a weight has been lifted. Nelle has no power over any of them now. Carly tells him, they say it takes a village to care for a child, but it takes a village to protect a child. Wiley is home safe. She toasts to everyone who made it possible, and they clink glasses.

Dustin asks why Ned kicked Brook out, and Lulu asks, how? It’s Monica’s house. Unless Monica agreed. Brook says, it seems like no one can make mistakes anymore, and Lulu asks, what mistake Brook made.

Elizabeth tells Nikolas, Franco isn’t the first artist to be susceptible to fame and want their work admired, or the first to compromise. But he can realize it, and turn this thing around. Hopefully Nikolas can too. Nikolas says, excuse me? and she says, Ava blackmailed him into marriage, but he doesn’t have to stay. Ava will burn him in the end. He tells her, trust him; he has a plan. She says his last plan kept him away for years. She asks him to come home for real, to the people who really know him. They all miss him. He asks, what about her? Does she miss him? She says he knows she does. He’s been a huge part of her life. Nikolas starts to lean in, presumably for a kiss, and she says she needs to find Franco. Think about what she said, and get away from Ava before it’s too late. She goes back inside, and he sighs. He’s not as good at it as Jason though.

Ava tells Franco that he doesn’t know what her deceptive husband and his son cooked up. They’ve been working together. She overheard him talking to Lulu, and he and Spencer are working to make her feel so guilty, she agrees to divorce him, and waive her rights to his fortune. Nikolas has been plotting against her since they said I do. He sabotaged her redecorating, put a snake in her handbag, and now he’s vandalized her portrait. He literally defaced her. He embarrassed her in front of her guests, and is using his son to manipulate her. Franco says, this is toxic. She needs to get out. She and Nikolas hate each other. She needs to stop punishing herself, and walk away. She says, if she leaves, she’ll lose everything. He asks what she’ll lose. Money? This creepy island doesn’t suit her. Doesn’t she miss the penthouse and her life? What does it matter if what she’s keeping is killing her? She asks, who’s waiting for her? Nobody. He says she’s got her brother, and Avery. She says Avery doesn’t live with her, and her brother is involved in his own life. Face it, without Kiki, she’s completely alone, except for Nikolas. She might hate him, but even that’s better than the emptiness. Franco says he doesn’t know much, but he knows she’ll never be alone. She’ll always have him. Ava asks how she’ll always have Franco? He has Elizabeth. He says he does, and he should find her. Take his advice, and go also. Ava says, another dream bites the dust, and walks away. Franco looks at the portrait.

Lulu says Brook sold her ELQ shares without discussing it with the family? She thought that was the number one rule with the Quartermaines. Brook says Lulu is acting like she sold them to buy tickets to Coachella (not this year). She had an iron clad contract with a sexual harasser. She’d think she would be respected for her creative solution to the problem. Dustin says all Brook had were bad options. Lulu doesn’t begrudge Brook the extreme measures she used to get away from that creep Linc, but she could have given the family a heads up, so they weren’t blindsided. Brook says, like Lulu did when she published the article that cost the Quartermaines a fortune? Lulu gets the gold medal for being a hypocrite every time.

Jax steps away to take a call, and Carly tells Nina that she never believed in silver linings, but if Michael, Willow, and Wiley stay together and they’re happy, it will be worth the pain Nelle caused.

On the phone, Jax says he hopes it’s good news. Is there any information on the necklace?

Finn says he gets Chase not wanting to jeopardize the case, but he’s not going to hold a press conference. Come clean to Willow. Chase says he’d like nothing more, but Nelle will never give up. If Michael reunites with Sasha, Nelle will go straight to the judge. Finn asks if this is going to keep going indefinitely.

Maxie tells Anna that she’s fine; just a teensy bit overwhelmed. She’s the boss, and the one in charge. Georgie is living near Port Charles now, and she can’t stop thinking about having to juggle responsibilities. Deception and her kids are both going to want all her time. Plus Peter. She’s scared she’s going to let someone down. Anna says, don’t worry. Of course (🍷) she’ll let someone down.

Elizabeth looks at the portrait, and Franco says he thought she went home, but she says she just needed fresh air, and some time to think. He says he’s really sorry he made things tense. He shouldn’t have let anything come between them. She says they both need to communicate better. He says, maybe, but when she said she couldn’t be there, it hurt. He makes jokes, but feeling that she’s by his side shows the world he’s okay. She says she wants to support him and his art, but she’s not comfortable with exploiting his past. It troubles her that he went along with it.

Ava finds Nikolas getting ready to change, and he asks if everyone is gone. She says she doesn’t know and doesn’t care. She overheard him talking to his sister about his plan with Spencer. They’re teaming up against her. Too bad, because it was working. She was actually considering letting him go, and forgetting her right to the settlement. But that’s changed. He doesn’t deserve a dime, and she’ll see to it that he doesn’t get a single penny. She might hate him, but she’s not going anywhere. Nikolas says he hates her, and Spencer hates her. He hates this sick, demented carnival ride. How long does she plan to torture him? It’s going to be a long, lonely wait. After what he’s gone through, he’s not giving up. She wonders how long before he has the nearest girl in his bed? and he wonders how  long before she has a stable hand in her bed? She says she doesn’t need anyone, but he says, she’s chronically needy. She tells him, he’s outmatched. By this time, they’ve moved pretty close to each other, and they kiss.

Maxie asks if Anna thinks she’ll disappoint everyone she loves, but Anna says she’s not saying that because she think Maxie wants to or is a bad person. It will happen because she’s human. The whole idea of having it all is a demented ploy by advertisers that’s taken on a life of its own. Something is bound to fall through the cracks. She needs to find balance. She can’t have the right answer to everything all the time. Anna says she speaks from experience. She had to choose between her daughter and her career. Maxie doesn’t think Anna’s super spy work is the same as setting up a photo shoot, but Anna says she’s not talking about the type of work. She means the compromises all women make; weighing what’s right for them and what’s right for their kids. Whatever works for Maxie is hers, and no one else should judge. If anyone tries, they’ll have to go through Anna first.

Finn tells Chase he knows less about women than anyone on the planet, but if Chase is going to do something, do it soon. The closer Michael becomes to investing in Willow as Wiley’s mom, the harder it will be to get her back. Chase says, it’s not about him or what he wants, but what’s best for Wiley. And what’s best for Wiley is not breaking up the family. Finn hopes Chase knows what he’s doing. The longer he keeps the secret, the more likely it is to destroy his relationship for good. Chase says he appreciates Finn’s honesty, but he has to go.

Peter says, Maxie had something she wanted to tell him? but Maxie says, no. She changed her mind.

Anna asks Finn how it went with his brother. Finn says, Chase is an idiot. Sweet, and honorable to a fault, but still an idiot.

Lulu says, it’s unfortunately Ned threw Brook out, but if she’d been honest, she might have saved ELQ, and certainly would have saved the hospital in the process. She walks away, and Brook tells Dustin, there’s more to it. She was between a rock and a hard place. Dustin says, it was a bad choice, but that doesn’t make her a bad person.

Carly asks if Valentin is ready to settle his tab, and he asks if he can buy her drink. She says she doesn’t think so, and he says, Michael will be fine. He’s remarkably capable for a rich kid. She asks if that’s supposed to be a complement, but he says, it’s insight. People with money often underestimate their own strengths. She says, Michael might have been raised with money, but he’s seen his share of adversity. He knows life rarely goes as planned, and adapts and adjusts. He did with the custody case, and he’ll do the same to get rid of Valentin. Valentin asks if that’s what she’s celebrating with Jax and Nina, and she says Jax and Nina are definitely a couple. He says, for now.

Nina asks Jax if everything is okay, and he says they have a second occasion to toast. His jewelry contact thinks she can trace the necklace. Nina might have a lead on her missing child.

Elizabeth says Franco is a new person, and she thinks his art should reflect that. Franco says, okay, but art doesn’t live in a vacuum. She says, she’d think he’d fight for the piece to stand on its own merit, and he says, ten years ago, he would have loved it; spray paint as opposed to oil, and graffiti over a portrait. He would have done a whole series like it. She asks if he’s thinking that way because the bad boy is back in the limelight. He says he’s not answering that right now. Any answer he gives her is an excuse to have an argument, and he doesn’t want to. Elizabeth suggests they call a truce, and he says, right now, he’s going to fix it. She says he’s going to work after what they said? He says, now’s the time to get it clean. She tells him, good luck with that. Clean away, but he can’t change the past.

Ava asks how dare Nikolas. He says she kissed him. She tells him that she can manage without sex, or anything else. She walks out, closing the door behind her, and leans on the wall in the hallway. Nikolas is like, hmm… and I think he liked it.

Tomorrow, the 2020 Nurses Ball begins, Robert is keeping his options open, Valentin is rising to the occasion, and all of them are wearing Nurses Ball T-shirts instead of glam.

Below Deck Mediterranean

Time to get irritated, followed by RHOBH and more irritation tomorrow. While I get what happened, I still have some thoughts that I’ll post at the end.

Captain Sandy gets first mate David. She wants him in her office to follow protocol. She asks Hannah to come sit down. She says it’s been brought to her attention has drugs on board. Hannah says, her valium? and the captain says, It was laid out with her pot pen in her cabin. Hannah says, that was in her bag from L.A. The captain says she has to do a disciplinary action, and go through it by the book. The violations are posted in the laundry room. If Hannah has a prescription, she needs to bring it. They can’t go to sea otherwise. She tells Hannah to get her valium and pot pen, and bring it in. Hannah says she hasn’t taken anything since she’s been on board. We flash back to Hannah going into the bathroom, this time, clearly seeing she has the valium in her hand.  The captain says she has to do this by the book, and can’t ignore this. I’ve never heard of a pot pen before. It’s not a vaping device, so wth?

Everyone goes about their business. Hannah goes to get her valium. David says the marijuana pen on the boat is a no-no, and if Hannah can’t come up with a prescription for the valium, it’s grounds for dismissal. Captain Sandy says she needs to make sure noting is being destroyed, and jets to Hannah’s cabin. She opens the bathroom door, where Hannah has her pants half down. Hannah asks if she can’t go to the bathroom, and the captain says, please give her all the drugs. Hannah hands them over, and the captain says, this is all she has? Nothing else? Hannah says that’s it, and the captain asks if she has a prescription, but Hannah says she doesn’t. She tells Captain Sandy that she needs to pee, and the captain says she wants to get through this quickly. They have a charter starting. In Tom’s interview, he obliviously says he’s preparing for a great first day. He’s excited. Hannah goes back into the captain’s office, and asks what she should she do. Captain Sandy says, at this point with everything going on, with her hyperventilating at 4 am on the floor with Malia, right now she can’t go sea with Hannah. She has clients she’s responsible for. Hannah gets up, and the captain says, let her finish. She has the utmost compassion, but she’s going to finish the season with the crew. It’s not worth it. She’s a captain, and worked hard for her license. She doesn’t want to risk it. There’s too much going on. Hannah asks if she can have her valium, and the captain hands it back. Hannah says she’ll pack now. Hannah leaves, barely batting an eye, and Captain Sandy ponders.

Tom asks Hannah how it’s going. She breezes past, saying she’s not talking; sorry. Hannah asks Rob to grab her suitcase. Jess sees Hannah go to the dock. In Captain Sandy’s interview, she says it’s hard when she has to let someone go, but maritime law is no tolerance. They have to be drug free. If a plane has an emergency landing, the attendants are responsible for the guests. If they have a catastrophe on board, the chief stew has to gather the guests and keep them calm. If she didn’t address this, and something happened, she’d go to jail, the boat would be incarcerated, and she’d lose her license. What Hannah did was illegal. On shore, Hannah calls Josh. Rob tells Jess that he thinks Hannah quit. Jess says, it could get bad. Hannah tells Josh that the captain heard she had an anxiety attack, and it’s too risky to go out to sea with her. She tries to shake the cameras, and tells Josh, now she’s a drug addict and the worst person in the world. She’s over it; it’s utter bullsh*t. She’ll call him back. Captain Sandy finds Hannah, and says that her hands are tied legally, but personally she doesn’t want to drive out to sea with how Hannah has been lately. Hannah says she had an anxiety attack, and the captain says she has drugs on the boat. If they go to sea, she’s responsible. Hannah says, it’s utter bullsh*t, and the captain says, if that’s how she wants to see it. On the boat, Rob tells Jess that he thinks Hannah quit. Bugs looks for Hannah.

Captain Sandy tells Hannah that she cares about her, and Hannah says, okay, in that way it’s not okay. The captain asks if Hannah doesn’t think so, and Hannah says she doesn’t. The captain says, if she’d wanted Hannah off the boat, she didn’t have to use this. She could have fired Hannah last year, or the year before. If Hannah wants to make it about this, and say she doesn’t care, it’s fine with her; she won’t care. She officially doesn’t effing care. Hannah can pack and go now. Captain Sandy calls Malia to the bridge, and says she’s releasing Hannah from her contract due to the findings. She’s not comfortable going out to sea; it’s a threat to the season. Bugs asks Hannah if she should unpack the alcohol, and Hannah says she doesn’t care. In her interview, the captain says, she feels for Hannah, but it’s her job. If a guest gets wasted, and breaks a leg, and Hannah fails a test, there could be a lawsuit. She tells Malia, obviously, people are noticing. If they come to her, tell them the captain is going to have a meeting. Bugsy will be chief stew. Jess says, God help us all. Bugsy wonders what happened. Jess finds Hannah, who says she has valium, and the captain doesn’t feel safe. Jess asks how the captain knew, and Hannah says, Malia probably took a photo. It’s a dog-eat-dog world in this industry. In Hannah’s interview, she says, Malia is like a snake. They have a checkered past. We flash back to that, and Hannah says they’ve been getting along well this season, but Malia just went down to the gutter. She tells Jess, Bugs will be chief stew, and Jess says, she’s so neurotic. The next charter is going to be psycho. Hannah says, she’s all yours.

Two hours before charter. Bugs asks Hannah, what happened? and Hannah says she doesn’t know. She has a prescription for valium. Hannah smiles at Malia, and says, apparently you can get fired for having anxiety attacks. She has a legal CBD pen, and a prescription for valium, but the captain thinks it’s too much of a risk because she’s unstable. Malia asks if Hannah registered her prescription with the boat, but Hannah says she doesn’t remember. Maliah makes a noise like she’s not buying that. Hannah says goodbye to Alex, and tells Tom, it was nice to meet him. Good luck with the charter. Jess follows Hannah out. In Tom’s interview, he says, it’s a great first day. Hannah has a cigarette on the dock. In her interview, she says, so this is how it ends. Malia tells the deckhands that Captain Sandy is having a meeting. In Hannah’s interview, she says, she’s aware of maritime law; she’s been in yachting for years. It was a mistake on her part not to declare what she has, but she thinks she’s been ready to make a hasty exit for a few years now. She doesn’t like leaving like this. She hates leaving on a dark, horrible note, but doesn’t regret her time in yachting. It’s part of who she is as a human being and always will be. She had the highest of highs – we flash back to the fun times – and the lowest of lows – we flash back to some miserable times. She says she’s done with the heart attack, but would have preferred to end on a high – not literally. She thinks the next chapter is going to be so much better, even though yachting was fantastic.

Rob wants to make a pact that no one else leaves. Jess says she’ll need to get fired; she’s not quitting. Malia says, that’s the spirit. Captain Sandy asks to see Bugs. Alex wonders, who’s next? The captain tells Bugs, obviously, Hannah is no longer on board, and asks if Bugs is okay with being chief stew. She’ll get someone for her next charter, and the deck will help. She just wants to make sure Bugs is up to the task. She doesn’t want the chatter about Hannah to effect Bugs. Bugs says Malia explained some things, but it’s not for her to know. She’ll just have to carry on. Right. Like she won’t be pumping her friend for info later. In Bugs’s interview, she says, someone has to step in and take charge, but it’s unfortunate the way it played out. Provisions come in, and the captain radios the crew to meet in one hour in the mail salon, wearing their whites. In Tom’s interview, he says he’s had classical training. He likes to be organized and prepared, but to be dropped into the season like this, is mad. Captain Sandy says she’s had better days. Malia tells the deckhands, they have to stay strong, leave the personal stuff, have each other’s backs, and finish strong. She thanks them for being awesome. Tom says he’s never seen anyone walk out the day of charter. In her interview, Bugs says Hannah had the knowledge of how to run things. You need a system, and she has no time to do it. That’s her biggest concern at this point. Alex says he’s not stressing, and Tom says Alex is leaving the stress to him.

Malia asks Captain Sandy if another person is coming, and the captain says, next charter. She thinks they’ll see a change in Jess. Malia thinks there will be a change when they understand why Hannah had to be let go, and what the severity of the situation is. They need to understand that, even if they have a prescription, you can’t take anything while on duty. She had an allergic reaction once, and had to log the Benadryl. A nurse had to be called on shore to give an okay for her to take it. Hannah didn’t register valium and weed. In Captain Sandy’s interview, she says, under maritime law, pot is illegal on a vessel in international waters. She knows of a ship in the Bahamas that was seized for one joint. She tells Malia that she wasn’t going into all that when she had an emotional being in front of her. Whatever it is, it has to be registered. Malia says, there’s a reason for the laws, and in her interview, says, this is probably the roughest situation Tom could be thrown into. She feels nervous and protective of him. Everyone gets into their whites, and in Jess’s interview, she says she thinks the crew is shocked and confused. WTF just happened? She knows where Bugs gets her name; she bugs the sh*t out of everybody. Jess tells Rob that she loves him.

The crew meets in the main salon for a pre-charter meeting. Captain Sandy says, the reality is, Hannah was let go. It’s ultimately the captain’s responsibility to uphold maritime law. When they go to sea, the chief stew is responsible for every life on board, and can’t be drowsy or incapacitated in any way. This is why they can’t drink or take any medication, not even Benadryl. She needs to make it crystal clear that they need to be relied on in case of an emergency. It’s no joke. She says Bugs will be chief stew because of her past knowledge. They’re hitting reset and starting new. Bugs says, blah-blah-blah to Jess, and in her interview, Jess says, oh my God. Here we go. Bugs says she sees that enthusiasm, and Jess says she can’t wait.

The guests arrive. Bugs runs out just in time, and Malia calls Tom to get out on the dock. The crew greets the guests, and Captain Sandy says they’re happy to have them. Bugs will show them around the boat, then they’ll take off for their first anchorage. In Bugs’s interview, she says she’s comfortable with the title, but she never expected having to do it with only one other stew. She gives the tour, and shows them the cigar lounge, which I’ve never seen; it’s very cool. Malia tries to lift one of the guest’s bags, and says, holy hell. In her interview, she says, the guests look high maintenance. The chief stew and the chef are shockingly new, and now isn’t the time for a challenge. Bugs takes the guests downstairs to show them the cabins. Malia tells the captain, ready to launch, and Bugs shows them the hot tub. Malia says, stern lines are clear, and Bugs pours champagne, saying they can call her Chief. She asks if lunch is good at 2 pm, and if family style is okay. She relays the information to Tom, and in his interview, he says, food is very much the pride of a professional chef. His mom never let them sleep in, and they had a massive amount of chores, She once sprayed him with a hose while he was still in bed, telling him that he needed to get something done, and wasn’t going to achieve anything in bed.

Jess tells Bugs that one of the guests wants an espresso martini, and Bugs asks if Jess wants to learn how to make it. In Bugs’s interview, she says the downfall interiors is usually because the chief stew doesn’t show the stews how to do anything, and expects them to be miracle workers. As busy as it is, giving people your time is important. She shows Jess how to make the martini. Pete asks Malia if Hannah was let go for drugs, and Malia says, yeah. It doesn’t matter if you have a prescription. You can’t have them in the cabin or be taking them on duty. Bugs asks if there are any spare hands to do dishes, and Malia says she’s on her way. Until it’s time to drop anchor, the deck crew is all hers. Tom says he’ll make a chef out of Malia, and she says, sous chef. Bugs asks how Alex is doing; it’s a beautiful  day. Alex says, and they have a beautiful new chief stew. Isaac tells the other guests, it’s good to know me, and they clink glasses.

Cala Fornells. The boat is anchored, and the water toys are put out. In his interview, Tom says, first impressions are huge. You need to get it right, and ride the wave. He starts plating, and Malia calls the deck crew to help serve. Tom has Malia do the garnishes. In her interview, she says she thinks Tom is doing fine, but he’s not used to not having a sous chef. She’s a nervous wreck because he’s her boyfriend. She doesn’t want any repercussions. A guest asks the chef’s name, and Bugs tells him, saying they just got him. Captain Sandy comes by, and asks how lunch is, and the guest (I think it’s the father, but I’m not sure since they’re not indicating a name) says, if the chef isn’t five-star, he’s not for them. He asks if the captain has eaten the chef’s food yet, and she says no, and he says, he’s not a fan of veal. Another guest says, it’s delicious; Tom is a great chef. In her interview, the captain says, whew! Thank God. Tom wonders where he’d be without Malia, and she says, not here. The guests go in the water, and one asks Bugs if she’s married. She says, to her job, and he rudely asks how old she is. She tells him, twenty-nine; she still has some time. Rob radios Malia that the jet skis have disappeared behind a rock, and she asks him to go to the bridge, and see if he can keep eyes on them. In her interview, she says, the guests are doing everything all at once, it’s hard to keep track of them. The wave runner overturns, with one of the guests underneath it. He’s fine, and Malia explains weight distribution. A guest asks if Rob has a girlfriend, and he says he’s seeing Jess. The guest says he has good taste, and Rob says, she does too. Why guests always quiz the crew on their status is beyond me. I don’t ask my waiter those questions. In Rob’s interview, he says, the relationship has gotten deeper, stronger, and more powerful quickly. Flying to the other end of the world after knowing someone a couple of weeks could be seen as crazy, but he’s considering flying to Bali.

Malia asks Tom how it’s going, and he says, it’s his first day; his first everything. Jess and Rob kiss in their cabin. A fat, old dude guest – I think it’s the father, so we’ll just call him Jerod from now on – says he wants whiskey twice his age, and a woman half his age. Alex calls Bugs Hannah, which is bound to happen. The guests throw a dildo around (mind you, none of them are kids), and one says it’s hers; don’t play with it. Bugs tells guest Ashley that they’re doing the celebration for their achievement tonight, and Ashley says they also want to do the birthday party. Bugs asks, what kind of cake? and Ashley says, chocolate. Jerod tells Bugs, there’s a sea cucumber that he’d like her to take back, indicating the dildo. She says, some sea cucumber, but bravely picks it up. In her interview, she says she doesn’t want to know, and she puts it on the bed. Bugs makes a light-up sign that says, Yay for 100K. She tells Tom about the birthday cake, and he says, cool, but it’s not really. Jess checks to see who wants drinks, and in Tom’s interview, he says, last minute requests reflect on the chef. He can make something last minute, but it doesn’t necessarily reflect what he’s capable of. Bugs just threw it at him. Like it’s her fault. In Jess’s interview, she says Bugs is intense and detailed. She says she must be second stew now, since there’s only two of them. Captain Sandy calls for a second stew, and says, yes, again. Bugs takes photos of the guests. Tom grumbles, effing birthday cake at the last minute, and bitches about it. He tells Malia, even if he could cook whatever he wanted, the job is hard enough, and she says she has to deal with it too. He gripes that he’s cooking for the crew too. Whatever. It’s bullsh*t. I stop listening to him whine.

Jerod takes topless pics of his whatever-she-is. He says he’s going to the room to play with that thing. Bugs tells Jess to get the cutlery out, and writes down what she needs. Tom bitches some more, because he didn’t see oysters on the list, and wonders how he’s getting them open. In his interview, he says he didn’t think of it, and never got an oyster knife. It’s not a good start. Malia asks if they have a knife, but they don’t. Bugs asks for help with service and turndown. In Bugs’s interview, she says she loves working with Tom. He’s an easy person to work with, but she keeps waiting for him to throw a dish at her. Jerod wanders around. Malia tells Alex to help Jess with the cabins, and says she’ll help serve. Tom says, piece of sh*t, blah-blah-blah. In his interview, he says he’s feeling flustered. There’s been a lot of stress and drama already. It’s not necessary; today has been a lot. Jerod pops his head in the galley, and asks if Tom is going to make them a good meal. Tom says he hopes so, and Jerod asks where he’s from. Tom says, the UK, and Jerod wants to tell him a joke. A guy from the UK comes home to find his wife in bed with another man. What does he say? Tom doesn’t know, and Jerod tells him, ‘allo, ‘allo, ‘allo. Tom is like, huh? and Jerod says, it’s an American joke making fun of an Englishman. Awkward.

Bugs asks how Captain Sandy’s day is going, and the captain says she wanted to go home. It was a rough morning, and she could be at a Broncos/Jaguars game right now. Jerod wanders around nakey with the dildo, and tosses it into one of the rooms. WTF??? Jess looks at her flight layover, and Rob says, he’s used to that sh*t. Bugs creates another stellar tablescape in blue and metallics. In Malia’s interview, she says she didn’t realize how she’d feel differently when Tom came on board. Now she’s carrying the responsibility of a partner. It scary, but good.

The guests get ready for dinner. Alex tells Jess that he’s helping her with cabins; let him know what to do. One of the guests cuts a piece of meat off of what’s on the grill with a pocketknife. How classy. Jerod says when he threw the dildo in her room, Tatiana yelled at him. Tatiana confirms that she did. I won’t tell you what I’d do. The guests complain about shells in their oysters, and one says they didn’t appreciate it. All I want to do at this point is eat cookies and my feelings. Bugs asks if they want another round, and primary Isaac suggests they say one nice thing about each other. He likes everyone’s boobs, and loves Tatiana’s hair, because apparently, she’s chosen not to have fake boobs. Bugs tells Tom about the shells, and he says he can make more, but it will take time. He notes that they ate them anyway.

Alex helps Jess, and in her interview, she tells us, they worked together on a boat in Florida. He’s her little, degenerate brother. She wants to slap and hug him at the same time. She asks Alex to gather the trash. He says he’s the second stew and she’s the third. Bugs tells the guests that the chef is more than happy to make more oysters, but lobster is coming, and they say they’re good. Tom asks Malia to help plate the lobster. Alex sees the guests suitcases open, but says he’s not putting their effing clothes away. He sees the dildo, and laughs like crazy. He says, that’s a good d*ckin’; it’s like a kickstand. Bugs asks Alex to wait outside the galley to help with the food. The guests complain about the lobster being raw. Jess tells Alex to pull it off gently, meaning the bedsheet. He says, the d*ck or… and they laugh. Bugs tells Tom about the lobster, and says she’s sorry. He says, it’s nonsense. Effing hell. He’s cooked for two hours. He bitches for a while, but says he’ll sort it out. He continues to complain, wondering how he’s going to cook the potatoes now. In his interview, Tom says, it’s not what he thought he was signing up for. He’s a laughing stock. What’s the point of being on the boat if the guests don’t like it? It’s suicide. He’s good at what he does, and doesn’t need to prove it. He has too much self-respect to do this effing bullsh*t.

This season: Captain Sandy says, yachting is emotional and tiring; she wants them to be champions, and not at each other’s throats, and she can’t do insubordination. A new stew arrives, Alex gets covered in glitter and belly dances, a repeat guest, a jelly fish sting, Ibiza, Bugs takes a spill, Tom says he’s done, a tight parking spot, the captain tells Malia to stay out of the galley, Rob feels trapped, and Tom throws a fit.

🐍 Okay, I get the maritime law thing, and why Captain Sandy feels the way she does. HOWEVER, Malia is the worst for the way she handled it. A panic attack should not be interpreted as freaking out, and she made that sound worse than it was when talking to the captain. I believe she lulled Hannah into a false sense of friendship security, and I don’t believe for a second had Hannah not been averse to the cabin switch, that Malia wouldn’t have let it go. Regardless, she shouldn’t have been all stealthy, taking a picture, when she knew earlier. Why didn’t she alert the captain then? She had added incentive, knowing her buddy would be promoted to chief stew. The whole thing stinks. As for Captain Sandy, once she had that information, she had no choice to confront Hannah, but David told her it was grounds for dismissal, not absolute. I believe she didn’t just fire Hannah for the drugs, but for a series of problems she perceived having with her. What I really didn’t like is, when Hannah said she didn’t think the captain cared, it was because she was blindsided and hurt – admittedly, it was stupid of her to leave that stuff lying around – and the captain should have recognized that, and not taken it personally.

🎱 Deadline Looming…

My deadline for https://mupoentertainment.com/theresa-krakauskas/ is at high noon on Tuesday, so I’ll be saving the tea for another day, since I still have work to do. Until we join forces again, stay safe, stay using your brain, and stay leaving your drugs at home if your vessel is traveling international waters.

August 7, 2020 – Cyrus Wants To Be Dazzled, Familiar Face, Drugs On Deck, Brandi Is the Worst, Oh Brother, Peacock’s Potter, Aimee Talks, If You Like Anarchy, Go-Going, Quotes Tenfold & Hell

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Maxie waits in an exam room. The nurse says the doctor will be a while, and Maxie says maybe she doesn’t need one. She needs a time machine, or a boyfriend who shoots blanks.

Peter meets Anna at the MetroCourt. He says he has a big favor to ask. She tells him not to worry; Finn isn’t a bachelor party type of guy, but Peter says, it’s the seating chart. Please tell him that he’s not sitting next to Robert.

At the hospital Finn shows Portia something he got from Violet on his phone, and says, kids are funny. She tells him, cherish the time. Kids fall out of love with their parents in the preteen years. Trina seems to be the exception.

Chase asks if Curtis found Jordan, but he says he asked her assistant, and she has no scheduled appointments. Is Chase sure she didn’t say anything else? Chase says Jordan wanted to talk to Jason, and sent him on his way.

Jordan asks Cyrus why she’s there, and he says to show he can count on her, for everyone’s sake. She says she arranged for his release, and he’s walking free. He says she got the job done, but needs to step up her performance and dazzle him. She says she has to be careful; there’s only so much she can do. He suggests she take the initiative, and show him how far she’s willing to go. He doesn’t lack problems, so pick one and solve it. Ha-ha! That sounds like me talking to my husband.

Sonny goes to the garage, and asks if Brando is working late. Brando says he’s just finishing up, and Sonny asks if business is good. Brando flashes back to Cyrus saying his car is fine; he’s there to discuss another matter. He tells Sonny that he just missed Jason.

Sam sees Peter and Anna, and asks Carly how Peter gets a free pass. He’s the guy who kept Drew and Jason prisoner for five years. Carly gathers he’s not Sam’s favorite guy.

Jason lies unconscious on the road, his motorcycle laying next to him.

Carly tells Sam, there are two reasons Peter gets a free pass – his mother and his girlfriend. Anna and Maxie believe in him, and nothing or no one is going to change their minds. Sam says Carly realizes Peter was exonerated, right? He’s responsible for Drew’s death, and it doesn’t make sense. He framed her when he broke Shiloh out of prison, and there he sits, basking in Anna’s appreciation. Carly agrees the hypocrisy is staggering. Robert approaches Anna and Peter’s table, and Anna wonders why he’s there. He says, it’s a work day, but she says she doesn’t think people would mind if he took time off. He supposes she’s referring to Holly. It would be nice if his closest friends would tell him what actually happened to her. Peter wants to leave them to their conversation, but Robert says, sit. He has questions, and he’ll start with this one. He shows Peter a tablet with an article on Holly; Holly Sutton: Death is Her Last Great Adventure. He asks why Peter is exploiting Holly’s death in this rag of his.

Maxie tells the nurse that she needs a pregnancy test. The nurse asks how late she is, and Maxie says, late. Speaking of late, she has a meeting she needs to get to for Deception. She says the nurse may have heard of it. It was huge in the 90s, and now it’s back. She should try their new moisturizer. It’s going to be a major seller once she locks down the distributor, which is what she should do now. She can do this later. She starts to leave, and says she knows it goes without saying, but the nurse isn’t going to talk to anyone about it, right? She can’t have this getting around. She runs into Lulu, who says, she can’t have what going around?

Sonny says, Jason is a customer? and Brando says Jason needed a stabilizer for his bike. Sonny says, Jason is family. Speaking of family, he’s there about a family matter. Brando asks if it’s Mike, and Sonny says he wanted Brando to know they’re getting close to the end.

Curtis asks Chase to run through what happened again. Chase says he stopped by the courthouse, and saw Jason, who said he was there to get permits. They suspect Jason was involved with a warehouse explosion on February 19th, but have zero evidence. He wanted to talk to Jason, but Jordan saw them, and said Jason could sue them for harassment, and sent him back to the station, while she stayed to chat with Jason. Curtis asks if he has any idea what they were talking about, and Chase says, maybe Cyrus. They have reason to believe Cyrus was behind the attacks on Sonny’s family, and Jason blew up the warehouse in retaliation. Maybe she was trying to Jason to finger Cyrus. Curtis thanks Chase for the information.

Jordan says she doesn’t want to climb the ranks of Cyrus’s rancid organization, and he says, like she once did? He tells her that she hates admitting it, but she enjoyed the power, prestige, and influence. She still does. That’s why she’s Commissioner. Jordan says she’s going along with him to keep people safe, but he says she’s not going along; she’s taking orders. She says she’ll do what she must, but she’s not part of his organization, and never has been. He appreciates her candor and says maybe she’ll appreciate some in return. The safety of those close to her is in direct proportion to him, and grows with each success. She says just tell what he needs now, and he says his philanthropic endeavors are being blocked; he needs a clear path. She says blocked by who, and he says their esteemed mayor. Take care of her.

Finn asks Portia if her daughter is a mommy’s girl, but Portia says, no; she’s a daddy’s girl through and through. Her father could do no wrong. She’s sure Violet will be the same way, and idolize her dad. Trina had difficulty with the revelation that Taggert framed Cyrus. She wishes she could do more to help, but Trina is shutting her out. Finn says, it’s tough, and she says she doesn’t mean to scare him. She doesn’t think he’ll have the same challenges with Violet, but Violet might have an issue with his fiancé. Finn says, Violet and Anna get along well, and Portia says, that’s good. She’s just saying the day may come when Violet resents Anna for not being her real mom. Finn says, that’s not Anna’s fault, and Portia says, no, but it’s something kids go through in their tween years. They need to blame someone for the missing parent, and mythologize the absent one. He says he knows about that, and hopes history doesn’t repeat itself.

Anna asks Robert if the article is inaccurate, and he says, it’s a hatchet job. He reads: Holly Sutton was known for her colorful past, and proclivity for wit, her ability to get in and out of Dodge, and being comfortable in dangerous situations. Anna says, it sounds like her, and Robert says, it sounds like an article about a woman they’re better off without. Peter apologizes for not consulting Robert, and says he’ll confer with the editor and they can revise the article. He leaves, and Robert asks what Anna thinks Peter is getting out of asking him to contribute. She calls him an idiot, and says Peter is trying to be his friend.

Maxie has a bandage on her arm, and the nurse says she’ll have the results soon. Lulu says they’ll both wait. Maxie wonders if she should call Peter, and let him know his star reporter is trolling the hospital instead of doing her job. Lulu says she’s researching a story on the hospitals finances, but maybe she should call Peter and tell him why she’s all up in Maxie’s business. Maxie tells her to go uncover some facts to report, but Lulu says, not until Maxie tells her something. If she thought she was pregnant, why not take a home test? Maxie says she took three, and Lulu asks if she got different results, but Maxie says they were all positive. Lulu asks if Maxie thought there was inconsistency in that. Maxie says the tests can be unreliable. It can happen, especially to her. She says, she’s totally pregnant, isn’t she?

Carly tells Sam, she understands Maxie is grieving. Peter was there, and only showed her what he wanted her to see. She’s a civilian, but Anna knows better. Sam says Carly is missing the point. Anna doesn’t want to know. She wants to think her son is a good man. Carly says she can empathize; Anna isn’t the first mom to convince herself her kid has changed. She hates that Peter kept Jason prisoner, but he was under Faison’s thumb, and that’s over. If Jason is willing to let it go, and Anna has hope that the bad stuff is behind him, what about Sam? Sam says, after what happened to Drew, Peter is still a threat. Why is Anna still protecting him?

Sonny tells Brando, his dad stopped eating. He’s at the point where he can’t even swallow anymore. Brando says he didn’t know that could happen with Alzheimer’s patients; he thought it was just a memory thing. Sonny says, so did he, at first. Brando asks what the options are, and Sonny says, a feeding tube. Brando says, that’s rough, and Sonny says, he considered it, but then he reconsidered. That’s not living, it’s existing, and he knows his dad wouldn’t want that. Brando asks if they talked about it, and Sonny says they didn’t get the chance, or maybe he didn’t want to go there. When he wanted to, it was too late, so he made the choice for his dad. He’s praying it’s the right one.

Jordan says Cyrus isn’t asking her to kill Laura, is he? He laughs, and asks what he’d do with a murdered mayor. Port Charles needs her, and he’s fond of her, but she’s getting in the way of him acquiring GH. Jordan says Laura is lobbying for Federal funding, and he says her daughter has a public platform. She asks why he doesn’t drop it, but he says, it’s too rich a prize to pass up, and they may never be this vulnerable again. Nelle is suing for unauthorized surgery on her son, and the insurance doesn’t want to cover it. If she wins, the hospital will be even more vulnerable, and it will be the perfect opening for him. Jordan says, Monica rallied the Quartermaines to give the hospital resources. The board will refuse him if they’re told he’s a known drug trafficker. There’s nothing she can do. He says he needs a champion to vouch for his character.

Curtis finds Jason, and asks if Jason can hear him. Jason doesn’t respond, so he calls 911, saying he needs paramedics on Harborview Drive at the Greenville turnoff. There’s a motorcycle rider down, and he’s completely unresponsive.

Jordan tells Curtis that she can’t offer her endorsement. How would it look? She has no business stepping outside her role. He says, but she can speak out for a man wrongly convicted. She discovered the miscarriage of justice, so who better to vouch for him? When she talks, Port Charles listens. She says Laura isn’t staying away indefinitely, and will wonder why she’s advocating for a man she despises. What good will it do for her to lose Laura’s trust and get fired? He says, good question. Make sure it doesn’t happen.

Portia says she hopes she didn’t offend Finn with her amateur psychology, and he says, no offense taken. She says she’s just projecting. She thinks Violet will be fine. She’s growing up with two attentive parents, and will be happy and well-adjusted. Finn says, in his humble opinion, he thinks Trina will be fine too. She has a loving, caring mother. Elizabeth joins them, and says a patient has been brought in who had an accident. He was unresponsive on arrival, and a head injury is possible. Finn asks if she’s okay, and Elizabeth says, it’s Jason.

Anna tells Robert that Peter tried. He knows how Robert feels about him. Does he think anything will change? He’s never given Peter a fair shake, and likes to look for excuses to hate him. Now he’s using Holly’s death. It’s pathetic. Robert says the only reason Peter wrote the article was to get under his skin. Anna says, which is looking thin. If Peter wanted to sensationalize or exploit Holly, he would have highlighted her past deeds. Robert says he’s not arguing, but a lot was left open to interpretation. She says, another reporter might have skewed the story, but Peter wrote it himself. Robert says Peter spun the story, and threw it in his face, and she says she guesses it’s easier to take his anger out on Peter, rather than deal with his feelings. Robert says, what feelings? and she says, grief, loss, anger, regret, pain. She could go on; she’s got all day.

Carly sees Peter at the bar, and asks how he’s enjoying his day. He says, it’s been trying, and she asks if there’s a problem with the service. He says, no, it’s fine, and she tells him to let her know if it’s otherwise. The Invader is an important tenant and she wants to give them her full attention. Peter says she’s thoughtful, and she says she prides herself in troubleshooting and avoiding problems. Sonny is the same way, but his way is more inflexible. Sam gets a call from Curtis, who tells her, Jason was in an accident; he’s on his way to GH. Carly really needs to stop making veiled threats to people about Sonny.

Brando says he doesn’t know about right or wrong decisions in situations like this, but he knows a bit about Mike. Things he learned the summer Mike spent in Connecticut. Sonny says he’d like to hear it, and Brando says, he was ten and crazy about horses. Mike would pick him up and take him to the track. The thoroughbreds were too valuable to have a kid around them, but there were working horses, and he spent his time with one horse in particular, Smoky. Smoky would see him coming, and come over. He knew Brando had an apple or carrot. One day at the end of summer, Mike picked him up and he knew something wasn’t right. Mike told him Smoky got hurt and wouldn’t recover. They went to say goodbye, and Brando tried, but he started crying and said he was ready to leave. Mike asked if he loved Smoky. He said he did, and Mike said, if you love something, you love it all the way to the end. (Yep. Here come the waterworks.) So he stayed, and the last thing Smoky heard before he was put down, was Brando saying he wasn’t going to hurt anymore. Lesson learned. Whatever choice Sonny makes for Mike, Mike will understand. Sonny says he appreciates Brando telling him, and Brando says, Mike is no stranger to making tough decisions. Sonny’s phone rings, and it’s Carly. She tells him that he needs to meet her at GH. Jason was in an accident. He says he’ll be right there, and tells Brando that he’s got to go. Brando says, Mike? but Sonny says, Jason. He leaves, and Brando looks stunned. I really appreciate them stomping on my heart about Mike and a horse.

Lulu says she takes it Maxie and Peter weren’t planning on this. Maxie says they haven’t been living together that long. They’ve never even had a conversation about having kids, and the only time marriage came up was when they were arguing with Spinelli. Lulu says, that’s a lot to unpack in one statement, and Maxie says she has no idea how she feels. Before they moved in together, Peter had a total crisis. He was confused, and afraid to be happy, but he moved in anyway, and lived through the fear. Lulu bets he would love to be married to Maxie and have kids. The family would be over the moon. Maxie says, Spinelli and Robert not so much. Lulu asks if she really cares what Spinelli thinks, and Maxie says, of course (🍷). Spinelli is Georgie’s father, but she doesn’t have to clear her decisions with him. Her feelings are complicated. Lulu asks if it’s because of Nathan, and Maxie says, she’s always thinking about Nathan, but this has nothing do with him. Lulu says, she and Peter are okay, right? Maxie says she loves him, and he loves her, and James and Georgie. They’re building a life. Lulu asks, what is it? Maxie can tell her. Maxie says, the timing couldn’t be worse. She feels selfish, but what if she’s not ready? What about her career?

Robert says he hates when Anna tells him what’s in his soul, and she say he does it to her, and she hates it more. Too bad. He’s bellyaching now because he knows she’s right. He’s afraid of his feelings, and he’s ashamed about not ending things properly with Holly. He says, rubbish, and she says she heard there’s a memorial service in England. Has he made plans to attend? He says, no, and she says she didn’t think so. He should go. It will give him a chance to say a proper goodbye, mourn Holly, and pay his respects. Robert asks why should he mourn an empty grave?

Jordan tells Cyrus. ELQ is capable of pulling GH back from the brink, but he says, they’re prone to infighting. The board will be open to an alternative donor, providing it’s someone in good standing with the community who they can trust. Build that trust. Chase calls, and asks if she’s okay; he’s had a hard time reaching her. She says she’s in the middle of something. Is there a problem? Chase says, Jason was in a motorcycle accident, and was just brought into GH. Jordan says she’s going back to the office, and tells Chase to head out to the accident site and get a full report. Cyrus says he knows she has to keep up appearances, but don’t misplace her priorities. She says she knows what her priorities are.  

Carly and Sam run into the hospital, and Sam tells the reception nurse that they’re looking for Jason. The nurse says, he’s being treated now, and Sam says she wants to see him. The nurse says Sam can’t, but she’ll relay the new information as soon as they have it, and Sam and Carly sit in the waiting area. Curtis arrives, and Sam asks, what happened? He says he spotted a rider down, but didn’t know it was Jason. He called 911, and waited until the paramedics got there. Sam thanks him, and he says he’ll go to the station and find out what he can. Elizabeth comes out, and says she was there when they brought Jason in; he was unconscious. There don’t seem to be any internal injuries, but they’re running a battery of tests to see if he’s had a traumatic brain injury.

Carly calls Diane, and tells her, they don’t know anything yet, but they’re running tests. She asks if Diane is sure the paperwork was filed, and asks her to put it in a PDF file and email it. She doesn’t want any problems. Elizabeth tells Sam that she can’t go in while the doctors are working on Jason. The best thing is to just wait. She’ll let them know if she hears anything. Peter comes by, and tries to say something to Sam, but Sam says, back off. Brando has joined them, and tells Peter, listen, but Carly says Jason wouldn’t want them going at each other. She tells Peter that he shouldn’t be there, and Peter says he didn’t mean to intrude; sorry. Elizabeth leaves to get an update, and Sonny gets off the elevator. He asks, what’s going on? How’s Jason? Carly says they don’t know, and no one is telling them anything.

Maxie says she’s sure this isn’t the first baby who’s misdirected a career move someone has been waiting forever to happen. There’s a lot at stake at the moment that she has to evaluate; it’s a big deal. She knows Nina would kill to be in her situation, and Lulu says, if Maxie has a baby, it should be because she wants to. It’s her body, and her priorities are her own. The nurse comes back holding a paper, and Maxie asks if those are the results.  

Anna says, now they get to the real issue; Robert’s fixation that Holly is still alive. He tells her that he didn’t say that, and she says, but he’s thinking it. He says he’s thinking a lot of things. What was Holly doing working for the WSB, why the ship went down, who was on the ship, and what happened to Holly’s body? Anna suggests he go get answers rather than feeling empty, and directing his pain at Peter. It’s not doing Holly or her memory any good

Cyrus’s main dude asks how the meeting with the Commissioner went. Cyrus says he gave her clarification of their respective positions. She wasn’t happy, but she’s going to comply. Dude asks if she should be on the guest list, and Cyrus says he’d be disappointed if she wasn’t. Dude asks how he should handle it, but Cyrus says he has confidence that Jordan will do what she’s asked – for the time being. He has a bigger target in mind. With Jason out of the way, there’s nothing left between Sonny and a bullet between the eyes.

Sonny says Brando told him Jason was just in the garage, and Brando says, Jason was there to pick up his bike. He’d just finished working on it.

Robert says Anna is insufferable, and she says, thank you. He always says that when she’s right. Who else would call him on it? He says, Holly, and Anna says, she’s not there; sorry. She thinks Holly would be appalled at his behavior. He needs to find another way of dealing with the pain before it eats him up. He’s going to RSVP to her wedding, and no is unacceptable. She leaves, and he looks at the article again.

Peter sees Lulu and Maxie, and tells them, Jason was in a motorcycle accident. Maxie says, poor Sam. He says he came to look for Lulu because he thought she could write the story. She says she doesn’t think she could be objective, and he says he’ll call the desk to send someone else. Maxie wants to check on Sam, but he tells her that they want to be left alone. What’s she doing there? Maxie doesn’t know what to say, and Lulu says, Nurses Ball stuff for Deception, and Maxie repeats, for Deception, leaving us with a double entendre.   

On the phone, Chase says he wants pictures right away. He wants to review them before he leaves. He also wants the site kept secure. He tells them not to let CSI touch anything until he gets there. The Commissioner wants him to deal with it personally. He receives a picture the road, with Jason’s overturned bike at the end of a skid mark. He says, none of this makes sense.

Curtis is waiting for Jordan outside her office, and she says, before he starts, she saw he called, but she was wrapping up something and couldn’t pick up. He says she has a lot of irons in the fire, and she says, now isn’t a good time either. He says, because of Jason? and she says, he heard? He tells her that he was the one who found Jason when he was out looking for her. Does she mind telling him where she’s been hiding?

Cyrus asks Dude, what’s in the bag? Dude says he thought Cyrus would like to celebrate, and pulls out a bottle of Jack. Cyrus says, the demise of Jason, and Sonny’s loss of his human fireball is cause for celebration. 

Portia says, the news is good. Nothing is broken, there’s no indication that Jason has internal injuries, and his vitals are strong. Sam asks if he’s still unconscious, and Finn says his pupils are good, but they need to rule out a possible TBI. He consulted with someone in neurology, and they recommended an immediate exploratory procedure. If Jason is hemorrhaging, the worst case is that he’s brain dad. Sonny says, that can’t happen, and Finn says Sam has to sign a consent form. Sam says, it’s not up to her, and Carly says she has power of attorney, and pulls out the confirmation. Elizabeth gives her the form, and she signs it, saying they’d better damn well save him. Everyone looks at each other, but Sonny looks hard at Brando.  

For what it’s worth (as they would say on GH), I don’t think it’s Brando. Way too easy.

On Monday, Franco says Elizabeth is planning on not going, Ava asks Nelle how she’s blackmailing Julian, and Sonny asks if Brando has something else to tell him.

🩺 But Does He Have a Name…?

I thought Dante’s doctor looked familiar.

Dr. Kirk on GENERAL HOSPITAL — Everything You Need to Know

🛥 Drugs Below Deck…

I kind of thought it was Hannah, and that it was her prescription, but the way this was handled was appalling. I checked out Malia’s Instagram, and fans are not happy. Apparently, she removed the text on the post in question, and disabled the comments. That didn’t stop anyone from commenting on the post. Malia’s excuse for outing Hannah was baloney, since when Captain Lee found out Kat was taking a prescription, there was none of this. Very disappointed in Captain Sandy and Malia.

https://www.realitytitbit.com/bravo/below-deck-med-drugs-on-board

https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/1252075/drugs-below-deck-mediterranean-captain-prison/

🤯 Her Face Fillers Have Affected Her Brain…

I don’t even know what to say anymore. Whether or not Denise and Brandi hooked up, only they know, but, next to Jax, Brandi is the worst human being in the world. As Judge Milian from People’s Court says, I wouldn’t believe her if her tongue came notarized.

https://www.inquisitr.com/6206517/brandi-glanville-twitter-rhobh-cast-denise-affair/?platform=hootsuite

🏘 If You Must…

For those who insist on watching Big Brother. I find it hard to believe there are any new twists left in the world.

https://www.tvguide.com/news/big-brother-all-stars-recap/

https://www.tvguide.com/news/cbs-big-brother-all-stars-cast/

🦚 A New Peacock Feather…

Harry Potter joins the group.

https://www.tvguide.com/news/all-eight-harry-potter-movies-are-heading-to-peacock/

🎸 Finally Answered…

Although not much of a surprise. I figured she just didn’t want to live her teen/young adult years on TV.

https://people.com/tv/aimee-osbourne-explains-why-she-didnt-want-to-be-on-family-reality-show/

🏍 If You Liked Sons Of Anarchy

Some alternative shows to watch. I have a friend in the UK who swears by Peaky Blinders, and I’m definitely down for Outsiders.

https://www.tvguide.com/news/shows-like-sons-of-anarchy-what-to-watch-next/

🏄‍♀️ You Go Go-Gos…

Take a go-go down Memory Lane.

https://ew.com/music/the-go-gos-trailer-for-showtime-documentary/

👩🏽‍🏫 Quotes of the Week

It takes 30 seconds to make an impression that last 30 years. – Loren Brovarnik quoting her father, Pillow Talk: 90 Day Fiancé  

Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!Audrey Hepburn

A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.Elbert Hubbard

Be the change that you wish to see in the world. – Mahatma Gandhi

Without music, life would be a mistake. – Friedrich Nietzsche

I call her BF, which doesn’t stand for best friend. It stands for bitch face. – woman whose sister slept with her boyfriend on Dr. Phil

When two opposite points of view are expressed with equal intensity, the truth does not necessarily lie exactly halfway between them. It is possible for one side to be simply wrong. – Richard Dawkins

The man who insists on seeing with perfect clearness before he decides, never decides. – Henri-Frédéric Amiel

I learned…that inspiration does not come like a bolt, nor is it kinetic, energetic striving, but it comes into us slowly and quietly and all the time, though we must regularly and every day give it a little chance to start flowing, prime it with a little solitude and idleness. – Brenda Ueland (I’m all for solitude & idleness.)

Path-walker, your footprints and nothing else are the path; Path-walker, there is no path, the path is formed as you move.  – Antonio Machado, Caminante, no hay Comino

😱 Drag Me To Hell…

Is it A) the name of a horror film, or B) the title for my week. It’s Friday, so moving on. I hope. For now, stay safe, stay diverse, and stay enjoying life no matter what the circumstances.

May 8, 2020 – Which Way Did They Go, Today’s GH, Get Well Soon, Tyler’s Royals, Happy 10th, Hello Elijah, Golden Girl, Chef Spat, BH Dish, Nosy Husband, No Charm, Virtual Andy, Quotes of Eight & Could Be Worse

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

 

Shahs of Sunset

Your guess is as good as mine as to what happened here. Part one of the Reunion was supposed to air at 9 pm, but somehow it turned into The Notebook. I checked everywhere – Bravo’s site, Twitter, Facebook, Google – nothing. I saw the question being posed on the Shahs Facebook page, but no one answered. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I even checked through the entire next week of the digital guide, and nada. Is there a lawsuit pending? As soon as I find out what the blip is going on, I’ll let you know.

It was probably just as well, since I have a sick child dog who had to stay at the hospital tonight, and I’m just a wee bit distracted. I poured an entire pot of tea though, for your entertainment pleasure.

Casey-December14-2013 (3)

My Little Man

🏥 Today, General Hospital’s Flashback Friday was the episode where Jordan and Curtis got married on The Haunted Star. Then found Kiki’s body in their wedding night stateroom. And they still haven’t gone on their honeymoon.

🤕 At Least He Didn’t Lose His Head This Time…

I love Joey Pants! Wishing him a smooth recovery.

https://pagesix.com/2020/05/03/sopranos-star-joey-pantoliano-suffers-severe-head-injury-after-being-hit-by-car/

👑 Two Degrees Of Royalty…

Along with Josh Altman giving his two cents.

https://pagesix.com/2020/05/07/meghan-markle-and-prince-harry-move-into-18m-mansion-owned-by-tyler-perry/

👒 I Can See the Resemblance…

But does she still have that nutcracker?

https://www.eonline.com/news/1149932/bethenny-frankel-shares-extremely-rare-photo-of-daughter-bryn-on-her-10th-birthday

🏝 Hawaiian (Re)Hash…

No earth shattering revelations.

https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/shahs-of-sunset-producers-spill-what-really-happened-on-the-hawaii-trip?cid=soc_tw_Bravo_Dish

👶🏽 A Distant Meeting…

GG’s baby Elijah makes his quarantine debut with the cast.

https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/gg-gharachedaghi-welcomes-son-shahs-of-sunset-cast-meets-him?cid=soc_fb_Shahs_Dish&fbclid=IwAR258tFYy6XkbJytZ7ripnVPVYd6VL95ZJ3nFjWn8ilITie93xKQA21DpW0

And takes a stroll(er).

https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/golnesa-gg-gharachedaghi-baby-elijah-first-outing?cid=soc_fb_Shahs_Dish&fbclid=IwAR2PJghFfFwmNopj22bIJ1Vv8TPSGK729OB9dsks-7F1-z7yxZWZGAL3cr4

💃🏽 Looking Good As Gold…

TBH, I kind of forgot about her.

https://www.bravotv.com/shahs-of-sunset/style-living/asa-soltan-rahmati-golden-goddess-in-glittering-kaftan?cid=soc_fb_Shahs_fashion&fbclid=IwAR3NWUm5NOJuW-NcAELN3zMSrhEDPt09mRhHAc_yNiliQ3e1-_Zch9Ohicc

🍽 Dinnerware Debate…

If you’re back is to the rack, you’re under attack.

https://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/season-17/episode-8/videos/picking-out-the-perfect-dinnerware?cid=soc_tw_Bravo_TopChef

💋 Joanna Explains It Not At All…

I never heard someone use so many words to say they weren’t talking about something. Note to Joanna: I can’t comment on that is sufficient.

https://www.bravotv.com/the-real-housewives-of-miami/season-3/videos/yes-joanna-krupa-talked-to-pal-denise-richards-about?cid=soc_tw_Bravo_LifeAfterBravo

👉 Stay Out Of Women’s Business…

But if it’s a reality show, and the reality is, Denise’s husband wants to get involved with her issues, what’s the problem?

https://realityblurb.com/2020/05/05/rhobh-star-dorit-kemsley-claims-denise-richards-husband-aaron-got-too-involved-during-season-10-reveals-lisa-vanderpump-refused-to-make-amends-with-cast-and-says-pk-keeps-his-distance-from-the/

https://realityblurb.com/2020/04/08/rhobh-star-erika-jayne-reveals-the-real-reason-for-her-feud-with-denise-richards-husband-aaron-phypers-plus-the-two-things-that-surprised-her-most-this-season/

🍹 Methinks He’s Thirsty…

I barely remember this dude, and if he hadn’t brought it up, I wouldn’t have remembered this incident at all.

https://realityblurb.com/2020/04/09/kathryn-dennis-ex-joseph-abruzzo-is-suing-bravo-and-southern-charm-cast-for-10-million-over-comments-about-his-pens-and-for-comparing-him-to-thomas-ravenel/

🖥 Virtual Reality…

Andy dishes on the VPR reunion.

https://realityblurb.com/2020/05/05/andy-cohen-confirms-vanderpump-rules-reunion-was-filmed-virtually-plus-he-dishes-on-how-it-went-and-shares-why-he-had-to-interrupt-the-taping/

🦥 Pandemics Make Strange Bedfellows…

It’s bigger than the Teddy Bear’s Picnic.

https://www.awesomeinventions.com/zoo-dolphins-meet-sloth/

🗿 Quotes of the Week

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.Theodore Roosevelt

Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it. – Groucho Marx

The struggle you’re in today is developing the strength you need tomorrow. – Robert Tew

It’s a baby, not a weedwhacker. – Danny (Gary Valentine), King of Queens, when Doug wants to borrow his baby.

Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else. – Margaret Mead

It is easier to change a man’s religion than to change his diet.Margaret Mead

We are continually faced with great opportunities which are brilliantly disguised as unsolvable problems. – Margaret Mead

There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.Maya Angelou

🍾 Everybody’s Not Working For the Weekend…

I hope you’re making the most of any new free time you have, and changing it up on the weekend. Remember…

Can'tGetWorse