Tag Archives: Miley Cyrus

Dec11

December 10, 2024 – Dex Is Stabbed In Rice Plaza, Soap Suds, Double the Wives, Weekend Watching, Two Seasons & Permanent

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What I Watched Today

(The whole GH enchilada on Fridays; the other days, who knows?)

General Hospital

Josslyn comes into the apartment and sees Trina on her laptop. She asks if Trina is still working on her art history presentation. She was up all night… Earth to Trina. Trina says, Josslyn isn’t going to believe what just happened.

Felicia, Georgie, and James look for a tree in Rice Plaza. James and Georgie argue, but Felicia promises they’ll find a tree that can all agree on, and that Maxie will be happy with. Georgie says, Maxie is happy that Lulu is back, and they’ll be spending their first Christmas with Aunt Sasha. James says, and Uncle Cody, when Dex comes by. He introduces them to his partner Loren Jackson. Cyrus’s voice is heard saying, good people of Port Charles, remember the less fortunate during the season of giving. Anything they have to spare will be appreciated.  

Carly finds Jack in her office, and he says he came to tell her that she’s disappointed him. He puts the bug on her desk.

Maxie comes into the nook, where Sasha is making a gingerbread house. She asks if Maxie wants to help. It’s going to be the main decoration at the Quartermaine Christmas party. Maxie says she can’t. She’s here to see Lulu and she can’t wait.

Lulu walks into Nina’s office and says she needs to know where her daughter is right now.

Curtis listens to Michael’s recording, when Drew comes into his office. Curtis says, just the man he wants to see. They need to talk. Drew asks, what’s on his mind? and Curtis says, Drew’s first day in DC. Drew says, the swearing in is in January, and Curtis says, they need to finalize his placement as Aurora’s new CEO today, but Drew says he thinks he owes Curtis an explanation. There’s been a change of plans.

Sasha asks why Maxie thinks Lulu is here, and Maxie says she thought Lulu would want to be close to Rocco. Sasha says, Lulu is staying with her mom, and Maxie says she can’t believe they haven’t seen each other yet. Sasha says, Lulu has been super busy (as one is after a four-year coma), and Maxie says, maybe she should give Lulu space. She can’t believe she missed Lulu coming to her house the day they found out Sasha was pregnant. How is she feeling about everything?

At the hospital, Brad gives Lucas a report he thought Lucas would want right away. He knows Lucas has been having a rough time and must be looking forward to getting away to the symposium in Miami. Lucas says he can’t wait, and Brad says him neither. Lucas says, Brad is going too? and Brad says he guesses he’ll see Lucas there.

Josslyn says, Kai bailing sucks, but Trina says, he didn’t. He sent his half of the presentation in the middle of the night. She’s shocked because not only did he do it, it’s great. His writing is really good, and he went above and beyond. Not just quick facts, but references and in-depth analysis. Josslyn asks if she isn’t happy, and Trina says she is, but she’s also annoyed. His work might be better than hers.

Felicia asks if they agree on the tree, and James says, it’s the best one. Georgie says she thinks mom will like it, when a bunch of loud college guys come into the plaza. They argue about the upcoming game between PCU and Llanview, and Georgie asks if they’re drunk. Felicia tells her to go with James to get some cocoa. She’ll meet them later. The guys start pushing each other.  

Nina says she was so happy to hear Lulu woke up. It’s good to see her. Lulu says, save it. The only thing she wants to hear is where Charlotte and Valentin are. Nina says she has no idea, but Lulu says she doesn’t believe Nina. She doesn’t have amnesia, and she remembers Nina loves to lie. Nina says, then Lulu should remember how much she loves Charlotte. She’s not lying. Lulu says, don’t tell her that Nina has no way to contact them. She loves Valentin. Nina says, Lulu missed a hell of a lot. It might come as a shock, but the world didn’t just stop and wait for her to wake up.

Jack tells Carly that they do regular sweeps for bugs. Imagine his surprise when they found one in his office, planted by someone who’d recently been there, a person he trusted. Carly says she didn’t want to do it, and he says, yet she did. She says, now she knows she can’t trust him. She heard him call Valentin. He says he did it as a favor to her. If she remembers, he’s done a few. She says, he knows where Valentin is. He lied. He says, that’s half true.

Sasha says, physically, she’s fine, and Maxie asks if she’s made a decision about her plans. Sasha says she’s given it a lot of thought, and she’s going to keep the baby. Maxie says, that’s amazing news. She knows Sasha wanted to be a mom and she’ll make incredible mother. What made her decide? Sasha says she asked herself what she’d do if she wasn’t afraid, and the decision became crystal clear. She wants a baby and she’s choosing to be fearless. Maxie says, now she’s going to pry. Sasha said the dad was a one-night stand. Is there any way to track him down? Sasha flashes back to getting busy with Michael, when Willow comes in.

Curtis asks, what changed? and Drew says, Sam dying made him Scout’s soul guardian and with the chaos of the holidays, he hasn’t had a second to plan. Curtis says he’ll handle everything, and Drew says he appreciates that, but it’s something they can do together later. They can figure out a time closer to when he’s leaving. Curtis doesn’t have to worry. He’s going to make sure Curtis is taken care of. Curtis says he trusts Drew. He knows Drew is a man of his word. He’s sure all the blood, sweat, and tears he put into Aurora will pay off.

Lulu asks, what happened to Nina and Valentin? but Nina asks why she should tell Lulu. She came barging in, called Nina a liar, and had the nerve to demand Nina fill her in on the last four years. They’re not girlfriends. Call Maxie. Lulu says, Nina is still the same selfish Nina. She doesn’t care about anyone but herself. Madison tells Nina that Erica Kane is on the phone, and Lulu grabs the phone out of Nina’s hand. She says, Miss Reeves will call back, and hangs up. Nina says, that was an important call. How dare she? Lulu says, Nina spewed lies about her to get custody of Charlotte with Valentin. If she loves Charlotte, prove it. Tell her where Charlotte is.

Jack tells Carly that he lied when he said he had no way to reach Valentin, but it’s a burner phone. He has no idea where Valentin is. She says, Jason and Anna think he’s not being honest about Valentin, and he says, so that’s where she got the idea to plant the bomb. She says she insisted they were wrong. She knows there’s good in him. He says, she still did it, and she says, to prove them wrong. Now she realizes she was wrong. Why should she believe a damn thing he says? He tells her that she listened to the call. If he was hiding anything, she’d have heard that too. She still doesn’t believe what she heard with her own ears.

The guys at the plaza start fist fighting, and Dex tells them to get out before he arrests them for disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace. Pick up their cups too, or he’ll cite them for littering. They leave, and Dex stops one of them, looking in his backpack. He takes out a couple bottles of booze, and says, he won’t need these. Don’t let him see them again. Loren says she thinks he scared them, and he says he’s going to pour these out. He leaves as Felicia watches.  

Dex pours out the liquor and someone watches him. They come closer, taking out a knife. They plunge the knife in his back, and we see it’s covered with blood. Dex reaches behind him and his hand comes back with blood on it. He keels over.  

Loren asks Felicia if Dex came back, but Felicia says, no.  

Loren finds Dex, and he says, someone stabbed him. She radios for help, saying, officer down.

Trina tells Josslyn that she used every plagiarism tracker and not a single red flag. Josslyn says she told Trina at the beginning. Trina thought he was a slacker, but he’s an elite athlete. She thinks he knows discipline and hard work. Very few college athletes perform at that level. He would have passed the class, but he put in the work. He’s a smart, genuine, good guy, and wanted to earn his grade and give Trina the grade she deserves.

Felicia asks, what happened? and Loren says, Dex has been stabbed.

Nina tells Lulu that she and Valentin parted ways a long time ago. They’re not close, but she’s still close to Charlotte and hopes she and Lulu are reunited. She can’t help Lulu, but Lulu should find and talk to Anna. Valentin was dating her when he left. Lulu says she doesn’t care what Nina tells her. She knows where Valentin is. There’s a knock at the door and Madison comes in with security guy Nick. Nina says, it’s fine. Lulu was just leaving. Lulu says, the hell she was, and Nina says, Madison will make sure she finds her way out. Lulu says she’s not going anywhere. Call her cousin Carly, their boss.

Carly says she has no idea what Valentin said and it’s making her reconsider her and Jack being friends. Jack says, she’s a civilian. He’s a spy. She knew the day they met that he couldn’t be fully transparent. He didn’t think she was the kind of person to play him, so she planted a bug. She could have breached national security. He should have her arrested. She says, he wouldn’t do that, and he says, she’s disappointed him. He never thought he had to protect himself from her. She says, if he reached out to Valentin for her, there’s a possibility she’s wrong, and if she is, she’s sorry. Her phone rings, and she says she’ll be right there. She tells Jack, stay here. They’ll finish the conversation when she gets back. He says he might, or he might not. He doesn’t take orders from her.

Curtis says he’s glad he and Drew talked. He knows Drew has his back. Michael comes in and says, good. They’re both here. He has a document for Curtis to sign about a last-minute addendum to the Japan deal. Drew says he’ll have his assistant set up a meeting on the 22nd. They’ll talk soon. He leaves, and Michael asks, what happened? Curtis says, Drew planned to blindside him about Michael being the new CEO. That actually could be the day Drew realizes he should have never tried to double-cross him.

Dex is in an examining room, and Chase asks if he’s sure he’s okay. Dex says, yeah. He and Loren were patrolling and there were a lot of drunk kids. They broke it up and let them go. He was pouring out the alcohol he’d confiscated and felt a pain in his back. Next thing he knew, he was on the ground. Chase asks if he saw who did it, but Dex says, they snuck up behind him. Chase tells him to take it easy. He’s going to the scene to help with witness statements. Dex will be okay.  

On the phone, Felicia talks to Mac about Dex and tells Loren that Dex will be okay. She wonders, who would take this beautiful day and ruin it with violence?

Lucas says he thought the symposium was for doctors, and Brad says, he’s the first lab technician to go. Dr. Robinson insisted. He wanted to make sure Lucas knew so there would be no awkward surprises. Lucas says, no heads up necessary. They’re colleagues. Brad says, Little Havana is a few miles away. Remember the trip to Cuba they’d planned? Lucas says, it was canceled because of a hurricane, and Brad says, they could go to Little Havana on their day off. A nurse tells Lucas that there’s a stabbing victim, and he says he’s on his way.

Trina says she thought Josslyn was only a fan of Kai on the field, and Josslyn says she doesn’t know him well, but it’s incredible how passionate and dedicated he is to something at their age. Like Trina with art and Dex with being a cop. They know what they want to do with the rest of their lives. Trina says she thinks Josslyn was right. Kai is a hard worker. Josslyn says she told Trina that he was more than just football, and Trina says she judged who she thought he was, not who he actually is. Josslyn knows how she hates to admit she was wrong, but in this case, she definitely was.

Sasha asks if Willow and Michael are staying for dinner, but Willow says she came to grab Amelia’s medicine, and Maxie asks if she has an ear infection. Willow says, she does, and leaves. Sasha asks if Maxie has time to help, but Maxie says, they’re not talking about anything else until Sasha tells her about the obvious chill between her and Willow. Spill it.  

Lucas says, Dex’s wound is clean and there’s no tissue damage or internal injuries. If you’re going to get stabbed, it’s the best-case scenario. They’ll get him prepped for surgery. Dr. Gannon will do the operation and he’ll be recovered in time for his holiday parties. He’s sorry Dex was attacked and hopes they find out who did it.

Cyrus tells Chase, that’s terrible. How’s his fellow officer? Chase says, he’s fine and they intend to catch who did it. Is there anything Cyrus can tell him? Cyrus says he doesn’t have much to offer. Chase asks if he heard or saw anything suspicious, but Cyrus says he was enjoying the plaza and focusing on his mission of charity work. Chase says, right, and Cyrus says, despite the abundance of Christmas spirit, sinners are all about. All of them are sinners. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

Felicia tells James and Georgie to stay with Officer Jackson. She goes over to Chase and says she can tell him everything.

Sasha says, maybe she shouldn’t have told Cody about Willow and Drew kissing, but they were dating. She told him everything. But Willow isn’t mad at her. She’s mad at herself because God forbid Miss Perfect makes a mistake. Maxie wonders if that’s not a little harsh. She knows what it’s like to be judged by someone of even a higher moral standing than Willow. Sasha asks if that’s possible, and Maxie says, it is, and Sasha knows her – Elizabeth. Sasha asks, why? and Maxie says she’s not proud of it, but she may have slept with Lucky when he was still with Elizabeth. Then Elizabeth slept with Jason, got pregnant, and told Lucky that it was his son. Then Elizabeth thought the whole thing was her fault. Sasha says, she did sleep with Elizabeth’s husband, and Maxie says, they’re talking about Sasha. Before Willow came in, Sasha was about to tell her something about the baby’s father. Sasha says, it doesn’t matter. She couldn’t tell him if she wanted to. He was a stranger she’ll never see again, but it’s okay. The baby will be hers and hers alone. Maxie says, Sasha forgets she’s a Scorpio now. She has a whole new family, and they’re a pushy, intrusive bunch.

Michael asks if Curtis believes him now, and Curtis says, Drew had every opportunity to explain and come clean, but he didn’t. Michael tells him that he can’t say he’s shocked. He can’t trust Drew. Curtis says he knows that now, and Michael asks if Curtis is accepting his offer to help take down Drew. Curtis says he thought a lot about it, but the answer is no.

Carly goes to the Crimson office and says she heard something about a disturbance. Lulu says, that’s a bit harsh, and Carly hugs her. She says she’s happy to see Lulu, and thanks Nick. She asks for a minute, and Nick and Madison leave. She asks how Lulu looks this good after four years in a coma, and Lulu says, to be fair, she had a lot of beauty sleep. Carly says she missed Lulu. She has a lot of regrets. Lulu says, none of that matters now. They have a chance to start over. Everything is so different. She’s missed so much. Carly says she can fill Lulu in, but Lulu says, the most important thing is Charlotte. No one knows where she is. She was hoping to get an answer from Nina. She can tell Nina knows something even though she claims not to. Carly says she’d never defend Nina, but she doesn’t think Nina is lying. She doesn’t think Valentin shared his location with Nina. She’s sorry. Lulu says she was hoping to get a lead from Nina. Somebody has to know something. Nina listens in, and Carly says she knows exactly who can help. They leave and Nina comes out.

Felicia tells Chase, six male college students came to the plaza intoxicated. They were from PCU and Llanview and were arguing about the game. It led to personal insults and then a fight. Officers Heller and Jackson stopped the boys, and they left. Dex poured out the alcohol he confiscated, but then she lost sight of him. She texted Maxie at 3:35, so she estimates Dex was stabbed at 3:55. She’s spent a lot of years with cops, so she knows detail is important. Chase asks if she thinks the stabbing had anything to do with the fight, but she says, it was over by then… Dex was off to the side, pouring out the alcohol, and he was alone. He was isolated and she thinks he was targeted.

Felicia tells Georgie and James that the tree is loaded on the car. She suggests they get going. (Cyrus’s bell ringing is going to make me nuts. It’s been going on since the beginning of the show.) James asks if he can have a dollar to put in the bucket, and Felicia gives him one, but says, be quick and don’t talk to him. She tells Georgie to stay with James. Georgie and James leave, and she asks if there’s anything Chase needs. He says he’s good, and she says, something is bothering her. She can’t put her finger on it. A part is missing, but she doesn’t know what it is. He says he’s sure it will come back to her. When it does, let him know. He leaves.

Josslyn says she’s glad Kai finished his presentation. Now Trina will figure it out and finish strong. Trina says, now she has to make a decision. Kai isn’t going to be there to present with her, and she wonders if she’d be a total fraud if she presented both of their work and took the grade. Josslyn’s phone rings, and she asks Lucas, what’s going on? Lucas asks her to get to GH. Dex is stable and will be fine, but he’s in surgery because he got stabbed.  

Curtis says he’s given everything he has to Aurora and isn’t going to tank it just to stick it to Drew. But Drew can’t get away with it. Michael asks what he’s saying, and Curtis says, there’s a way to turn the tables on Drew without tainting Aurora. He wants to take Drew down, but he’s going to do it his way.   

Willow thanks Drew for meeting her at the plaza, and he asks what he can do for her. She says, hear her out. She’s going to tell Michael that she slept with him. He says, do whatever she feels she has to do, and she says she’s going to wait until after Christmas. If they split up, she wants the kids to have one last good Christmas to remember with them all together. He says he understands, and she says she knows there will be fallout, but he says, don’t worry. Make the choice that’s best for her and the kids. He wishes it had worked out differently. She says, so does she, and he watches as she leaves.

Carly comes back to her office, and Jack asks, what was the emergency? She says she’d like him to meet her cousin Lulu, and he says, so he finally meets the infamous Lulu everyone’s been making a fuss about. Welcome back. Carly says she brought Lulu for a reason. Jack knows how to get in touch with Valentin. Lulu says, good. Start dialing.

Tomorrow, Curtis tells Portia that he’s about to take Aurora from Drew; Anna tells Spinelli to keep his distance; Lulu doesn’t believe Jack is telling the truth; and Jason says he’ll ask the questions.

🧼 A Little Bit Of Soap…

I pegged him early on, but I can’t figure it out. At first, I thought he was  trying to pave the way for Lulu to be with Dante, but then there was that whole thing about him wanting to move her, so beats me.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/why-did-cyrus-kill-sam-on-general-hospital

Sorry, ladies. He’s off the market.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/ghs-sawandi-wilson-is-married-to-anna-eilinsfeld

Good for her. I used to run, but it wasn’t my cup of tea. I could tell how well it was going to go by how quickly I started thinking about the cup of coffee I was going to have when I was done.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/ghs-risa-dorken-completed-her-first-race

The old TJ gets a new movie role.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/watch-gh-alum-tequan-richmond-in-brewsters-millions-christmas

👠 A Tale Of Two Cities…

I’ve had one helluva busy day, so I wasn’t really paying attention, but the Kyle/Dorit feud raged on. My takeaway points were Jennifer saying she didn’t know what was going on, but hoped it was over soon so she could have her dinner; and Boz saying she was trying to figure out the layers. Good luck with that.

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Season 14, Episode 4 Recap: Will Sutton Stracke’s Ritual Unite the Group?

Meanwhile, in NYC, Ubah might have been giving Ramona vibes, but at least she’s not Ramona. I do not miss that woman one bit.

Real Housewives of New York Season 15, Episode 11 Recap: Resorting to Madness

👀 Last Weekend’s Watch…

This was our theme for Halloween this year. I didn’t like it as much as the original, but I loved the sandworms and the extended glimpse of the underworld. Lots of Bobs too.

https://screenrant.com/beetlejuice-2-tim-burton-sequel-movie-streaming-max-recommendation/

The #1 Most-Watched Movie on Max is this New Golden Globe-Nominated Legacy Horror Sequel

https://screenrant.com/beetlejuice-2-original-priest-replace-species-mystery-unsolved-explainer/

Fun fact.

https://screenrant.com/why-brad-pitt-is-in-beetlejuice-2-opening-credits-explainer/

This was slow to start, but I’m in. Unfortunately, it’s another one where they dole out episodes like methadone once a week.

https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/earth-abides-review-mgm-plus-apocalypse-sci-fi

https://comicbookmovie.com/sci_fi/earth-abides-stars-alexander-ludwig-jessica-frances-dukes-on-their-excellent-new-sci-fi-series-exclusive-a214923

https://www.dexerto.com/tv-movies/earth-abides-mgm-tv-show-plot-cast-release-schedule-2995998/

Beetlejuice Goes to the Dogs

🐕 Change of Seasons For Doggos…

I had a German Shepherd who loved to walk through leaf piles. She also liked to walk on bubblewrap, which is totally weird.

https://people.com/dog-bolts-out-of-house-every-fall-to-jump-into-leaf-pile-exclusive-8752978

Nothing better than watching dogs play in the snow.

30 Dogs Having Too Much Fun In The Snow [PICTURES]

☃️ In Winter, Enjoy…

Join me tomorrow for soap, a little reality, and a little who-knows-what. Until then, stay safe, stay avoiding the use of sensitive information on public Wi-Fi, and stay not judging who you think someone is instead of who they actually are.

Jul3

July 2, 2024 – Natalia Causes a Backlash Tsunami, Lots About Soap, Just Caroline, Stirring the Jersey Pot, New New York, Deck Doings, Keep Them Safe & Party

Posted on by
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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

I missed the very beginning, but that’s usually just a rehash anyway. So…

Diane tells Sonny that it’s her job to plead his case and provide counsel. It’s steep hill he’s going to have to climb. Avery isn’t a baby anymore, and if she sees him trying to take her from her mother, it could permanently alter her relationship with him. He says he’d rather she hate her father than become her mother, and Diane says, it’s his call. She records some notes for herself on her phone, and her phone beeps. He asks, what’s the problem? and she says, it’s a big one. Does he mind if she makes a phone call?

Alexis says, Kristina is in the homestretch of her pregnancy. The last part is challenging, physically and emotionally, and she wants Kristina to know she’s here for her no matter what. Kristina says she knows, but it never hurts to hear. Alexis’s phone rings, and Diane says she saw The Invader alert. What is Alexis doing? Alexis says she’s with Kristina celebrating quitting her job. She’s left the tabloid life behind. She doesn’t know what’s in The Invader, unless they’re running a picture of her face on a dartboard. Diane says, it’s not about her, but it’s bad. Go to the website now. Alexis asks what she’s looking for, and Diane says, she’ll know when she sees it. And turn up the audio. Alexis and Kristina listen to the file from The Face of Deception’s Daughter, and Diane says tell Kristina that she’s sorry.

Sonny asks if everything is okay, and Diane plays the audio file for him.

Everyone in Maxie’s office listens to the audio file, which includes Natalia talking about her fear that someone will take a picture of Blaze and Kristina holding hands. She’s scared it will be sold to the tabloids and there will be a scandal. Blaze glares at Natalia and says, don’t hold back. Tell us how you really feel.

Alexis and Kristina listen, and Kristina says, turn it off. She gets the gist. Alexis asks if she’s okay. Her blood is boiling, so she can’t imagine how Kristina feels. Kristina says she’s not the one who was just outed. Blaze was discriminated against by her own mother in public. She’s angry, but she’ll be fine. Alexis wonders if Kristina has heard from Blaze, and Kristina says, they usually text constantly, but no. Alexis says, maybe she hasn’t seen it, but Kristina says she doubts it. Deception is probably coming up with PR strategy for a response. She’ll call when she can. Alexis says she doesn’t understand how a mother could talk about her own daughter that way, and Kristina says, that’s why she’s grateful. She can forget about maternal leave from the center. After this, they won’t let her in the front door.

Ava says, her phone is blowing up, and Adrian asks if she wants to celebrate with him. She calls him a little worm and tells him to forget he knows her. Her name isn’t to cross his lips, not anytime to anyone, especially not Nina. Adrian says, sounds like a story. Does she care to dish? She says, she’ll see to it that he’s typing with his toes. Men have killed for her for a lot less. They’ve never met. They’ve never spoken. Take down the recording. There’s no reason for it to be online anymore. He says he can’t do that. It will just draw more attention to it and people will ask questions, to which every answer would be Ava Jerome. Besides, wire service has already picked it up. It’s everywhere and there’s no going back now.

Natalia says she doesn’t know what that was, and Lucy asks if Natalia is denying that’s her voice, but Natalia says, it’s obviously her. Scotty asks if Deception doesn’t have a PR master, but Lucy says she let them go when they had to save money. Lois says, that wasn’t a good idea, but Lucy says she had no idea this would happen. Scotty says he knows a guy… but Maxie says, stop. She tells Lucy to talk to the regular PR people. She’ll coordinate with Brook and have her lock down the social media. No comments. And she wants Scotty to guard the door from Tracy, who will be there soon, because the stock is going to take a nosedive. She asks Natalia where this took place, but Natalia says she never spoke to a reporter and doesn’t remember who she said it to. Blaze wonders if it’s because she says things like that so often.  

Sonny says he knew Natalia was uncomfortable with her daughter being gay, but didn’t think she’d spew that kind of garbage. He asks Diane if it could be fake, and she says, possibly, but she doubts The Invader would run it without authentication. They’d be opening themselves up to a huge lawsuit. Sonny says, it makes no sense, but she says, he’d be surprised how easily some people hide their ugliness in polite company. He says he thought she’d be smart enough not to talk to somebody who was recording it, and Diane says, sometimes hated gets the better of people. He wonders why Alexis would run such a thing, but Diane says, Alexis didn’t. She quit this morning. Sonny says, whoever did this hurt his daughter, and that means there’s a target on their back

Diane tells Sonny to take this lesson seriously. Even things said in privacy behind closed doors run the risk of exposure. Sonny says he knows the danger, and she tells him, things said in anger can work against him in a custody fight. The court needs to see him as a reliable and stand-up parent who they can trust. He asks how he can be a good parent if he doesn’t do anything about the garbage being said about his daughter? Diane says, activists on social media are calling for Kristina to resign from the center she founded. They don’t think she should be running an outreach if she’s dating someone who’s in the closet. They’re saying she has too much internalized homophobia to be trusted. People get worked up about things they know nothing about. Sonny throws his phone against the door.

Alexis tells Kristina not to jump to the worst case, and Kristina says, people are already saying ugly things. Alexis says, Natalia robbed Blaze of coming out on her own terms. She’s not going to interfere between Blaze and her mother, but she is going after the person who made this public. Alexis leaves.  

Ava says she didn’t set out to hurt Kristina, Blaze, or herself. Adrian will keep his mouth shut and she’ll have plausible deniability. If anybody asks him to identify where he got the audio file… He says, it came via the anonymous tip line. Ava tells him, get out, and he heads for the door. She asks if he’s learned nothing, and she checks the hallway. She says, okay. Go.  

Natalia says she keeps going over it in her mind, but has no memory of saying that to anyone. Maybe her phone was tapped. Lois says, it doesn’t sound like a bad connection. It sounds like it was in person, but she doesn’t think that’s the real issue. Lucy says, it’s not about the how and why. It’s about, what the hell do we do now? Blaze says she’ll need to respond. Not so much because she’s the Face of Deception, but there’s so much more. It’s going to impact her music career. Natalia says, they’ll put together a joint statement and give it to a friendly outlet, but Blaze asks why she’d publicly associate with Natalia when the whole world heard what Natalia thinks of her. Natalia says, it wasn’t specifically about her. It was more a generalization. Blaze says, Natalia mentioned both her and Kristina, but would it matter if she’d left their names out? Which gays are disturbing and offensive to her fragile sensibilities? Do drag queens on a Pride float make her angry? Do her and Kristina holding hands make Natalia sick to her stomach? Or is the problem that any two women in love disgust her? She’s quiet now. She has nothing to say now that they’re in private. Why? The whole world has heard her words by now. She should have known something like this would happen. She talks about gay people dismissively or with pity, reducing them to how they look and talk, and who they love. They’re not real people, herself included. Lucy says, it’s ironic that the same person who locked Blaze in the closet is the same person who just outed her, and Maxie tells her that she’s not helping. Natalia says she’s the victim. She was used to damage her daughter’s career. Blaze says, Natalia hasn’t heard what she said. She let Natalia convince her to portray a straight person, and now Natalia’s words are going to destroy any hope for her future life in music. Blaze walks out.

Natalia says she’s sorry. Her daughter is emotional. Lois says, she has a right to be. Does Natalia want to go after her? Natalia says she doesn’t think it would do any good, not when Blaze is in this frame of mind. She knows her daughter. Maxie says, does she? and Scotty says he has nothing more to contribute. He’s going to leave. Maxie tells him to stay. They might need legal advice. Lucy says she thinks a lawyer should be here to finalize the last addendum to Blaze’s contract, and she rips it up. Natalia says, she can’t do that. Blaze is known everywhere as the Face of Deception. If they try to get rid of her, they risk backlash in the press and in court. Maxie says she thinks they’re within their rights to change their relationship with Blaze.

Blaze knocks at Kristina’s door, and when there’s no answer, she lets herself in. Kristina is on the sofa, looking at her phone, and Blaze asks if Kristina didn’t hear her knocking. Kristina says, sorry. She was zoned out on her phone. Blaze says she’s guessing Kristina read The Invader article. She was hoping Kristina hadn’t seen it, but then she’d be the one giving the bad news. Kristina says she’s definitely seen it. The comments are awful. Instagram is particularly brutal. It looks like she’s canceled. Blaze says she thinks they both are.

Adrian goes to the pool and asks for a margarita pitcher and the guac trio, extra salty chips. And put it on Nina Reeves’s tab. He lies on a chaise lounge and closes his eyes. Someone approaches his chair, and he says, they’re in his sun. Alexis says, it’s better than being all up in his business. Which she will be if he doesn’t agree to play ball. She had to harass his assistant until he cracked to find out where Adrian was. Adrian says, note to self, fire assistant, and tells her, whatever it is will have to wait until tomorrow. She’s intruding on his hard-earned afternoon off. She says, good, since he published that loathsome recording in The Invader, and intruded on her daughter and her girlfriend. He asks if that’s what’s snapping her brassiere (really? have we been transported to the 1950s?), and she says, it will be fun to sue him and him and The Invader into oblivion.

Natalia asks if they’re saying her daughter is no longer good enough to be the Face of Deception since she’s been outed. She can’t sell their products because she’s gay? Maxie tells her that she’s saying the exact opposite. What they can’t afford to have is someone ashamed to be gay. They have a diverse clientele that they’re proud of, a lot of whom are gay and have a large social media presence. What they can’t do is align themselves with someone who’s ashamed. They’re proud to be a gay friendly company, so they need Natalia and Blaze to either get with the program or kick rocks. Lois says, they’re all parents and love their kids. A difficult situation is evolving, but it’s less about a contract than about a mother and daughter finding their way back to each other. They should be a little careful with hurtful words. Maxie says she’s telling the truth, and Lucy says, they love Blaze, but they can’t sacrifice their reputation for her. Lois agrees, but thinks they should put the negative aside for now and work on their PR response. Give Natalia a chance to try and make peace with her daughter. Natalia says, her relationship with her daughter is none of their business, but when it comes to Blaze’s contract, if they do anything to hurt Blaze, they’ll deal with her. Natalia leaves.

Blaze says she’s so sorry. People are saying horrible things and it’s her fault. Kristina says, it’s not. It’s her mother’s fault. Blaze says, they wouldn’t be having this conversation if she’d been truthful, but Kristina says, Blaze did what she thought best. Blaze says she did what was easiest. She didn’t want to rock the boat and tried to have it both ways. Now it might cost her everything, including Kristina. She knows how much the center means to her, and if Kristina can’t forgive the damage that she and her mom caused, she understands. They can go their separate ways and no hard feelings. Kristina doesn’t have to decide now. She’ll leave and let her figure it out. Kristina says, don’t you dare. She’s not going anywhere. She’s hadn’t caused any damage in Kristina’s life. She was already planning on handing over the reins of the center. The only thing she lost was the title of undercover girlfriend. She was already out and had nothing to hide. Blaze says, there might be nothing left to salvage. What if she loses everything? She hid, and people hate liars. Kristina says, Blaze is breaking her heart. She’s beating herself up when it’s not her fault. It’s going to be okay. They’re going to be okay. They’ll get through this. She has faith in them. Does Blaze still feel the same way? Blaze says she’s sorry, but she doesn’t.

Adrian tells Alexis to do her worst and laughs. If her legal skill is on par with her ability to publish a newspaper, he’ll be just fine. He has the Bill of Rights on his side. Alexis says, even the Bill of Rights has its limits. She remembers warning him to be cautious about how deploys secret recordings. He says, if Natalia didn’t know she was being recorded that’s too bad. New York is a one-party consent state. Perhaps Alexis should consult her law books before returning to court. She says, perhaps he should seek legal counsel. Nina is going to cut the tightrope he’s walking on when she finds out. There’s reasonable expectation of privacy. Adrian says, Blaze is the Face of Deception and a famous singer. Public figures don’t get to claim privacy. She says, Blaze’s mother isn’t, and he monetized and commercialized a private citizen without consent. He left a big softball hanging left for her hit out of the park. He says he wants to consult a lawyer, and Alexis says, he has one right here. She’ll even waive the retainer. She’ll make it go away in exchange for one small thing. She wants him to name the person who supplied him with the recording.

Natalia gets in her car, crying, and breathing heavily. She listens to the recording on her phone, and wonders who she was talking to. Why the hell did they record it and send it to the media? Suddenly, the lightbulb comes on.

Maxie wonders, what’s next? and Lois thinks she should cool her appearances, but Lucy says, they need her. She’s the only Face they have left. They need to show they have nothing to hide or be embarrassed about. Scotty says, Lucy is right. They have to deal with it head on. Lucy says, this might not be a popular opinion, but they can’t afford another stumble. They can’t put out that they’re not going to associate with Blaze. Maxie says she didn’t mean that part. She just said it to prompt Natalia to sacrifice herself. She underestimated Natalia’s self-absorption. Lois suggests they take a day to think, but Lucy says, they have no time. They need to make sure the public knows that’s not how they feel, or they could be inundated with candlelight vigils and marches and be canceled on social media. Scotty asks if he should draw up a statement. Is Blaze in or out?

Blaze tells Kristina that she’s not saying they should break up, but she doesn’t see a way to move forward. Kristina says she does. She’ll guide both of them. Blaze says, it’s a huge responsibility, but Kristina says she doesn’t care. Blaze is worth it, and she loves her. She refuses to accept that Blaze’s enormous talent can’t override the ugly things being said. She’s not saying that out of love, but out of love she’ll continue to say it until Blaze believes it.

Sonny tells Diane that they’ll talk again after she comes up with a strategy, when Natalia walks in. Sonny turns his back to her, and Diane says she’ll be in touch. She leaves and Natalia says she can tell Sonny heard the recording. He says he has, and she says she knows he’s pretty upset and doesn’t have a high opinion of her. He says, obviously, and she says she’s not going to force her presence on him. She’ll go, but first, she wanted him to know where the recording came from. He says, she insulted his daughter, and she says, unfortunately, those are her words, but they were said to someone close to him who secretly recorded her. He says, who? and she says, it actually took a while for her to remember who she had that regrettable conversation with. She realized the person who edited out their part is the same person who supplied the recording to The Invader – Ava Jerome.

On the phone, Ava wonders where her room service is. There’s a knock at the door, and she says, there it is now. She opens the door, and Alexis is there. Alexis says, they need to have a conversion. One that won’t be recorded.

And I laaaugh because Adrian folded like a cheap suit.

Tomorrow, Sasha wants Blaze and Kristina to benefit from her hard-won experience; Lois has a suggestion; Sonny says, there are no limits to how far Ava will go; and Carly tells Josslyn there’s a good chance she could go to prison.

🧼 All  the Soap News Fit To Print…

Blaze and Kristina’s storyline today brought tears to my eyes. It almost softened the blow of Finn’s departure. Almost.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/ghs-jacqueline-grace-lopez-shares-why-representation-matters

Life imitating art.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/ghs-kin-shriner-is-recovering-from-surgery

He’s got a better perspective on his being let go than I do.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/michael-easton-puts-his-gh-exit-into-perspective

I’ll have what he’s having.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/ghs-chad-duell-shares-an-important-message-with-fans

So cool how they stay in touch. Soap stars are a different breed of actor.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/ghs-kimberly-mccullough-and-brooklyn-rae-silzer-reunite

GH won’t be on July 4th. You get the whole day off.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/abc/soap-opera-soaps-holiday-schedule

🐪 No Camel For You…

Sorry. As of this posting, there was no recap for Real Housewives of Dubai. Stay tuned for it tomorrow, and in the meantime, there’s this. Discuss amongst yourselves.

https://www.realitytea.com/2024/07/02/caroline-stanbury-sergio-carrallo-might-not-make-it-rhodubai/

👠 What Happens In Jersey…

What happened.

Real Housewives of New Jersey Season 14, Episode 9 Recap: A Wedding and a War

What’s going to happen.

RHONJ Season 14, Episode 10 Preview: Margaret Josephs and Dolores Catania Sit down for Serious Conversation

And what the Marge hopes will happen.

Margaret Josephs Suggests She Will Be ‘Vindicated’ With RHONJ Finale

🗽 If They Can’t Make It There…

RHONY used to be my favorite of the franchise because, NYC, but I found the new cast to be mind-numbing, city or no city. Maybe the latest additions will make a difference. Or not.

Erin Lichy Teases RHONY Season 15: ‘Highly Entertaining and Pretty Shocking’

🛟 Random Topics On Deck…

The perfect guest.

Why Trishelle Cannatella Was the Perfect Below Deck Med Charter Guest

The feud.

Below Deck Med Feud Ends: Captain Sandy and Hannah Ferrier’s Relationship Explained

And the fans.

Below Deck’s Biggest Celebrity Fans

🐕 Knowing the Drill…

It’s that time again. Actually, that time started here on Sunday night when I was wearing my chihuahua on my head after he heard the first firecracker.

https://www.morrisanimalfoundation.org/article/10-easy-tips-happy-safe-pets-july-4th

⛲️ Summer Mood: On…

Join me tomorrow for soap, tea, and entertainment news. Until then, stay safe, stay wearing sunscreen whether you think you need to or not, and stay never reducing anyone to how they look and talk, and who they love.

May23

May 22, 2024 – Neil’s Brother Opposes Alexis’s Reinstatement, Goodbye Gregory, Fergus, Sonny’s Crisis, This Week In Chefs, New Stars, Just Sad, Nixed Awards, A Better Gala & Party

Posted on by
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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Finn picks up Gregory’s cane and remembers the argument they had where Gregory told Finn, by all means lecture him on proper wedding etiquette. Violet comes in, and Finn asks what she’s doing home so early. She says, they had a half day, and Finn hugs her. A woman knocks at the door and says she was making sure Violet got in okay. Gretchen’s in the car so she’s got to run. She’ll see them tomorrow. She leaves, and Violet picks up the bouquet. She says, maybe they can take her bouquet out for a walk. Flowers love fresh air. And they can tell grandpa to come too, if they don’t go too far. (The knife dives deeper into my heart.) He says, they can go for a walk, but he needs to talk to her about something. She asks if she shouldn’t tell grandpa to get ready, but Finn says, grandpa isn’t here. She asks if he’s at the doctor, but Finn says, no. Grandpa isn’t with us anymore. Grandpa passed away last night.

Dex says he hasn’t turned Sonny in, and Michael says, because he doesn’t intend to, or because he hasn’t had time? Dex says he hasn’t decided yet. Why? Michael says, because he and Kristina don’t want Dex to report it.

Sonny asks, what the hell is going on with Dante? He doesn’t have a history here. Michael and Dex conspired to take him down. He didn’t take the proper steps to contain it. He let it go. Dante asks if he wants a medal for not killing someone, and Sonny says, that’s not what he’s saying. He left Dex alone and look what happened. Even more betrayal. He’s hiding behind a badge in the office with Anna, talking about Sonny’s business or whatever he’s talking about. Dex is still trying to take him down, and Dante refuses to see it. Dante says, the only thing he can see really clearly right now is Sonny, and Sonny asks what that means. Dante says, this isn’t some isolated incident. Sonny has a pattern, a history with violence. He’s not talking about Cyrus. This goes back – they both know – for a long time. Sonny asks what Dante is accusing him of.

Alexis says, Diane is right. Whether the robes buy this or not, she wants to stand in front of them and make her argument. Diane raises her hand and says, testify, and Alexis gives her a high-five. Welcome back. Alexis says, there’s a reason Diane wins all her cases. She’s not just pretty; she’s very persuasive. Diane tells her not to forget either of those things. Let’s go win this. Alexis says she has to grab something first, and picks up Gregory’s medal. Diane asks, what’s this hoodoo? and Alexis says, something from Gregory to bring her luck. Let’s hope it works.

Lois tells Ned, good news. She spoke to Monica, and she is all for it. Ned says he’s not surprised. They have plenty of room. Has Lois warned him about his mother? She says, about her irrational bias against those of us who were blessed to grow up in Bensonhurst? No, not yet. Ned says, Lois knows his mother loves her, right? and Lois says she does. She also knows Tracy loves to complain about her and Olivia, and she’s sure Tracy is going to complain about him too. But she and Olivia are adults and he’s just a kid. Ned says, she told him that he was 21, and she says, 21 is still just a kid to her. He says, maybe he’ll win Tracy over. She loves music, as long as it’s not Eddie Maine who’s playing it.

Brook asks if she can get Chase anything. Does he want some water? He says he’s not thirsty, and they hear, this is the final boarding call for flight #384 to Rome, on the loudspeaker. He says, dad was so happy yesterday. He was so full of life. He thought they would have so much more time. She says she did too, (me too), and Chase says, there were so many things he wanted to say to him, and now he’s just never going to know. Brook says she promises he knew, and the loudspeaker announces, boarding for flight 384 to Rome is now closed. Chase cries and Brook comforts him.

Dante says, this isn’t just about Sonny. It’s about him. He’s looked the other way so many times for so long. It’s embarrassing really. Not admitting who Sonny is and who he’s always been. He’s not going to do that anymore. Too many people are getting hurt. And if Sonny doesn’t do something to fix that, it’s just going to get worse.

Dex asks if Josslyn thinks he should turn Sonny in, but she says she thinks it’s up to him. He was attacked. It’s his decision. He says, and she has no opinion on it. That’s a first. She says she’s tired of telling people what they should or shouldn’t do and giving them ultimatums. It hasn’t exactly worked out for her in the past. Michael says he knows he has no right to ask anything else of Dex, and Dex says, but Michael is asking him. But it’s not like when he worked for Sonny. He’s a police cadet now. He has direct knowledge of a crime. What if somebody else gets hurt and him turning in Sonny could have stopped it? Michael says he knows. He’s not asking Dex to do this to protect Sonny, believe him. Sonny deserves to pay for what he did to Dex. He’s asking Dex for Kristina’s sake. If he accuses Sonny, she’ll have to be a witness. She’ll have to testify against her own father. She’s already an emotional wreck from all of this. And she’s pregnant. He’s just worried it’s too much for her. Dex says, when is it too much for him?

Blaze says she’s not denying that what Kristina’s dad did last night scares her, and Kristina says she knows. It scares her too. Blaze says, but she’s not as afraid of Sonny than she is about what all this is doing to Kristina. She’s the one Blaze cares about here. She hates seeing Kristina in so much pain. Besides, she’s the last one who should be throwing stones at anyone’s parents. Her mother gave Kristina every reason to run from their relationship, but she didn’t, so Blaze won’t either. She takes Kristina’s hands and says, Kristina’s not her father. No more than she’s her mother. Kristina says she doesn’t even know who he is anymore. She saw him attacking Dex, and after hearing him scream those threats, it’s like he’s a completely different person.

Finn tells Violet, grandpa wasn’t in any pain. He just went to sleep and didn’t wake up. She says, that can happen? and he says, not to him and her. Grandpa was real sick. She says, it was the ALS? and he says, yeah, that’s probably what it was. They said his heart just stopped beating. She says, but his heart was fine yesterday, and Finn says he knows. Sometimes when people are sick inside, they just don’t know. But he wants her to think about how amazing grandpa was yesterday, how much fun he had. Think about how lucky they are to have spent all this time with him. Violet starts to cry and says, no. She wants grandpa to still be here. She runs out of the room, calling, grandpa!

Finn goes into Gregory’s bedroom to find Violet looking at the bed. She asks, where is he? and Finn takes her hands. He says, the paramedics took grandpa away, and she says she didn’t get to say goodbye. Finn says he knows. If grandpa had known it was going to be the last time he’d see her, he would have hugged her so tight. He hugs her and she cries. She flashes back to being with Gregory at Bobbie’s, and Gregory telling her that she takes after her dad. When he was a boy, he always had his nose in some book. She says, he’s funny. Everyone knows you can’t draw with your nose. Gregory says, she’s so much smarter than he is. The wisdom of youth. She asks, what’s youth? and he says, it’s everything she is, and everything old guys like him long to be. She and Finn cry, and Finn says, life is so beautiful, but sometimes it’s cruel and it’s not fair. Life is so beautiful, it hurts sometimes. She says she loves him, and he says he loves her too. They hug and cry some more.

Chase and Brook walk into the Quartermaine mansion, and Brook asks if he’s okay. He says, not really. He just wishes he could have gone straight from the airport to Finn’s place. She says, her too, but Finn wanted some time to tell Violet about Gregory, just the two of them. He says he doesn’t blame Finn… She says she knows and hugs him. She says, they’re going to have to tell them everything at some point, so they might as well get it over with. Ready for this? He says he’s not sure he’ll ever be ready, but waiting isn’t going to make it easier.

Lois says, poor Ned. She bets Tracy would support his musical side had Brook not followed in their mutual footsteps. He says, if Brook had toed the line and lived her life the way his mother wanted, his mother would never respect her. She says, and Brook would be miserable, and he says, that too. His mother would never admit it, but she loves the way Brook stands up to her. Lois says she loves it too, and Brook and Chase walk in. Lois asks what they’re doing here. Aren’t they supposed to be on a plane, sipping champagne, watching another little plane on the screen in front of them getting closer and closer to Rome? Ned asks, what’s the matter? Was their flight canceled? Brook looks at Chase.

In the courtroom, Alexis flips the medal around, making a clanking sound. Diane puts her hand over it and says, now that Alexis has rubbed Gregory’s good luck charm to shreds, does she feel its good luck coursing through her veins? Alexis says, not unless luck and anxiety feel the same way, and Diane says, then put it away. Take a deep breath, because she doesn’t need luck. She has a brilliant attorney pleading her case. Perhaps she knows her name. Alexis Davis? A man walks in and sits at the other table, and Diane says, who does Alexis think is their esteemed colleague? Alexis says she has no idea. Something about him looks familiar. The bailiff says, all rise, and three judges take their places. Alexis quietly flips the good luck charm.

Finn carries Violet out to the living room and looks at the bottle of bourbon. He asks if she’s okay, and she says, is he? He says he’s very sad. He puts her on the sofa and says he knows it had to be hard for her to go to grandpa’s room just now. It was for him. She says, he was supposed to be in there, and Finn says he knows. She says, but if grandpa isn’t here with them, where is he? What happens to grandpa now?

Dante tells Sonny not to go anywhere near Dex, because if something happens to him, everyone is going to know it was Sonny. Sonny says, that’s how Dante is helping him? By telling him to hide from someone? Keep his mouth shut like some little coward? Dante says, it’s not about being a coward. It’s about being smart. Sonny better hope this kid doesn’t press charges, because if he does, Sonny can’t make amends to his family from behind bars. His freedom now rests on the shoulders, the decision, that a guy’s going to make that Sonny threatened to kill. Sonny says his own son is forsaking him, and Dante says, if he was forsaking Sonny, he’d be taking him down to jail in cuffs. He’s trying to save Sonny. Sonny says, yeah, and Dante says he is. He thinks the problem Sonny is having is that he’s reached his limit with him. He’s done protecting Sonny. He committed a crime and now he has to face the consequences of that crime. Okay? Sonny walks out without saying anything, closing the door behind him. In the hallway, Sonny holds his head for a moment, then keeps walking.

Kristina says she asked Michael to fix things with Dex. That was so unfair of her. Blaze says, it’s pretty clear Kristina’s brother loves her and will do whatever he can to help her, and Kristina says she knows. She loves Michael too, but you’d never be able to tell by the position she just put him in. Blaze says she’s being too hard on herself, and Kristina says she wishes. She hates it, but there’s really only one way for Michael to fix things and that’s by convincing Dex not to press charges against her dad.

Dex says he came to Port Charles because Michael asked him to take Sonny down. What happened last night is further proof that his first instinct was right. Sonny’s not just a danger to his enemies. He’s a danger to his loved ones too. And they’re never going to get a better chance to stop him than right now. Michael says, maybe, but like he told Dex… Josslyn says, there’s no maybe. Michael is right. Sonny absolutely deserves to be punished for what he’s done. The question is, does Kristina, and does her baby? Dex says he guesses she’s not afraid to share her opinion after all, and she says she’s thinking about him too. Because if he presses charges, and Kristina’s a witness, and they interview her, is the stress going to be too much for her and the baby? She knows Dex, and he’s going to feel terrible if it is. She’s not interested in telling him what to do. She can only ask, please don’t file charges against Sonny.

Sonny walks into the penthouse, and Ava says, there you are. She was worried. He barely said two words last night, and he was gone by the time Avery left for school. She missed her dad this morning. He starts to head for the back, and she says, please. Don’t shut her out. She’s here. He says, Kristina saw something, got the wrong idea. She’s one of the last people who believed in him, and now he lost her.

At the café, Michael asks Josslyn if she saw Sonny at the wedding, and she says, yes. She did her best to ignore him. He says, Sonny iced him out at the church. Not that he was expecting anything different. He was watching Sonny at the reception with Brook’s family, and they were all over him. They adored him. He was charming; he was flashing his dimples. He was smiling and flirting with the ladies and making jokes with the guys. He was watching Sonny and he was thinking, there he is. I know that guy. That’s my father. Josslyn says she remembers feeling that way about him. Thinking that he was so kind and empathetic. Thinking how lucky she was to have him as a stepfather. He says, it’s not like he’s lying. All that charm, the dimples, all that stuff, it’s real. So was the ugliness, the brutality, the rage. He used to be better at hiding it, controlling it… That’s why he and mom wanted Dex to stay around him, to keep an eye on him, to protect him from himself. She says, well, now Dex needs protection from Sonny, and he says, speaking of Dex. He saw them. They were dancing at the reception. He knows she waited for Dex afterwards, and actually, the whole night didn’t go as planned, but are they back together?

Finn takes Violet’s hand and says, in a few days, there will be something called a funeral. That’s where all of grandpa’s family and friends will get together to say goodbye to him. She says, but how do they say goodbye if he’s not here? and he tells her, they say it in their thoughts and they say it in their prayers. Or if she wants, she can say it out loud. It’s different for everyone. It’s whatever feels best for her. She says, but when they say goodbye, does grandpa go to heaven? Is he with the angels? Finn says, yeah. Grandpa’s with the angels. There’s a knock at the door, and Violet answers. Elizabeth is there and she hugs Violet. She tells Finn that Chase called her. She’s so sorry. Violet says, her dad’s sad too. She thinks he needs a hug. Elizabeth says she’s sure, and hugs Finn. Violet closes the door, and Elizabeth sees the glass with bourbon in it. She looks at Finn, looks at the bottle, then back at Finn again.

Diane says, on behalf of her client, Alexis Davis, and herself, she would like to thank the court for hearing their petition today. They come before the court to appeal Miss Davis’s disbarment and ask that she be allowed to return to the Bar and practice law in New York State again. And should they accept her appeal, the state and the people in it will only be the better for it. She thanks them and sits down. The man at the adjacent table stands up and says, with all due respect to his esteemed colleague, Miss Miller, the State of New York and its citizenry will be better off without Miss Davis, a proven liar, abusing their trust again. One of the judges asks, and what is the name of the party opposing Miss Davis’s appeal? and the man says, Fergus Byrne. He’s opposing her appeal. His brother Neil was a casualty of Miss Davis’s utter and complete disregard for the law. (Is this allowed? It’s not a parole hearing.)

Sonny tells Ava, the church, the music, everything was just beautiful. People were there from the old neighborhood who he grew up with, like the Cerullos and the Falconaris mostly. The church was packed. He looks over and he sees Dex. Ava says, what? and Sonny says, he had no right to be there. He knew it. Dex looks over at him with his little smirk like he knew he was getting away with it. Ava says, why would he do that? and Sonny says, because he’s a punk kid, with no respect for anyone or anything. She asks what Sonny did, and he says he punched Dex a few times, more than a few times, but he deserved it. Then Jason stopped him from doing something really bad that he was really going to regret. She says she’s sure Dex got the message, but he says, guys like Dex never get the message.

Blaze says, if Michael is willing to ask Dex to drop the charges, maybe it’s a good thing, and Kristina asks if Blaze is on her dad’s side. She’d have lost that bet. Blaze says she’s on Kristina’s side, first and always, but if she’s honest, she’s worried about what the effects of Sonny’s possible arrest and prosecution would have on Kristina. She’s very pregnant and already under a lot of pressure. Kristina says she knows. Seeing her dad attack Dex that way didn’t make it any better. Blaze says, it would be worse if Kristina had to go up in court and testify against him, and Kristina says she didn’t even think about that part of it. She was so focused on what would happen to her dad, she didn’t even… That’s why Michael agreed to talk to Dex. It wasn’t for her dad’s sake; it was for her. Blaze says, Michael already knows she has a lot to think about with the baby. On top of the already complicated history she has with her dad. She’s guessing Michael is putting himself out there because he wants to spare Kristina. That’s really a pretty amazing brother thing to do. Kristina says she knows. She just feels so bad. Michael’s going out on a limb, and she loves her dad. Blaze says, no one’s asking her to stop loving Sonny. It’s not like she’s turning off a faucet. Kristina says she knows, but he shouldn’t be allowed to get away with attacking people and threatening to kill them just because she loves her dad. Blaze says she doesn’t think he should either, and Kristina picks up her phone. Blaze asks what she’s doing, and Kristina says, what she has to do. She makes a call and says, hey, it’s Kristina. I’m at the MetroCourt. How soon can you be here?

Josslyn says, no, she and Dex aren’t back together, and Michael says, sorry he asked. She says, why wouldn’t he ask? She’s been asking herself the same question. She’s the one who broke up with Dex, even though she was still in love with him. He just did something she couldn’t accept, and she thought that was the end of it. He says, but it’s not? and she says she just hates couples that keep breaking up and getting back together. It’s like they’re terminally indecisive or they’re just addicted to the drama of it all. It just reminds her of mom and Sonny’s relationship. Every time she got rid of him, she’d go running back. She’s not saying Dex and Sonny are the same. They could not be more different. Her point is, it’s just not the kind of relationship that she wanted. When she broke up with Dex, she really meant it. Then he radically changed his life. He’s going to become a cop. At first, she thought it was to make amends with her. She knows she sounds like an egomaniac. He asks if she’s saying that Dex didn’t apply to the police academy to impress her. Because that seems like the obvious explanation.

Elizabeth wonders if she can ask Violet for a favor, and Violet says, sure. Elizabeth says, Aiden has been begging her for a friendship bracelet. Can she make him one? Violet says, definitely, and Elizabeth thanks her. Violet goes to her room, and Elizabeth makes sure that she can’t hear. She tells Finn that she can’t imagine how he’s feeling, but it’s obvious he’s been drinking. So she’s going to take Violet home with her, and he can get himself to a meeting, okay? He says, no, not okay. Violet’s staying with him. And he doesn’t need to get himself to a meeting. She says, this isn’t just about him, and he says his father is dead. She says, he must be in so much pain, and he says he stood right over there and watched two strangers wheel out his dead dad. She says, please, let her help him, but he laughs and says, nothing can help the way he’s feeling. Nothing.

Sonny tells Ava that Dex is taunting him. Dex isn’t even saying anything, but is still taunting him. Jason grabbed him and then Kristina showed up. He doesn’t know what she heard, and then she took off without… He wasn’t able to explain anything to her. Ava says she’s so sorry, and he says, Kristina was the only one who really, really believed in him. Every time she would look up at him, she would smile. By the time he finally caught up with her, his little girl was afraid of him. Ava looks like she might cry.

Blaze opens the door and tells Dex, come on in. It looks bad. He says he’s had worse. Never at a wedding though. Kristina says she doesn’t know what to say. She’s sorry doesn’t even begin to cut it. She thanks him for even agreeing to come here. Blaze asks if she can get him anything. Aspirin? Ice? He says, no thank you. Josslyn stayed with him at the ER while he got stitched up. Kristina says, Josslyn was right about her dad. She can say I told you so for… well, the rest of my life now. Dex says, it’s the last thing she wants to do. There’s no victory lap when it comes to being right about Sonny. Kristina says, he’s right. She’s sorry. She didn’t mean to be flippant about it. She had blinders on when it came to her dad. Everyone saw that but her. She wanted to think of him as the man she knew him to be, not who he was, not in his entirety. He says, for what it’s worth (🍷), when he worked for Sonny, he also saw what he wanted to see, and he was just as wrong. She says she knows her brother asked him not to press charges. Michael did that because of her, because she asked him to, but she shouldn’t have. He asks, why not? and she says, because Dex is entitled to justice, and if he chooses to pursue it, she wants him to know that she’ll testify on his behalf against her father.

Josslyn tells Michael, Dex really believes in what he’s doing. He wants to be a cop. He wants to wear that uniform, to protect and serve. And she thinks he’s going to make a really good cop, like Dante. He’s going to help people. And she thinks that he would really like it if they got back together, but if for some reason they don’t, Dex is going to be fine. He respects himself… and some other girl would get him, and she’d be kicking herself. Michael says, there’s an easy solution to this. She can just tell Dex that she wants to try again. She says she doesn’t know if she’s ready for that yet. What she does know is that she’s done changing her mind. Dex deserves better. Michael says he’s going to guess though, that Dex would tell her that there is nobody better than her. She says, he’s her big brother. He has to say nice things to her. He says, that doesn’t make them any less true, and hugs her.

Diane says, Mr. Byrne just admitted to being the brother of the late Dr. Neil Byrne, who was a factor in her client’s disbarment. Fergus gets up and says, his brother was much more than a factor in her case. Although he shouldn’t be surprised that she reduced him to such. His brother, Neil Byrne, would be alive today if it weren’t for Alexis Davis. Diane starts to protest that it’s a conflict of interest, when Alexis gets up. She says she has no problem with Mr. Byrne’s role here today. In fact, she welcomes it. She’s never pleaded her own case in court before, but she intends to do so today, so it seems fitting, maybe even necessary, that Mr. Byrne have a front row seat to it.

Lois says she’s so sorry and hugs Chase. His father was a wonderful man, and he was a wonderful father. Chase is proof of that. Every moment she spent in Gregory’s company was pure joy. Chase thanks her, and she asks if Brook is okay, and hugs her. Ned tells Chase that he’s so sorry, and Brook asks, where’s her grandmother? Ned says, she went down to the stables. She was going out for a ride. Chase says he’ll go down there and see if she’s left yet, and Ned says he’ll walk Chase down. They leave, and Lois says she can’t believe he’s gone. She knew it was going to happen someday, but… Brook says she knows. Someday wasn’t supposed to be now. Lois leads Brook to the sofa and says, sometimes God has a plan for us. She guesses it would just be nice sometimes to get a little heads up. Because of Brook and Chase and that beautiful wedding, Gregory died the happiest, right? Brook says, he was also the bravest, and holding back tears, Lois says, yeah, he was. And the way he officiated their wedding, it was with so much courage and determination. Brook says, he had so much strength, and he used so much of it to get through that ceremony. It’s like he just didn’t have any left. She starts to cry, and Lois sits next to her, putting her arm around Brook. Brook says, Chase just wanted a little more time with his dad, and Lois says, but Brook is here to hold Chase now and let him know he’s not alone. Brook puts her head on Lois’s shoulder, and they cry.

Finn says, does Elizabeth want to know what eased the pain for a few minutes? One drink. He thinks he has the right to do whatever it takes to get him through this day. She says, if that’s how he chooses to treat his pain, she can’t stop him, but she will not let him get drunk in front of that little girl in this apartment.

Tomorrow, Finn says, those are the two choices, you decide; Alexis demands to know the name of her accuser; Kristina tells Blaze that in her own way, she’s just as guilty; and Carly asks what Sonny is going to do when he runs out of traitors.

👨🏻‍💻 A Professor To Remember…

I’m so sorry to see him go. I saw Gregory Harrison years ago on Broadway in a revival of my favorite musical, Follies. He was actually substituting for the original actor, and I was skeptical at first, but he was absolutely amazing. It’s a shame they couldn’t have made it a misdiagnosis or at least let him play it out. Although kudos for such a beautiful ending.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/gregory-harrison-ends-his-run-on-general-hospital

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/gh-stars-say-goodbye-to-gregory-harrison

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/why-james-patrick-stuart-was-happy-gregory-harrison-joined-gh

⚖️ Enter Fergus…

Apparently, he and Alexis (or at least her portrayer) are no strangers.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/lane-davies-opens-up-about-his-general-hospital-return

💊 The Real Deal…

It’s unbelievable people were telling him that Sonny’s reaction to the low dosage of his meds is unrealistic or that it’s just for the next Emmy. He ought to know about being bipolar and he deserves another Emmy for this one.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/ghs-maurice-benard-on-sonnys-mental-health-crisis

🔪 The Latest On Top…

My takeaways from this week. Tom said to put your own spin on a classic, you have to understand the dish first. Even though the microwave is my best friend in the kitchen, I get this. The teacher I studied musical comedy with said, learn how the song is sung first, then make it your own. Same thing. The judges were also on Watch What Happens Live afterward, and Kristen said she finds foam to be useless 99% of the time. So my suspicions about foam were right.

‘Top Chef’ season 21 episode 10 recap: A little blood and a lot of fire on the beach in ‘Door County Fish Boil’

🍲 In Other Chefs…

Serving up the next Food Stars.

https://thedirect.com/article/gordon-ramsays-food-stars-2024-cast-season-2-contestants-hosts-photos

Gordon Ramsay vs Lisa Vanderpump: Who Will Win Food Stars Season 2?
Lisa Vanderpump Knew How to ‘Handle’ Gordon Ramsay Going Into ‘Food Stars’

🪞 Don’t Try This At Home…

I’m including this because it’s just so sad. And they’re not the only women in the industry who think they’re huge at a size 0. I have a theory that the people in media and advertising want women to disappear, since they just keep encouraging us to be smaller.

https://people.com/christina-applegate-anorexia-married-with-children-messy-podcast-8647913

🍿 No Awards For You…

They don’t quite say what the problem was. I actually thought it was the only awards show worth watching.

https://ew.com/mtv-movie-and-tv-awards-wont-happen-this-year-will-return-in-2025-8647917

🐕 The Warm and Fuzzy Side Of the Met…

I swear, next year I’m going to this.

https://people.com/dogs-dress-in-canine-copies-of-2024-met-gala-looks-for-pet-gala-8651847

🪣 There’s a Hole In My Bucket List…

Join me tomorrow for soap and throwing stones at Summer Houses. Until then, stay safe, stay sending postcards when you travel, and stay saying goodbye however feels best for you. It’s different for everyone.

Apr2

April 1, 2024 – Blaze Becomes the New Face Of Deception, Jill Zarin Thinks She’s the Primary On Deck, Finale Of Who Lived & Ball

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Sonny sees Dante slowly walking in the corridor at the hospital, along with a nurse, and says, it’s good to see him up and walking. He wasn’t there when Dante took his first steps, but he’s getting a taste of that right now. This time if Dante falls, he’ll be there to catch him.

Elizabeth calls upstairs for Jake to hurry up. She’d really like to take a shower after her shift. There’s a knock at the door, and Elizabeth asks Aiden to get that. She’s not dressed. She heads upstairs and Aiden answers the door to Jason. Aiden says, hi, and Jason says, Aiden, right? Aiden says, yeah. He’s Jason. Jason says, it’s been a while, and Aiden says, sorry. Does he want to come in? Jason comes inside, and Elizabeth comes back down. He says he hopes it’s okay that he stopped by, and she says, of course (🍷). He says he saw her at his arraignment and wanted to say thanks for being there, and she says she just wanted to see for herself what’s going on. Congratulations on having the charges dropped. He thanks her and says he’s sorry. He should have dropped by sooner. She says, that’s okay. To be honest, she doesn’t know what kind of reception he’d have received if he stopped by earlier. So maybe now the timing is just right.

In Alexis’s office, Adrian says, Nina made him associate publisher, and he has every right to weigh in on where his pieces are run, but Alexis says, he doesn’t have any right to decide the layout of the paper because that’s her job. He suggests they call Nina and see what she says, and he picks up the phone. Alexis asks if he’s five years old. This is not kindergarten. Is he going to call the principal? No, they’re not doing that. She puts the phone back, and Diane says, knock-knock. Bad time?

Blaze looks at the contract, and Maxie asks how it looks. Blaze says, looking at it makes it seem real, and Lucy says, of course (🍷) it’s real. They’re so excited that they’ve decided to have her as the new Face of Deception. Blaze thanks her. She’s glad they circled back and that it’s working out this time. Lucy says, of course (🍷) it’s working out. Blaze is the perfect pairing with Deception, like peanut butter and chocolate, or wine and cheese, or a facial and a massage. Brook says, Lucy is right. It’s going to be a perfect partnership. She says that not only on behalf of Deception, but also as Blaze’s music manager. This is a really smart step for her career. Maxie says, her popularity as an artist will bring eyes to Deception, and Deception’s leverage will boost her profile and expose her to a whole new audience. It’s a win-win. Lucy says, they just need her signature, when Natalia walks in. She says she’s so sorry she’s late. Traffic was crazy. Has Blaze signed that yet? Blaze says, not yet, and Natalia says, great, taking the contract from Blaze. Because it’s so much harder to tear these things up and start from scratch. (Um… Isn’t Brook her manager?)

Elizabeth tells Jason, excuse the mess. She just got off a double shift. She’s head nurse now. He says he heard Epiphany died. It’s just so much to process. First Bobbie, then Britt, now Epiphany. So much can happen in two years. But he’s happy she made head nurse. She deserves it. He knows Epiphany would be proud of her. She thanks him and says, big shoes to fill, but so far, she’s loving it. He says, she looks good, happy, and she thanks him. She says, he looks different, and he says, that’s because he is.

Alexis says she’s so glad she and Diane could meet. She was just showing Adrian out. She steers Adrian to the door, and he says, point of fact, they have not yet finished. She says, call Nina. She’s probably really busy, so email Nina and make sure he cc’s her. He says, make space for the review on the front page, as Alexis closes the door. She tells Diane, perfect timing, and Diane laughs and says, it looks like her day is going well. Alexis says, Nina has foisted this gossip columnist on her and made him associate publisher. Now he thinks he runs the place. Diane says she’s sure that’s fun for Alexis, but Alexis says, no. She’s determined to turn The Invader into some fluffy, gossipy, rag magazine, and making her life a living hell. Diane says, so obviously, she could use some good news, and Alexis asks if Diane has some to share. Diane says she’s done some digging, and with the information she’s found out, they’re half a step closer to getting Alexis back to practicing law.

Natalia says she understands this isn’t the first time they’ve approached Allison about being the Face of Deception. The woman who had the position until just recently, why did they separate? Lucy says, that’s Sasha Gilmore. Sasha was wonderful and amazing, and they love her. And they’re so grateful to her for all she contributed. It’s just that, you know pop culture is always evolving and changing, and her look was just a little too wholesome, and the magazines right now want hipper, edgier, the Gen Z that has that style. Brook says, Blaze, as a musician, obviously has that in spades, and Natalia says, that’s unacceptable. Maxie asks, which part? and Natalia says she’s not going to have the word edgy associated with Blaze because it has less than savory connotations. (Come into this century…) Now, creative, gifted, those are acceptable. Maxie asks what Blaze thinks, and Blaze says, her mom makes a good point. She defines herself as a creative. Whether people find her look, her presentation as edgy, so be it. That’s not something she’s striving for. Lucy says, they just want Blaze to be her own, lovely, wonderful self, and Blaze thanks her. Natalia says she’s having a little problem here with clause #3. It says something about Blaze being a spokesmodel for Deception products. What exactly does that mean?

Sonny tells Dante, anything he needs, he just has to say it, and Dante says he wants his strength back. He feels like he just ran a marathon or something. Sonny says, it’s going to take time because he’s been through a lot, but he’s getting his color back to his face. So when he was unconscious… Dante says, hey, he’s going to be okay. He was shocked when he heard Jason was arrested for shooting him. He’s glad he got that all squared up with Anna. Sonny asks if he’s positive that’s what happened, and Dante says, yeah. He went after the two suspects, caught up with them at the pier. He told them to stop. One of them did, the other one didn’t. The guy that did, he told him to turn around and put his hands in the air, and when he did, it was Jason. The other guy came back, and he opened fire.

Aiden says he saw on the news that Jason had been shot, but Jason says he’s okay and thanks Aiden. Jake comes downstairs and says the bathroom is all Elizabeth’s. If she still wants to get him that electric razor for his birthday… He sees Jason, who says, hi, and Jake asks, why is he here?

Diane says, something about the disciplinary hearing that resulted in Alexis’s disbarment has never sat right with her, so she did some digging. One of the original attorneys on the panel had to recuse himself. Alexis says, on what grounds? and Diane says, you tell me. The attorney in question, Fergus Byrne. Alexis says, Byrne… Byrne! and Diane says, as in the brother of Dr. Neil Byrne, with whom Alexis had a relationship, then lied to the board to protect. Alexis says, and also the reason she was disbarred. She had no idea there was a third brother, and yet he was the lawyer who recused himself in her case? Diane says, the Byrnes were quite the overachieving Irish American family – a doctor, a lawyer, and executive turned blackmailer. Alexis says, this is really intriguing, although, how does it help her? and Diane says, when Fergus Byrne recused himself, he was replaced with his very own law partner. That alone gives the whole proceeding an air of illegitimacy. Doesn’t she think?

In her office, Anna says she wanted to talk to Detective Bennet about a possible candidate for the police academy, and he says, they’re always looking for new recruits, especially one who comes recommended by the Police Commissioner. She says, his name is Dex Heller, and she wanted to talk to Bennet because he’s an instructor at the academy and she wanted him to access Dex’s potential. He says, sure. He’d be happy to meet with him. How did he do on the written exam? Anna says, he didn’t sit that yet. She wanted them to get the ball rolling first. He asks, why is that? and she says, he’s ex-military. He served in Afghanistan and so she’s sure he’ll pass the physical and the JST and the drug screening. She just wanted him to have extra time to study for the written exam. He says, that’s definitely not the usual process, but he trusts her judgement, and she thanks him. She says she has a good feeling about Dex. She thinks his experience with his former employer is going to be very useful for them. He asks what Dex was doing, and she says, working for Sonny Corinthos.

Dante tells Sonny that he’d never seen the other guy who shot him before. Not that it matters. They can’t find his body anymore and none of the forensic evidence was helpful. Sonny says he guesses Jason knows what happened to him, since they were working together, and Dante says, they were working together on the roof, yeah. Sonny says, lining up a shot at him, and Dante says he doesn’t know what Jason was doing, but he remembers Jason was trying to get him help and trying to stop the bleeding. Sonny says he guesses he knows where their tax dollars are going, and Dante asks what he’s talking about. Sonny says he saw Jason last night. He’s working as an informant for the FBI.

Jake says, Jason has been on the news a lot. Everyone’s talking about him, but Jake hasn’t heard anyone say where he’s been this whole time. Jason tells him that all he can say is, he got into some trouble and had to take a job he didn’t want in a place far away from here. Jake says, and they didn’t have phones in this faraway place or computers. Or did Jason just not feel like telling them he was alive? Elizabeth says, Jake… but Jason says, it’s okay. He’d be asking the same question. He knows this doesn’t make much sense to Jake, but if he could have gotten in touch, he would have. He knows it’s a lot to ask, but please believe him. Jake says, would you believe you?

Lucy says, Blaze would represent Deception at all their in-store product launches and of course (🍷) on the Home & Heart Shopping Channel. She would be showing off their merchandise and look at that face. This face would sell millions of units of beauty and wellness products. Brook says, and it will get a ton of eyes on Blaze. They can’t buy that kind of publicity. Natalia says, absolutely not. Blaze will do photoshoots, but she won’t be personally hawking products on some home shopping show or live events. No. Maxie says she’s sure they can come up with a compromise that works for everyone, but Natalia says, no compromise. Blaze won’t be signing the contract unless they agree that the Face of Deception is completely separate from this traveling salesperson of Deception.

Bennet tells Anna, in the old days, organized crime would quietly infiltrate the force or hand out bribes and put some cops in their back pocket. Now she’s telling him the department is actively recruiting mobsters. She says, Dex had a somewhat contentious parting with his former employer. She believes he’s left that life firmly behind and he will be 100% loyal to them here. He says, she knows hiring this guy is going to cause conflict with Corinthos, and she says she thinks it’s natural to have conflict between law enforcement and racketeers. He says he always thought she had a soft spot for Corinthos and tried to go easy on him, and she apologizes if she gave that impression. They go back… and Detective Falconari is his son, which she knows has raised a few eyebrows around here. But he’s never cut his father any slack, nor will anyone else in this department, including her. Sonny Corinthos will be held to the same standards they hold everyone else. He wonders if he can ask what prompted this change of heart, and Anna tells him, let’s say it was a series of events that occurred recently that shed light on the fact they have to check organized crime in this city, specifically limit Sonny’s influence. To that end, Dex will be invaluable to them. He will be able to give them insight into how Sonny’s operation is run. She thinks if they pass up this opportunity, they will never get one like this again.

Dante says, Jason’s been working for the Feds this whole time, and Sonny says, supposedly. Dante asks, why? Did he explain it? Sonny says, not really. He just said he’s working as an informant for the FBI and wanted him to swallow it, but how can he swallow something that’s the worst thing Jason could have done? Dante says, nice to know how Sonny feels about it, and Sonny says, the Feds? Jason is dead to him. Dante says, come on. Why doesn’t he get the full story first before he writes Jason off? Sonny says he doesn’t want to talk about it. Go ahead. Say it. Whatever it is Dante’s got to say, say it. Dante says, Jason was Sonny’s righthand man for years. Sonny relied on him. Sonny says, when he came back from Nixon Falls, he’d had amnesia. He comes back and his wife is marrying his best friend. He had feelings for another woman, and things were never the same after that. Jason’s not the Jason he knew. Dante says he’s sorry, and Sonny says he doesn’t want to waste their valuable time talking about this right now. Once Dante gets better, he wants Dante to even make fun of him if he wants. Dante laughs, and Sonny says, he won’t even care. He’ll even let Dante. How’s that? Dante says he’s going to hold Sonny to that, and Sonny says, he’d better.

Alexis says, this is all very intriguing, but she doesn’t want to get her hopes up, and Diane says she believes the implication of bias is further grounds to appeal her disbarment. Alexis says she should have paid more attention to Neil’s family tree. She knew there was a lawyer out there somewhere, vaguely, but if Neil’s brother Fergus was at his memorial, she never met him. Diane says, maybe there’s a very good reason Fergus didn’t introduce himself to Alexis. If he was even partially responsible for her disbarment, he’d want to stay as far away from her as humanly possible before she started putting the pieces all together. Alexis says, true, and Diane says, but Fergus is no longer on the disciplinary committee. She checked. So he won’t be a factor in her appeal this time. Alexis says, all joking aside, she’s truly impressed with the progress Diane has made on this so quickly. She’s just not sure she should proceed with this. Diane says, why the hell not? and Alexis says, because her job at The Invader is annoying and frustrating, but an argument in its favor is she gets to sleep at night. She won’t be up at 3 in the morning making revisions on a closing argument or having nightmares she makes a procedural error and gets her client wrongly convicted. Diane tells her, there’s a lot to be said for a restful night’s sleep, but the Alexis she knows never took the easy way out for anything. She loves a challenge and loves being a lawyer, so what is this really all about? Alexis says, Molly’s worried. She said the last time Alexis practiced law, she also happened to be a raging alcoholic and turned her life into a car wreck. And she’s worried if the appeal is dismissed, Alexis will dive right back into the bottle. Diane asks what she said to that, and Alexis says, Molly’s got enough on her plate right now, so she doesn’t want to worry her. She told Molly that she goes to meetings regularly and she’s working the program. And that is all true. But what if by trying to get her law license back, it derails her sobriety and everything else she’s worked so hard to salvage from the ruins of her old life?

Natalia crosses out some things in the contract and says, okay. She’s crossed out everything about the live participation and pitching products, and the rest of it looks good to her. Lucy says, what if they want the live participation to remain in force? and Natalia says, then they’ll have to find another Face of Deception. Lucy tells Blaze that she knows her mom wants the best for her and her career, of course (🍷), but she does realize being the Face of Deception is a very prestigious role. It’s big, big, big. Is she really willing to just pass that up? Blaze says, she doesn’t want to, but – she looks at Natalia – her mom makes a valid point. She’s a singer, a performer, not a spokesmodel. Lucy says she sees, and Blaze says, but she doesn’t think that means they have to forget about the whole thing. Would they be open to hiring a second Face?

Elizabeth tells Jake that she knows this isn’t easy. First, he had to mourn his dad and accept that he’s gone, and all of a sudden, his dad is back with no real explanation of where he went for so long… But this isn’t good for Jake to be so angry with him. Jake says he doesn’t think it’s good for Elizabeth to be so okay with this and act all nice to him like he didn’t do anything wrong and everything’s fine. She says, that’s not what she’s doing. She knows Jake is hurting, but that doesn’t make it okay for him to lash out at everyone around him. So can he turn down the snark just a little? Jake nods and asks if she knows. She says, know what? and he says, that his dad was alive. Jason didn’t call her or get in touch with her or send her something? Did she know and then keep it a secret from him? She says, no. God no. She didn’t know he was alive, she promises. Jake says, it’s just hard. He feels guilty because… Never mind. He starts to get up, and she says, no. Just tell her. All of his feelings matter, and he gets to feel however he wants about this, and he can talk to her. No judgement here. She promises him that. He says he feels guilty because he was so sad when dad died. He used to lay in bed at night, wishing he could talk to him, wishing he had more time. But now he thinks it was easier having a dead father that people would tell you stories about, rather than one who’s alive, but only shows up to commit crimes and get arrested and has nothing to say to his own family.

There’s a knock at Anna’s office door and she says, come in. Sonny walks in and asks how she is. She asks what she can do for him. She’s very busy. She doesn’t have a lot of time. He says, okay. He’ll get to it. He just got back from seeing Dante. She asks how Dante is doing, and Sonny says, he’s doing fine. He got up and he was walking. Full recovery is going to take a while, but he hates seeing Dante that way. She says, of course (🍷), but then the alternative is much worse, and he tells her that Dante also said he’s positive it wasn’t Jason who shot him. She says she’s aware. She has a lot of work to do so… He says, even if Jason isn’t guilty of shooting Dante, he’s still guilty of being on the roof with that sniper who shot at him. She says, fortunately, he wasn’t hit, and he says, that was lucky, but she knows Jason was there. Does she have any idea what she’s going to charge him with?

Jason goes into Dante’s room and says, sorry. He didn’t mean to startle him. Dante says he just didn’t know he would see Jason here. He wants to thank him. Jason says, for what? and Dante says, for the bandage, calling 911… He thinks he probably would have bled out by the time the ambulance got there. Jason says, if it hadn’t been for him, Dante probably wouldn’t have been on the pier in the first place, and Dante says, that’s a good point. He takes it back. He laughs and Jason almost smiles. Dante says, one thing he can’t figure out. Why did Jason turn around? If he didn’t want to be identified, why didn’t he keep running? Jason says, because he knew Dante wouldn’t stop chasing them. He thought it would be safer if he let Dante arrest him, but it turns out he was wrong. Dante says, let him ask Jason this, as a cop and a victim, can Jason tell him what happened to the guy who shot him? Jason says, no. The name he had for him was fake, but what’s real is, he’s dead. Dante asks, what happened to his body? but Jason says he has no idea. He has some theories, but it doesn’t really matter. Dante says, maybe Jason can tell him this then. Was he also an FBI informant?

Diane says, my friend, none of us knows the future. If Alexis’s appeal is denied, could the disappointment she feels cause her to start drinking again? She doesn’t know. She guesses anything’s possible. But she knows Alexis and knows how strong she is. She’s accomplished everything she’s set her mind to, so there’s no reason to think this would cause her to start drinking again. This place is a nightmare, but she’s not tossing them back, is she? Alexis says, no, and Diane says, so there you go. Alexis thanks her, and Diane says, let’s get to her other big news. Her petition to petition the court was granted. So now the justices just need to agree there are grounds for an appeal, even though technically speaking, that window was closed a long time ago. Alexis says, they both know motions to vacate disbarment are rarely granted, and Diane groans and says she doesn’t have the time right now to manage Alexis’s fear of success. So would she please stop being the voice of doom? She’s ready to run with this, but only if Alexis is committed to seeing it through. And of course (🍷) paying her back for all the hours she’s put in by joining her practice once they see this through.

Adrian barges in Alexis’s office and says, he and Nina have an idea he’d like to run by her, but Alexis says she’s busy. Can’t it wait? He says, it will just take a minute. Everyone has been loving his column so much, that he and Nina thought they could split it off into daily pieces. They’ll call it something like Spotlight of Society, highlighting what all the movers and shakers of Port Charles are up to. Who are the hot new couples, who’s getting divorced, who lost all their money? It could be a big hit. What does she think? Diane applauds, and Alexis says she thinks if Adrian doesn’t leave her office right now, he’ll be putting out the evening’s additional by himself. He walks up to her desk and says he knows that’s meant to be a threat, but… Alexis stands up and says, get out! Adrian backs up to the door, backs out, and closes it. Alexis tells Diane, do it. Please. Get her the hell out of here. Diane laughs.

The lawyer hands Lucy the contract and tells her to consider it official. Maxie says she’ll walk him out, and they leave. Lucy thanks Blaze and says she’s so glad they could work this out. They’re going to do amazing, great things together. Blaze says, her too. She’s the new Face of Deception. Natalia says, and what a gorgeous face it is, and they hug. Brook says, congratulations, and Maxie comes back. She says she has so many shoot ideas she can’t wait to talk to Blaze about. Lucy says, see? Everybody is so, so excited to get started working with Blaze, and Natalia says, just one more thing. This doesn’t have to be in writing or anything, but she really would like their word that moving forward, Allison will be a woman of mystery. Maxie asks what that means, and Natalia says, just that her private life will remain off-limits. So she won’t be doing interviews. They won’t publish puff pieces about her. Allison, or Blaze as they’ll be calling her, will just be known to the public by her beauty and her music. Maxie says, okay… Is that what Blaze wants? Blaze says, absolutely, but Maxie looks like she doesn’t quite buy it.

Elizabeth says, Jake’s father is a man of few words, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t care. He wouldn’t have shown up here if he didn’t want to see Jake. Jake says, maybe he just felt like he had to, but she says, no. She doesn’t know where he’s been for the past few years or why, but she saw the way he looked at Jake just now. He wouldn’t have stayed away on his own. Jake asks why he’s like this, and she says, he’s complicated, but he never makes things up and he doesn’t lie. He may not say a whole lot, but every word that comes out of his mouth is the truth. Jake says, she always defends him, but she says she’s explaining him. It’s different. Jake says, it doesn’t matter anyway. Jason knows he’s mad at him. He doubts he’ll ever show up here again. She says she wouldn’t count on that. He’s not going to make some big declaration that he’s Jake’s dad and he loves him. Instead, he’s going to keep showing up until Jake realizes it’s the only explanation.

Jason says he guesses Dante’s been talking to Sonny, and Dante says, he left a while ago. Jason working for the Feds really messed him up. Jason says he’s an informant, not an agent, and Dante says, Sonny thinks he’s a traitor. There’s something else going on here. How many deals did Jason get offered over the years and he didn’t take them? How many times could he have flipped on Sonny, and he didn’t do it? Jason says he didn’t inform on Sonny, and Dante says, then who? Jason sighs and says, that, he can’t say. Dante says, the FBI must have some serious leverage, something big to get him to cooperate, and Jason says, it was big enough that he had no choice but to take their deal and do exactly what they wanted. Dante says, can Jason swear to him that it has nothing to do with his father? and Jason says, Sonny has nothing to do with this. He’s safe. And Jason is going to do his best to make sure he stays that way.

Anna says, son of a bitch. Sonny has the gall to come in here and try and get her to file charges against Jason. Sonny says he just wanted a heads up in case he has to testify, and she says, there are no charges to file. It’s clear Jason stopped that sniper from shooting him. Anyway, this is an FBI case now, so if he’ll… If he wants her to arrest someone, she can always circle back to the attack on Cyrus on Christmas Eve. He asks, where’s this hostility coming from? and she says, it’s an open case in her jurisdiction and she has a lot of DNA evidence collected from the victim indicating him as the attacker. Cyrus may have declined to press charges on Sonny, but honestly, she doesn’t need him to move forward. He says he thought they were getting closer and that doesn’t seem to be the case now. What’s happening? She says, it’s not the case. She thinks her attitude toward him was really colored by his friendship with Robin and what he did for her and Stone. But if he thought for one second that she was okay with him beating an old man bloody and unconscious, no matter if he’s a vile person, he was sorely mistaken. She’s Police Commissioner, and his days of thinking he’s going to skate no matter what the offense, they’re over. So if he doesn’t mind – even if he does mind – get out of her office.

Tomorrow, Stella asks why Curtis is keeping this from his family; Anna says, it’s her jurisdiction and she wants in; Dex says, that was a stupid and ugly reason to die; Willow says she thought Carly and Jason told each other everything; and Jason asks John why he should continue to honor that.

Below Deck

Port Louis Marina – We backtrack a little to Xandi asking why she has to change herself to make a 22-year-old feel good about herself. In his bunk with Sunny, Ben tells her that she needs to trust him, and she apologizes because she’s an idiot. He’s totally untrustworthy. The crew all go to bed, and Xandi mumbles that she’s a 30-year-old involved in child’s play. Apparently, she is obsessed with ages. In Kyle’s interview, he says that he and Barbie formed a relationship. He doesn’t know if he’ll be friendzoned, but time will tell. In the morning, Sunny says she needs to get a grip, and in her interview, she says she has an alter-ego when she drinks, and Sabrina is a jealous bitch. The guys she used to date were little a-holes and cheated on her. Sabrina was her protective shield, but she wants her gone now. Tequila Sabrina, buh-bye. Fraser whines that he’s so hungover, and Sunny apologizes to Xandi. Xandi tells her that there’s no reason to be jealous.

Fraser calls the interior to the sundeck and says, they were hoping for a new stew, but there’s been no news. Captain Kerry calls Curtis at yacht service and asks to see resumés. Fraser suggests they get everything done so they can clock off with a happy heart. In Kyle’s interview, he says, his mom is the best. She raised him on her own until he was five, when she got together with his stepdad. His dad came around later, but he decided his dad couldn’t just jump in when he felt like it. His stepdad adopted him, and he considers him his dad. The deckhands rinse down the boat and Fraser asks the captain about a new stew. Captain Kerry explains that it’s busy season, and asks, how’s the chef? Fraser says he thinks Anthony has too much on his plate and it’s a sh*tshow. We flash back to the galley in disarray, and Frasers says, the organization is terrible. He wonders if the captain can step in, and in Captain Kerry’s interview, he says, chefs are artists. He once hired a good friend who was a chef and ruined the friendship. He tells Fraser, there’s got to be balance. Anthony will believe his art is being critiqued. In Anthony’s interview, he says, revenge is his motivation. Since he was a kid, he’s been dyslexic. It’s hard be focused and it makes the job more difficult. You need to love what you do. The captain calls Fraser, Anthony, and Ben for the preference sheet meeting.

Captain Kerry says he’s impressed with how hard they worked on the last charter. This charter, the primary is Melinda, who was a cruise director. There are a bunch of people coming with her, but the only important one is Jill Zarin, a RHONY OG, who is guest Gary’s girlfriend. Fraser asks what pickleball is and the captain tells him, tennis for rich people. There are tons of food preferences and foods the guests are allergic too. So many, I can’t even keep up. The primary is egg free, gluten free, and dairy free. She’s a vegetarian who’s beginning to integrate fish into her diet, but doesn’t want raw seafood. Anthony says he’ll give her dust. She wants a gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free Piña Colada-inspired birthday cake for herself, and a regular-ass cake for her husband Noah, as they’re both celebrating. In Anthony’s interview, he says he’s stressed. There are a lot of restrictions, and he keeps hoping it’s not real, but it’s real. Ben reads that one of the guests is a yogi, who will lead the guests in a sunset flow after pickleball at the beach. The crew gets to bed early, and in the morning, Dylan says he loves the feeling of getting a pump. If he doesn’t have a dumbbell, he feels sad. Well, he should have no problem with that since Ben is around. Captain Kerry walks around the boat with Ben and says, it’s better. Provisions come in and we find out the fridge is named Christopher because it’s a walk-in. BA-DUM-CHH! In Fraser’s interview, he says, he’s feeling a stew down, and Xandi says, yachting is f***ed.  

The guests are arriving in 15 minutes, and I’ve decided they must be a-holes just because they hang with Jill. The guests arrive, the usual happens, and Jill thinks the hot tub is too hot. Anthony slices the biggest avocado I’ve ever seen, and Fraser points out that there are quite a few dietary restrictions. Sunny calls departure for the first time, and in her interview, she says she grew up on the water and it reminds her of home in Montreal. When she went to university, she didn’t know what she wanted to do with her life, and it damaged her self-esteem. Why it should, I’m not sure. She says, yachting opened a door to new self-esteem and confidence. En route to Le Phare Bleu, Jill complains that they don’t have the best ice machine and she needs her Diet Coke to be in the freezer. Barbie suggests nugget ice, and Jill is good with that. In Barbie’s interview, she says, Jill is the primary in her head. Jill tells the other guests that she just showed them how to make a good Diet Coke. Anthony tells Fraser that he wants to do lobster, but Fraser reminds him that the primary doesn’t like lobster. In his interview, Fraser says he thinks Anthony is overwhelmed. He’s not focused and doesn’t know what to do, so he’s not there. Anthony says, welcome to paradise.

Anchor is dropped, and Jill babbles to Fraser about guest Noah’s father inventing the Moderna vaccine. The toys are put out and the guests go into the water, while Jill sits on the boat. In Barbie’s interview, she says, this boat is three times bigger than what she’s used to, but her dad didn’t raise a quitter. Jill blabs to Captain Kerry about how she drove a boat. The captain calls Ben to the wheelhouse, and Ben says he’s putting more responsibility on the others. The captain asks if he’s worked out who his lead deckhand needs to be. Dylan has experience, but may or may not be the one. Dylan tells the guests that he’s happy to be here. This is living. And he’s going to be lead deckhand. Xandi and Captain Kerry eat in the crew mess, and Xandi asks how long he’s been with his girlfriend. He tells her, three years, and in her interview, she says, after her divorce, she had a good relationship, but they broke up and it hurt her. She went to a healer to release her from the pain. She needed to love herself and she’s taken a stage of celibacy. If you don’t want marriage and kids, move along. Jill wants a makeup mirror, and bitches that there’s no electric in her bathroom for her to dry her hair. Barbie explains that the outlet is hidden in the drawer and goes to the bathroom to show her. While Jill has a captive audience, she tells Barbie that every yacht she’s been on has a load of toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, etc. in a vanity drawer, so she can pocket them. In her interview, Barbie says, she’s annoying. It’s too much. The primary’s freeloading guest is so demanding, she needs another stew just for Jill. Jill kvetches that she wants a chocolate on her pillow, and I’m pretty sure now that Bobby died just to get away from her.

Jill starts the list again, and Barbie tells Jill that she’ll hook this whole situation up for her. She tells Fraser about Jill saying, yachts are supposed to have this stuff, and Xandi frantically tries to find toiletries. Barbie brings Jill a little basket of stuff, and instead of thank you, Jill says, somebody’s been scrambling. Captain Kerry texts about the new stew and is told they’re working on it. The table is beautiful with a collection of candles in different colors and heights. In Anthony’s interview, he says he loves scallops. They melt in your mouth. Someone is vegan and he wants to make them feel like the other guests, so he’s going to use tofu, so they feel like they’re at the same party. Fraser calls the crew to the upper pantry for the birthday cake presentation. Anthony tells the primary that there’s a pina colada flan and a raspberry shortcake. In their interview, Fraser tells Anthony, it wasn’t easy, but he nailed it, and they high-five. The guests go to bed at 11:30, so, there’s that. Barbie says, Jill is super needy, and she has to get to f***ing bed.

Second day of charter. Jill screeches for Gary, and says, that’s her life. Sadly, it’s Gary’s life too. The guests sit for breakfast. Somebody wants hot sauce, and another guest wants a drink. Jill says, they need a doorbell, when Fraser appears, and Jill says she recommend a button for her the primary to use. On her yacht, they used to have a doorbell that went to the kitchen. Fraser says, they must have loved her, and Jill laughs, but I don’t think he was being playful. He tells her that there’s usually a crew member around, but she says, most of the time, there isn’t, which is just an outright lie. She says, they can get a bell on Amazon, and in Fraser’s interview, he says, Jill is crawling into his brain and eating away his soul. He tells Captain Kerry about the button conversation, and it’s a hard no on the doorbell.

Fraser packs for pickleball, and in Kyle’s interview, he says, Dylan is a good lad, but they’ve high-fived more times than he can count. We flash back to several of those, and Jill tells primary Melinda that she put on her preference sheet that she wants food out all the time and thinks something should be out all day. When Barbie comes by, Jill tells her that they should have snacks on the bar all the time, and Barbie says she’ll make that happen. Jill tells Melinda that she has to get involved. She’s pushy, but they’ll be satisfied. Is that her word for embarrassed? Fraser and Sunny scout for a beach location, and Anthony looks spaced out when Barbie gives him lunch burger orders and writes it on the whiteboard. In Anthony’s interview, he says he’s had dyslexia his entire life. Letters and numbers. He has no idea what to do. He’s lost. Has he bothered telling anyone this? Barbie writes it down on a legal pad, and in her interview, she says, lunch is turning out to be a complete nightmare. Jill says, her burger is cold, and yells if anybody else’s burger is cold, just tell them. They love it. Because she’s with a troop of five-year-olds and their crew of mommies. The offending burgers are bright back to the galley. On the beach, Fraser asks if Sunny has feelings for Ben, and she tells him about Tequila Sabrina. Jill gripes that they should done a buffet. Anthony says, it’s hard to understand, and Xandi says, the menu isn’t converted properly. Barbie tells the captain that Anthony is disorganized, and it caused a disaster. He tells her that he’ll do damage control, and at the table, Jill says she wants to know the meals in advance. The captain comes to the table and says he heard there was some confusion, but it looks like everything is all out now. Everybody tells him, it’s all great, so he goes back to his real job. Jill says, the captain shouldn’t be bothered with this, so apparently, there’s no pleasing her. Barbie tells the captain that she appreciates him. It won’t happen again. Dylan washes the fat residue from his ham, which I totally get. Jill wants to talk to the chef under the guise of Melinda talking to the chef. She says she has to be mommy now. Kyle and Ben laugh about pickleball, while Anthony goes to meet with faux primary Jill. He says he wants to make everyone happy, and chicken pad tai is decided on, along with a tofu option. Jill asks if they can have sushi at the bar before dinner, and crudites for her since she doesn’t do sushi. In Anthony’s interview, he wonders if the primary is okay with her friend taking over the boat like a f***ing captain. The guests leave in the tender, and Fraser welcomes them to pickleball beach. In Ben’s interview, he says, he’s been known to play Grand Slam champions, and we flash back to that last season. He thinks pickleball will be a breeze. Barbie calls friend Brit and complains about Xandi. In his interview, Fraser says, please, God, help me.

Fraser tells Jill that he’s sorry about lunch, and she says, don’t be, but then proceeds to complain about it. She says, something’s off, and in Barbie’s interview, she says, this situation is f***ed. She’s doing everything herself. The guests do meditation at the beach, while on the boat, Barbie complains to Anthony that she had to do everything while Xandi was doing yoga. When Fraser gets back with the guests, Barbie complains to him, and he says, they’re just going until they die. In Xandi’s interview, she says, Barbie has become Jill’s personal assistant. Fraser puts out the sushi and remembers the primary didn’t want any raw seafood. I’m guessing the primary didn’t remember either or doesn’t know what sushi is, since she was right there when Jill told Anthony to serve it before dinner. In Captain Kerry’s interview, he says, Jill is rattling their cages. They should be focused on the primary; they’re number one and in charge. Anthony should be focused, but he’s out of his depth and imploding. He tells Fraser that they can’t afford these mistakes. They can’t drift from what the primary wants. Otherwise, they’ll make more mistakes.

Next time, the crew gets a day off; Barbie thinks Fraser wants to fire her; the new stew arrives; and Ben finds the new stew attractive. I’m pretty sure Ben would find Godzilla attractive if Godzilla had boobies.

⚰️ This Week In Ones…

I’m just going to put this out there. This was the finale, and it was good, but I felt a bit ripped off at the end. Either they should have had an extra-long episode or one more episode. It was a little too quickly and neatly wrapped up for me.

Rick meets with General Beale; General Beale tells Rick, the sword that kills is the sword that gives life – and they’re the sword; a hiding place inside a sculpture; reflection on everything that ever happened on The Walking Dead; a day completely about tomorrow; the CRM’s plans; burning things to bring things back; and love doesn’t die.

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/the-walking-dead-the-ones-who-live-season-1-episode-6-recap-finale-rick-michonne

🚴‍♀️ Better Late Than Even Later…

Join me tomorrow for soap and VanderMess. Until then, stay safe, stay not using your phone as a security blanket to avoid social interaction, and stay getting the full story before writing someone off.

Dec9

December 8, 2022 – Two Surprises Arrive In Ireland, Horrendous House, Tiffany, Nominated, Novel Debut, His Thanks, Million Dollar News & Permanent

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Valentin opens the door, and Martin is standing there. Valentin says, you, and pulls him inside. He asks what Martin is doing here, and Martin says he knew one way or another, Valentin would lead him to Lucy’s killer.

Elizabeth says, sorry, but Finn says, there’s nothing to be sorry for. It felt good to have her in his arms. She says, it felt good to her too. He says he hasn’t seen much of her lately, and she says he got more than he bargained for when he came looking for Terry. He says he came looking for her.

Victor says, it’s wonderful to have Spencer here for the holidays, isn’t it? They should host a big family Christmas dinner; invite Alexis, Molly, Kristina, and maybe Samantha and her brood. Spencer suggests they not get ahead of themselves. Father hasn’t responded yet. Maybe his silence says it all. Victor says he’s sure that’s not the case. There’s no problem, is there? Nikolas says he’s just surprised to see Spencer, and Spencer says, he told Victor this was a horrible idea. His father doesn’t even want him here.

At the PC Grill, Rory asks if Trina is okay, and she says she hasn’t been out much in public lately. Her parents and Curtis have been on her case about the risk from The Hook killer. She guesses it’s gotten to her a little. He asks if she wants to leave, but she says, no; she’ll be fine. He promises she’s safe with him, and she says she knows. He says, plus, she looks way too beautiful to hide out at home. She says, he’s mentioned that a few times already, and he says, so he’s being repetitive. That doesn’t make it any less true. She says, for the record, he’s looking handsome himself, and he says he tried to step his game up, going to a fancy place with her on his arm. It’s their three month anniversary. She says she would have been just as happy celebrating at Charlie’s. He didn’t have to spend all this money. He tells her, don’t worry about it. She’s worth it.

Ryan is wheeled into the rec room, and Jordan says, per their agreement, she’s here to ask him a few questions. Does he know anything regarding the whereabouts of Esme Prince? She knows Esme was very insistent about working with him. Perhaps she confided in him? Ryan’s caregiver (who doesn’t seem to have a name) tells her that Ryan has something to say. He says, no deal. Ava comes in, apologizing for being late; traffic. Jordan says, they were just getting started. Mr. Chamberlain was hesitant to begin without her. Ava says, is that right? Well, I’m here now, so get blinkin’.

Elsewhere in Spring Ridge, a guard brings Sonny to a door, and says, this is the room. He’s afraid he’s going to have to lock Sonny in, since the patient is dangerous and considered high risk for escape, but Sonny says he’ll be fine. He asks how the guard’s dad is doing, and the guard says, fine, and thanks Sonny for getting him into Turning Woods. He’ll be right here, so when Sonny’s ready, just knock. Sonny says he won’t be too long and goes inside. The guard closes the door, and Sonny moves a chair, banging it on the floor. Heather sits up in bed, and says, Sonny Corinthos. He says, Heather Webber.

Ryan blinks, and the caregiver tells Ava, you’re beautiful. Ava says, their deal was that he answers the PCPD’s questions. That’s what gets her to stay; not compliments, cooperation. Jordan suggests they try this again. Did Esme tell him anything about herself? Any details of her past. The caregiver says, no; one blink is yes, two blinks is no. Jordan says, got it. Ryan was a patient at GH during March of this year, and Esme managed to sneak into his hospital room. Did she talk to him about anything in particular? The caregiver says, worried about me, and Jordan says, so Esme cared about him. Were they close? The caregiver says, yes, and Jordan asks if Ryan thinks Esme is capable of murder. He blinks, and Ava says, yes.

Nikolas says, of course (🍷) he wants Spencer here; this is his home. Victor says, exactly. It’s high time this family came together. Spencer says, it may be his home, but father doesn’t want him living here. Let him take a wild guess. Nikolas somehow convinced Ava to forgive him for sleeping with Esme, and now he doesn’t want Spencer back here to say or do anything that could jeopardize his horror show of a marriage. Does that sound about right? Because, despite everything they’ve been through together, Ava still comes first. He’s out of here. He starts to leave, and Nikolas says, Spencer thinks he has everything figured out, but he doesn’t. This isn’t about Ava. Victor says, of course (🍷) not. How could it be? Nikolas and Ava are getting divorced.

Anna tells Martin, she’s only going to say this once. She doesn’t know how much time she has, since her location has been breached. She didn’t kill Lucy. Valentin says he thought he got through to Martin that night at the docks, and Martin says, please. He’s willing to entertain the notion that Anna didn’t kill his Lucy. Anna says, she didn’t, which means she’s said it twice, and Martin says, which means she and Valentin are here looking for the real killer. Are they, or are they not? Valentin asks how he found them, and Martin says, it’s not rocket science, for God’s sake. He’s Valentin’s lawyer. He’s got access to Valentin’s bank accounts. When Anna went on the run, he started keeping track of Valentin’s travel plans. The minute Valentin bought a ticket to Ireland under an assumed name, he bought one too. Valentin says, Martin accessed his personal information? They’re going to deal with that when he gets home. Martin says, the point is, he’s here to help them track down whoever really took Lucy’s life. That is what they’re doing here, is it not? Hell, he’ll even represent Anna if she’s prosecuted for the jail break. Valentin says, they appreciate Martin being willing to help, but they’ve got this, and Anna says, they need to get out of here before Whitten finds them, and Martin needs to leave too, now, or he’ll be charged with aiding and abetting. Martin says he guesses he’ll have to represent himself, because he’s going with them. They’re not leaving without him.

Heather asks if Sonny is here to kill her, and he asks why she’d think that. She says, he shows up in her room in the middle of the night, and it’s a locked ward. How did he get in here? He says he goes wherever he wants; Port Charles is his town. She’d be wise to remember that. She says, okay… So what does he want? He says, she was in the transport prison van when it crashed, when Anna Devane escaped, and she says, yeah, but she didn’t try to run. She turned herself in. He says, and she went to Kelly’s and had a BLT, and she says, he would have done the same; the bacon melts in your mouth. He says, she offered to give a description to the cops of the guy who was driving the van, who they think helped Anna escape, and she says she offered to talk to the cops. She thought it might help her stay here a little longer. He pulls the chair closer to the bed, sits down, and says, he’d appreciate it if she talks to him first.

Finn says he saw Elizabeth’s dad leave. Terry told him that she’d spoken to him. Elizabeth says, for all the good it did, and he asks if Jeff is still pushing to be part of her life. She says, he’s not pushing anymore. He definitely wants to be a part of her life, but he claims this was his last effort, and he’s waiting for her to contact him now. He asks if she believes him, and she says she doesn’t know. But he’s flying back today, so at least he can’t ambush her again. He says he’s sorry Jeff is making this difficult for her, but maybe now she can process all the things she’s been feeling, and drop all this guilt. She asks if she’s supposed to feel better knowing she caused Reiko’s death, but Finn says, Reiko died from Blackwood’s. Elizabeth says, that Reiko got in the hospital recovering from the fall she caused. He says, she didn’t mean to, but she says she can’t talk with him about this. Doesn’t he understand? He says he does, but does that mean they can’t talk at all?

Rory asks Trina, how’s the exhibit the Chuck? It starts next weekend, right? She says, it opens next weekend, and wow. It’s so different from opening an exhibit at Ava’s gallery; from the concept development to watching the actual pieces being hung. And Beaufoy’s work is amazing. She was really struck by his seminal piece The Temple. He says he knows this. That’s the one with… the temple. They laugh, and she asks how he’s doing; keeping the peace, battling bad guys, and appreciating fine art. He says he has a great teacher, and she says, that’s sweet of him. She knows she has a tendency to get carried away. If she goes on and on, he can tell her to pause. He says, that’s not going to happen. He likes it when she gets passionate. He’s not working on Sunday. Maybe she could walk him through the exhibit. She says, like a vernissage? That’s a private preview of an exhibition. He says, sounds fancy. He’s not sure he rates. She says, he absolutely does, and she thought he had a pick-up game on Sunday. He says, at 4. They could go to the exhibit in the morning, and get lunch after. She says, sounds great, but she can see the paintings anytime. Is he sure he won’t be bored? He says, if he gets bored, he can look at his favorite work of art – her.

Spencer asks if that’s the truth; Nikolas and Ava are finally over? Nikolas says, Ava moved out before she was attacked, and she has no intention of ever coming back. Spencer says, they’ve split before though. Ava had to blackmail Nikolas into marrying her, and he forgave her for that. What’s stopping Ava from forgiving Nikolas? Victor says, because Nikolas knows he has no future with Ava, and Nikolas says, he made a horrible, stupid mistake, and he hurt Ava, and he hurt Spencer. Ava can walk out, but he and Spencer are family. Despite what Spencer thinks, Nikolas will always love him, and that will never change. That said, he’s afraid Spencer can’t stay here.

Heather asks why Sonny is interested in this fake driver, and Sonny says, Anna is a friend of his. If Heather gives the cops a legitimate description, they’re going to find her before he does, and he doesn’t want that. She says, if? Does he think she’s lying? He says, that’s been known to happen. How does he know she’s not making it up to stay out of D’Archam for as long as possible? Some fake description she can sell to the cops. She says, no way. She remembers that guy clear as day. He was five-tennish, blue eyes, nice build. She can’t remember his hair because he was wearing a hat, but he’s probably a blond, very cute. She’d recognize him immediately if she saw him again. Sonny says, that’s unfortunate.

Anna says she doesn’t want to hurt Martin. She doesn’t have time for this. Whitten has a lead on her whereabouts, and could be here any minute. Martin says, then they best get a move on, and both Anna and Valentin protest. Valentin says, he’ll slow them down, but Martin says he disagrees. He’s extremely motivated. He will not rest until Lucy’s killer is both captured and brought to justice. Anna says, oh for God’s sake. They have reason to believe Lucy is still alive. She has no time to explain, but the best chance he has of seeing Lucy alive again is to let them get out. Martin asks if they can at least tell him why they think she’s alive, but Anna says, no, and Valentin peeks out the window. He says, there’s a car coming up the driveway with no lights on, and she says, Whitten. He says, they have to go out the back, and Martin asks why they don’t pretend they’re not here. Anna says, the lights are on, and Valentin asks, where’s Martin’s car? Martin says, down the road, and Anna says, give her the keys. Martin hands them to her, when there’s a knock at the door. Whitten says, open up. US Marshall.

Outside, Whitten tells an agent to have his men search the grounds, but the agent asks if they don’t need a warrant. Whitten says he’ll take the heat, and bangs on the door again, saying, open up. Martin answers, and Whitten and the agent barge in. Martin asks, what’s going on? and Whitten says, where’s Anna Devane? Martin says he has no idea, and Whitten asks what he’s doing in Ireland. Martin says he could ask Whitten the same question. Wait. He did, and he’s still waiting for an answer. How dare they? He has nothing to hide. He’s here to grieve. He thought a manor house in the Irish countryside would be the perfect place to make peace with his Lucy’s passing. Whitten asks if Martin expects him to believe he’s here on vacation, and Martin says, more of an emotional retreat. Whitten tells the agent, search the house.

Spencer says he doesn’t know why he came here. Nikolas is the one who betrayed him. He should be begging Spencer’s forgiveness, and instead, he’s slamming the door in Spencer’s face. Victor says he’s sure that’s not what Nikolas meant, and Nikolas says he’s just being pragmatic. He and Spencer can’t be in the same room without Spencer going for his throat. Spencer says, so he’s to blame for Nikolas kicking him to the curb? and Nikolas tells him, he didn’t say that, but Spencer’s proving his point. He’s trying to salvage their relationship. Right now it’s too volatile, and too soon to cohabitate. Spencer asks if Nikolas hears himself, and Nikolas says, they have to maintain some distance. Victor says, but it’s Christmas, and Spencer’s early release is conditional. He had to assume full responsibility for Spencer until the end of his sentence, which means he has to keep Spencer close. Nikolas says, then he assumes Victor will have to leave too.

Heather asks what Sonny is saying exactly. He doesn’t want her to recognize this guard? He says he’ll explain it. The cops can’t find Anna, and he wants to keep it that way. If she says anything that can help them… Let him explain something to her. Prisons are very violent, even minimum security prisons. Things happen. She says she gets it. She hates to admit it, but she’s not really good with faces. She gets the guards mixed up all the time. As a matter-of-fact, the description she gave him, she’s pretty sure it was one of the nurses at GH; there were so many guys coming in and out of her room all the time. He smiles, and says, good. He’ll let her rest. She says she probably doesn’t have anything to offer the cops anyway. He tells her to take care of herself, since no one else will, and leaves.

Jordan says she understands Ryan has taken an active interest in the media coverage of The Hook attacks, including this letter. She takes it out of a folder, and asks if he thinks it’s genuine. Could Esme have written it? The caregiver says, yes and no, and Ava says, as much as she enjoys seeing Ryan trapped in that chair like a beetle pinned to a board, she has other things to do. Answer the Commissioner’s question; yes or no? Ryan blinks, and the caregiver says, both. Ava suggests they try another time; maybe Ryan will be more cooperative. The caregiver says, wait. He’s got a lot to say. Jordan and Ava step away, and Jordan says she appreciates Ava’s help with the questioning. She knows this is hard. Ava says, just looking at him makes her skin crawl. Of course (🍷) she’ll do whatever’s necessary to protect Trina. Jordan says, if the killer is Esme, so far she hasn’t made any direct moves on Trina. The Hook seems to be focused on tormenting Trina by targeting the people around her. Ava says, once all those people are dealt with, Trina will be left. The caregiver says, Mr. Chamberlain is finished, and they come back. He tells them, Ryan says, the killer wrote the letter, but Esme is not the killer. Look at the wording; me and mine. Esme has no one, feels completely alone. The caregiver looks at Ava, and says, Mr. Chamberlain had one last thing to say. Why are you still wearing your wedding ring when it’s obvious you and Nikolas are over? Come back to me.

Elizabeth says she can’t talk about Reiko with Finn. If it wasn’t for her, he wouldn’t have lost his wife. He says he can’t blame her for what happened, and she says, how could he not? How can he look at her and not see the person who killed his wife? He says, she didn’t kill Reiko. Reiko contracted a disease he couldn’t cure. She says, the facts don’t change how she feels. She feels responsible, and doesn’t feel they can get past this. He says he’d like to think they can, and she says she knows he’s very logical, but he says he doesn’t care about being logical. He just wants to do what he feels in his heart, and the only thing he feels if that he loves her.

The agent says, the grounds are already covered, and Whitten tells him to check for any signs of Devane upstairs, but Martin says, no you don’t. He may not be a practicing attorney in Ireland, but he’s pretty sure they need a court obtained warrant to burst in here and turn things upside down. Do they have one? Whitten asks if he’s the owner of this house, and Martin says, yes. Whitten says, interesting. He happens to know that Tiffany Hill, a known associate of Anna Devane, owns this property, and Martin says, let him finish. If Whitten had allowed him to continue, he would have clarified that he’s acting on behalf of the owner. Miss Hill is a client of his, and that’s how he found out about this house in the first place. Now may he see that warrant? He holds out his hand, and the agent says, they don’t have a warrant, but Whitten says, they can get one. Martin says, then he suggests they wait on the other side of the door until they do, because he didn’t give them permission to come in here. The agent says he has to call this in, and Whitten says, make it fast. The agent leaves, and Martin says, Whitten can close the door on his way out. Whitten puts his hand on his gun, and says, Martin doesn’t know him, so perhaps Martin doesn’t realize standing in his way is a bad move. He’ll give Martin one more chance. Tell him where Anna Devane is right now.

Ava says, her marriage is none of Ryan’s business. Where is he getting this stuff? Has the staff taken to gossiping with the inmates? The caregiver says, Mr. Chamberlain likes to keep up with the news, and some of the online sites mentioned that Ava didn’t go home after her hospital release. Ava tells him not to waste his time with that trash. Certainly don’t feed it to Ryan. Sonny comes in, and Jordan asks if Ava will be all right for a moment. Ava says, of course (🍷). What can Ryan do to her? Jordan goes over to Sonny, and asks, what brings him to Spring Ridge? Sonny says he met with the warden. He’s thinking of funding a continuing educational program. She says, isn’t he quite the philanthropist? and he says he always gives back. Ava says, don’t look so smug, and the caregiver says he’s just translating what Ryan is saying. She says, not him; Ryan. He’s enjoying this, isn’t he? But he’s wrong. She and Nikolas are just fine. Here’s a little nugget the gossip sites didn’t tell him. She leans closer, and says she loves Nikolas. She’s crazy about him, and she never cared for Ryan at all.

Finn says, right now the only thing knows for sure is, he loves Elizabeth, and she says she loves him too. He says, that’s a pretty good start, and she glances at the bottle of vitamins on Terry’s desk. She flashes back to telling Nikolas that he’s going to need a nurse when Esme gives birth, and says she doesn’t deserve Finn’s love. She’s done things… He says, she deserves everything. He knows she grew up thinking her parents abandoned her, so it’s easy to feel like she doesn’t deserve love. She says she was sure her parents gave up on her because there was something wrong with her, and he says, there’s nothing wrong with her. He’s sorry she ever had to feel that way, but at least now she knows it’s not true. Although her parents were misguided, their intentions were good. She says, intentions and actions are two totally different things. He’s also been betrayed in his past. His dad married Jackie, Hayden kept Violet from him, and now thanks to her, he knows Reiko cheated on him. Is he really willing to do this again?

Trina asks what Rory is doing on Christmas, and he says, working. She says, on Christmas day? and he says, rookie. It’s okay. His family is getting together on Christmas Eve. She says she loves that. She knows he has a big family. He says, grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles. His youngest cousins usually wear him out playing tag. Somehow, he’s always It. She wonders how that happens, and he says, they’re maniacs, but they’re a lot of fun. It’s pretty casual. People come in the afternoon, lots of food… She says, it sounds like fun, and he says, it is. Would she like to come with him?

Spencer says, Nikolas is right. He’ll grab a suite at the MetroCourt. Nikolas says, his treat, but Victor says, that is ridiculous. He just moved out of the MetroCourt. He just settled in here. Spencer says, then Victor can stay here; he’ll go alone. Victor says, that won’t work either. Spencer is his responsibility until the end of his sentence. Spencer says he doesn’t care. He’ll go back to Pentenville if he has to, but he’s not staying where he’s not welcome. Victor suggests he take Spencer to the Port Charles Grill, and Spencer asks if they have rooms to rent above it like they do at Kelly’s. Victor says, no, but they do have dinner. After months of prison food, he’s sure Spencer would enjoy a lamp chop or two, and mashed potatoes made with actual potatoes. He asks Nikolas to join them, but Nikolas says, no, for the same reason he’s saying no to Spencer staying here. They’re not ready. He wants his son home, but only if Spencer wants to be here, and only if they can finally put the hostility aside, and come to some sort of common ground, and build back the relationship they used to have. Spencer says, okay then, and he and Victor leave. Nikolas says, damn you, Esme, and smashes a vase.

Martin asks if Whitten is threatening him, and Whitten says, tell him where Anna Devane is. Martin asks if Whitten seriously expects him to believe he’ll open fire here in the middle of the drawing room, and Whitten says he doesn’t have to kill Martin. A bullet to the knee is… Martin says, he’s not resisting anything, but Whitten says, it’s Martin’s word against his. Martin says, he knows nothing; he’s simply here to grieve. Valentin says, stop, and walks out with his hands up. He says, Martin’s right; he knows nothing. In fact, he’s an idiot. He followed Valentin to Ireland. Valentin came here looking for Anna, hoping she’d turn to Tiffany for help; he was wrong. Whitten asks if Valentin expects him to believe that, when Anna puts a gun in his back, and says, maybe he’ll believe this. Take his hand off the gun, and put his hands where she can see them. Whitten raises his hands, and says, there’s a squad of WSB agents outside. They’re not getting away. Valentin wonders why he doesn’t think Whitten brought a squad, but Whitten says he brought enough. They’re not going anywhere. Anna says she’ll have to disagree with him, and hits him with the butt of her gun, knocking him out. Martin says, that’s gonna leave a mark, and thanks them for the save. Anna thanks him for stalling. He’s not getting up for a bit. Valentin says, they have to deal with the agents outside, and Martin asks how they’re going to do that. Anna suggests they invite them in.

Trina says, Rory wants her to meet his folks? and he says he’s met hers. Why shouldn’t she meet his? It’s not like he’s bringing her over for an inspection. The house will be full of people coming and going, and they don’t have to stay long. It’s really not that big of a deal. People bring friends over all the time. He’ll let her win at tag. She asks how you win at tag, and he says, the way his maniac cousins play, the first kid to end up at the top of the heap after they all turn on It and take him down, is the winner. She says, now that she wants to see, and he asks if that means she’ll come. She says, count her in.

Finn tells Elizabeth, they’ve both been hurt, and been damaged. That’s why they need to hang on to the good things in their lives. She says she’s lied to him and kept things from him. How can he just forgive her? He says, because she’s worth it. Maybe she’s the reward for all the past pain. She says she’s far from perfect, but he says he doesn’t want perfect. He just wants someone to walk through this life with. He knows she’d make it better just by being there to experience it with him. She says she wants that so much, and he says, she can have it.

Jordan asks if everything is okay, and Ava says, they’re just shooting the breeze. Sonny says he doesn’t know how she can look at that piece of garbage, and Jordan says, Ava is also giving back. She tells the caregiver that they’re done for tonight, and to return Ryan to his room. Sonny says, buh-bye, as Ryan is wheeled away, and Ava tells him that she’s here to entice Ryan to cooperate with the police. Jordan says, they’re developing a profile on Esme Prince. She was an intern here, and developed an interest in Ryan, and he certainly knows how a killer’s mind works. Sonny says, no argument here, and Ava asks if Jordan thinks Ryan is right about the use of me and mine. Jordan tells Sonny, they showed Ryan the letter supposedly written by the killer, and Ava says, he doesn’t think Esme wrote it because of the phrase me and mine. He thinks Esme is too much of a loner to refer to anybody else in her life, and she thinks he has a point. She was always playing the lonely orphan for sympathy. Jordan says, it’s certainly worth considering, and Sonny says, so she doesn’t think Esme Prince is the killer?  

Martin yells for help, and the agents run in. He says, thank heaven they’re still here. Whitten just fell over. An agent asks, what happened? but Martin says he doesn’t know. He just collapsed. Maybe he had a stroke or a heart attack. He doesn’t know; he’s not a doctor. Whitten struggles to get up, saying, stop, but Martin pushes his head back to the floor, and says, stay down. He needs an ambulance.

Anna and Valentin sneak around outside. She tells him to wait for the agent to go, and he says, it looks like Marty did a good job of luring the agents into the house. She says, it’s the least he can do, since he led Whitten right to them. Valentin says, at least now they can do what she wanted to do; go after Victor. She says, together. Okay, let’s go. They run.

Whitten says, his head, and Martin says he’ll need a judge’s ruling on this one. Should he be moving? Whitten says, arrest this man.

Elizabeth says, so much has happened, and Finn says he wants to move forward with her. Not ignoring the past, but fighting for their future. Elizabeth’s phone rings, and he says, it might be Aiden or Jake, but she sees it’s Nikolas. She says she’ll deal with Nikolas later. She knows Finn and Nikolas don’t get along, but she and Nikolas have always been there for each other. He asks if she’s sure she can trust Nikolas, and she says, he’s one of her oldest friends. Finn says, he just got kind of a strange vibe from Nikolas when he saw him earlier. She says, he saw Nikolas? and he says he went to Spoon Island. She asks, why? and he says he was looking for Esme Prince.

Leaving a message for Elizabeth, Nikolas says, for now he dodged a bullet, but things are still complicated. Hopefully Spencer can convince Victor to take up residency at the MetroCourt, and leave him alone with his… guest. Call him.

Trina says, she and Rory will have to stop holding hands to dive into this delicious dessert. He says he’s glad she’s having a good time, and she says she is. This is so thoughtful of him. He makes her feel so special. He says, that’s because she is, and she says, so is he; incredibly so. He says he’s glad she thinks so because he loves her. She says, pardon? and he says he loves her, as Spencer walks in with Victor.

Ava tells Jordan that she’d wait before closing the file on Esme. Anything Ryan says is suspect. Jordan says she’s aware, but he picked up on something her people have been working on; that wording in the letter. Ava asks if Jordan thinks it wasn’t Esme who attacked her, but Jordan says, it’s too soon to focus on Esme exclusively. They’re working on another line of inquiry. They’ll be in touch if they need to speak with Ryan again. Good job tonight. Have a nice evening. She leaves, and Sonny asks if she’s done contributing to society, especially when it comes to Ryan, and she says, spending time with him was harder than she thought it would be. He says, don’t let that freak get in her head. Because when he walked in, she was a little jumpy and stuff, and maybe Ryan saw it too. She says, Ryan heard some gossip that she and Nikolas are having problems, and he says, it’s not just gossip. She and Nina are supposed to be living together. Isn’t that a done deal? Let him explain this to her. Nikolas Cassadine is bad news. She’s got to cut loose. He leaves.  

Ryan clenches and unclenches his fist, and says, Esme, where the hell are you? What have you gotten yourself into now? The door handle rattles, and Ryan goes back to his locked-in look. Someone wearing a bathrobe comes inside and closes the door. Heather says, hello… lover.

Tomorrow, Finn tells Elizabeth that he’s even more convinced he’s on the right track; Heather says, her and Ryan together again for the first time; Nina says she can take it if Josslyn can; and Sonny tells Dex, some mistakes are too big to make.

❄️ On the misery that is Winter House, Amanda felt that Carl didn’t have the whole truth about Lindsay, and Kyle bugged Austen about Carl needing the truth. In Ciara’s interview, she said, with Austen comes drama. Even the best cleaning lady couldn’t clean up his mess. Jason and Rachel – the only halfway sane ones in the house – snuggled at the bar. In Amanda’s interview, she said, all of them had the information, and everyone was talking about it, but Lindsay and Carl didn’t know. It was awkward. Not being able to help herself, Amada told Lindsay that she’d heard rumblings, and Lindsay asked what the rumor mill was grinding up. Amanda said, it wasn’t a rumor; it was coming from Austen. He said, on Amanda and Kyle’s wedding night, Lindsay tried to touch his d*ck, and then Lindsay texted him not to tell anyone. I can barely type that; it’s like something from a middle school cast party after the spring play. Lindsay said, that didn’t happen, and Amanda said she was just giving Lindsay the information. Lindsay said, Amanda’s delivery was kind of aggressive, and in Lindsay’s interview, she said she passed out with a bottle of red in one hand and McDonald’s in the other. She had no third hand to touch Austen’s d*ck. Talking with the other girls, Jess wondered if she had on goggles, or was Kory attractive? and Craig talked nonsense as usual. Lindsay confronted Austen, who quickly changed the particulars of the story to, Lindsay had made an advance for his d*ck. We saw the video rewind, and Austen clearly saying he had to move her hand off. Luke came right out and asked if Lindsay had tried to grab Austen’s d*ck, and she said, in the middle of eating McDonald’s? which seemed to be a query from nearly everyone. Apparently, McDonald’s is considered the anti-aphrodisiac. In Austen’s interview, he said, Lindsay not copping to it meant Carl didn’t know, and it sucked that it was brought up. It wasn’t brought up; he brought it up. Carl joined them, and Lindsay said, putting her hand on Austen’s leg had turned into her putting it on his d*ck. Kyle pointed out that a d*ck and a leg are two different things, and Carl said, it must have been a busy night. In Carl’s interview, he said Austen was sometimes still an immature f***boy. (Sometimes?) He wasn’t concerned with what happened before he and Lindsay were officially dating, and was secure where they were. It was old news. Lindsay said she had no recollection of an advance on Austen’s pee-pee, and in his interview, Austen said he wanted to go back in time and slap himself in the face. I’d slap his face at any moment in time.  

Jess wondered why Kory wasn’t making more of an effort, and he said he didn’t think 2 am while drunk was a good time to talk about the relationship. Amanda told Kyle she loved him, and he said he loved maple syrup. I am not kidding. One more example of why no one should watch this, me included. In Carl’s interview, he said he loved a winter get-together, and was excited to show everyone the new versions of him and Lindsay, but now he was ready to get out. In Lindsay’s interview, she said, it was a different experience than last year, and we flashed back to that mess. She had fun, and that’s all she cared about. Kory talked to some people about the gym he was opening in Charlotte, and said he was planning on moving in the early spring. Hmm… Just in time for the new season of Southern Charm? In Kyle’s interview, he explained that Gaper Day was an opportunity for people who knew how to ski to make fun of the people who didn’t. It was his favorite day on the mountain. No surprise, since he’s 14. They dressed in stupid costumes, and headed to the slopes. Talking to the girls, Rachel said she wasn’t sure if she and Jason would see each other after Vermont. She was in Brooklyn, and he was in Harlem; it was a long distance relationship on its own. Jess told Jason (why him, I have no clue) that she wanted to be exclusive with Kory, and in Jason’s interview, he said, all the signs were pointing to a fun time, but maybe not a long fun time. He suggested she take it slow and keep it light, but she said she didn’t want to. Kory discussed the same topic with Austen – another why; it’s not like he’s any relationship guru – and it sounded like he wasn’t interested in exclusivity just yet.  

At lunch, the girls discussed having kids, making me shudder at another generation of housemates. Rachel said she was going to die in the city (NYC to those not in the know), and Paige said she never saw having kids in the city or moving to the surrounding areas, but she didn’t know if she could adapt to Charleston. In her interview, she said, it was all florals, and a lot of smiling, and no one wears black. She never saw anyone in a black leather pant, and that was her whole personality. After they reconvened for the evening drinking, Austen told Ciara to drink her shot, she said, don’t tell her what to do, and Paige said, that was her cue to go. Jess whined to Kyle that people were trying to minimize what she and Kory had, and instead of telling her what Kory said, Kyle told her to trust her heart. Even if she got hurt, at least she put it out there. Takeout sushi arrived, and Amanda wanted to play a truth drinking game. This sounded like an awful idea, but it didn’t quite happen.

Austen asked, when was the last time everyone had sex? and when Ciara said, just before Vermont, he got all mad that he couldn’t bring his girl there, but Ciara got to bang whoever she wanted. In Ciara’s interview, she said she was confused. What was Austen yelling about? Did he think he was the last person she had sex with? Amanda said, it was a drinking game, not an argument, apparently forgetting what show she’s on. Austen said, there was hypocrisy in the house, like it was a British mystery, and in his interview, he said, if Ciara had brought someone,  he would have been polite, but him bringing Olivia was disrespectful to Ciara. This made no sense, since Ciara didn’t bring anyone, and that wasn’t her point. In her interview, Ciara said, if Austen didn’t act like an a-hole, Olivia could have come. Paige said, Austen let Lindsay get away with everything, and he hadn’t talked to Ciara in four months. In Paige’s interview, she said, the night of the dog wedding, Austen said he was done with Olivia. Since she was seeing other people, he was going to see other people, adding, he didn’t even like Olivia that much. He and Ciara slept together, and the next day, he ghosted Ciara, and went back to Olivia. Don’t come to the house and get mad at Ciara hooking up with someone. Ciara stormed off, and Amanda demanded Austen apologize. Hoping to get a pat on the head, Austen tried, but Ciara wasn’t having it. She said he was always coming at her, taking every opportunity. She told him to get the f*** out. All she did was defend him, and he made her look like an idiot. Then she called him a f***ing a-hole, slamming her bedroom door, and saying she was done with his apologies.

Everyone was pretty much done at that point, and headed for their rooms. Austen pouted, and said, everyone was lame; this night was a dud. Ciara told Paige that Austen had f***ing nerve, and Kyle told Amanda about what he’d discussed with Jess. Amanda said, Jess had been going back and forth, but she’d speak up if people were talking negatively about her and Kory. The next day, a bike skiing excursion was planned, but the girls weren’t interested. This included Craig, who was joined to Paige’s hip. Jess decided to stick with the boys, and in her interview, she said, it was hitting her that the trip was going to be over, so she wanted to spend as much time with Kory as possible. I never heard of bike skiing, but it was literally the front of a bike on skis, which looked easier than regular skiing, since there’s something to lean on. The girls and Craig went to a wine tasting, and Rachel said it was Jess’s birthday tomorrow. Amanda said Jess was upset that everyone wasn’t being supportive of her and Kory, especially Paige and Jason, which was news to Paige. Rachel told them, Jess had said she got all the guys because she was pretty, but girls like Rachel kept them, playing on Rachel’s insecurities. Craig said, Jess was L.A. catty.

Getting back together after their excursions, Kyle said blah-blah-blah, shredding the gnar, and Amanda asked what everyone would miss most. Craig said, the mini fridge, and Amanda said, Craig started off angry. We flashed back to that, and Craig said he just didn’t like to be told what to do. Amanda said he seemed like himself again – not that they didn’t like all sides of him. Ciara said, but they didn’t, and Craig said he came to understand he was an extension of Paige. Rachel said she liked riding downhill on Jason’s back, and because the attention was off of him, Craig asked how Paige felt about spending all that time with him. She said she liked going to bed and waking up with him, but didn’t account for the time in between, and Craig said he didn’t want to leave. He couldn’t figure out Austen, and everyone agreed Austen could get into a dark place and take it out on other people. Ciara said he was continuously doing it to her, and Craig said, it was unfair. Ciara said she was at the point where she didn’t need any kind of relationship with Austen, including friendship.

Next time, Kory isn’t sure about going from zero to dating in two weeks; Jess tells Kory that she’d like to be exclusive; Rachel tells everyone that said she couldn’t get guys because she has no t*ts or ass; and Ciara says, it’s not worth Austen coming at her – she’s done. And it’s the finale! Woohoo. Oh wait… Summer House.

👒 Elsie Mae Krumholtz To You…

In case you don’t know her, all about Tiffany.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/tiffany-hill-sharon-wyatt

🎭 For Her Direction…

Proving there’s life after GH.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/kimberly-mccullough-celebrates-her-emmy-nomination

✍🏼 A First…

Proving there’s life in addition to GH.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/jon-lindstrom-is-publishing-his-first-novel

🙌🏼 Happy To Be Here…

It’s nice to be appreciated.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/jason-thompson-shares-a-special-message-with-soap-fans

💰 Latest On Listing…

I’ll miss Fredrik, but I get it.

https://people.com/home/mdlla-tracy-tutor-reaction-fredrik-eklund-departure-season-14-exclusive/

The interest rates are up, but the prices aren’t down.

https://www.bravotv.com/million-dollar-listing-los-angeles/photos/listing-recap-so-many-demands-so-little-time#10567601

A little crossover never hurt anyone.

Jackpot! Here’s When We’ll Meet Days of Our Lives’ ‘Million Dollar’ Guest Star

🎁 Not Shooting My Eye Out…

Tomorrow, join me for soap, tea, words deserving of attention, and a musical oeuvre. Until then, stay safe, stay being respectful of others’ beliefs and traditions, and stay hanging on to the good things in your life.

Jul30

July 29, 2020 – When Jason Heard the Truth, Roman Tragedy, Another Soap Angel, Real Reunion, Stunned Bethenny, Stars Take Over, the Festival Is On & Climbing

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What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

Moving right along, today’s GH flashback was from May 19th, 2020. You can grab a couple of feet here, or go for the whole nine yards at:

https://tvwiththeresa.wordpress.com/2020/05/20/may-19-2020-waiting-for-sonnys-permission-vanderfinale-dont-knock-buzzard-shower/

At the MetroCourt, Diane said Nelle tanked her case by marrying the least reputable man in Port Charles. Willow wondered what Nelle was thinking, and Carly said it wasn’t about Nelle; it was about what was right for Wiley. Back at the courtroom, Sonny asked Julian why he married Nelle. Julian said he didn’t answer to Sonny, and started to leave, but Jason blocked his way. Sonny said Julian wasn’t leaving. The conversation wasn’t over. Nina found Nelle in the Crimson office, and said she thought Nelle would be in court. Nelle said they were on break and she stopped to change. She also wanted to double-check about Nina testifying for her as a character witness. Nina said thinking about it caused her to reexamine her own situation. She believed her daughter was alive, and was going to find her. Nelle said she was thrilled, and Nina’s daughter would see that she was the gold standard for moms. Elizabeth called Franco at Charlie’s, and apologized for bailing. He said he hadn’t had a chance to apologize properly, and thought it required a bigger gesture. Elizabeth said she’d talked to Nikolas, who gave her perspective on her art and the value of her work. Franco asked if Nikolas had found her sister yet, and Elizabeth said she’d see him later. Scotty came in, and asked Franco if the flowers were for him, and said Franco must have done something stupid. Franco said he wanted to make it up to Elizabeth, but Nikolas had beat him to it. Nikolas visited Mike at Turning Woods. He showed Mike pictures of Spencer, and asked if Mike remembered his grandson, but Mike was unresponsive.

Scotty told Franco that Elizabeth and Nikolas went way back to when they were kids. If Elizabeth needed reassurance, it was natural she turn to Nikolas, especially if Franco botched it. Franco said it was ancient history and had no bearing on the present, but Scotty said he wouldn’t trust Nikolas, especially when it came to Elizabeth. Nikolas talked to Mike about Spencer, saying Spencer was unforgettable, like Mike. Spencer had developed a finely tuned sense of right and wrong; now Nikolas was the one with questionable ethics. He hoped Spencer came back. Spencer would want to see Mike, and he told Mike to hang in there. In the hallway, Elizabeth said she overheard Nikolas, and he said he was hoping to spark something. It was worth a try. She asked if he hadn’t heard from Spencer, and he said he couldn’t bring himself to tell Spencer that he would lose the estate if he ditched Ava. He didn’t want to disappoint his son. Elizabeth said the estate didn’t matter, but he said it did, more than she knew. He was trying to look at the part of him worthy of her friendship, and she said she could see he was trying to be a better person, and reconnecting with the people he cared about. Even if Mike couldn’t appreciate it, she could. Diane went to the MetroCourt, and Carly asked if there was any chance she’d been negotiating an out of court settlement. Diane said she called to tell Alexis that her sleazebag of an ex married Nelle. Michael said it seemed to be a bad strategy, and Diane said Nelle thought it would level the playing field. Michael suggested it would hurt Nelle’s case, when Martin walked in, and told them not to count their chicks before they hatched. Nelle was making a nice nest for Wiley, like Michael and his newly wedded wife were. Sonny asked Julian what Nelle had on him, and Julian said, nothing. Sonny said he couldn’t have married Nelle for love, and Julian said he missed Wiley, and wanted Wiley back in his life. Sonny said he bought that, but it didn’t explain why he married Nelle. Julian said Nelle loved Wiley in her own way. She’d come into the bar, they’d talked about Wiley, and they clicked, so they decided to form a team. Sonny told him, undo it. Annul the marriage now. Nelle told Nina that she had to change out of her wedding dress. Since Michael had married Willow, she needed to fight fire with fire. Nina asked who Nelle married, and Nelle said she knew him; Julian.

Nina said Julian had originally hired her to run Crimson. She had no idea he and Nelle had a relationship. Nelle said Julian was Brad’s father-in-law, and when Brad stole her baby, Julian thought he was Wiley’s grandfather. Nina asked if they were dating, but Nelle said it wasn’t like that. When she found out about Michael, she went to Charlie’s. She and Julian got to talking, and realized they were both terrified Wiley wouldn’t be in their lives, so they decided to get married. Nina said, so it was a ploy. Diane told Martin that she was curious. Julian’s rap sheet was longer and more colorful than his client’s. Why choose him to marry? Martin said love operated in mysterious ways. He was sure Michael and Willow could attest to that. Willow said she and Michael had been friends for a while, and been taking care of Wiley most of his life, Diane interjecting that she had a photo gallery to prove it. Michael said Willow went to jail to protect Wiley from Shiloh, the psychopath Nelle married in prison. Carly said Willow had proven she’d do anything for Wiley, and Martin said, including marrying Michael. I love how he says this like Michael isn’t the best catch in town. Sonny told Julian, annul the marriage, but Julian told him that he didn’t get a say. Sonny said if it swayed the judge, he’d hold Julian responsible. Julian asked if he spoke for Jason too; he was still Danny’s grandfather. Jason gave his usual response by staying silent, and Sonny told Julian that he needed to do what had to be done before it was too late. Elizabeth told Nikolas that Mike was like this a lot, and Nikolas said he should have visited sooner. There were so many things he didn’t do. She said he was doing them now, and he’d made her feel better about the art thing with Franco. Nikolas asked if she and Franco had made up, and she said, kind of; Franco was super sorry. Nikolas said, not bad for someone once incapable of remorse. She said that reminded her of Ava, and Nikolas said, touché. He asked if she wasn’t bothered by Ava exploiting Franco’s past, and she said they had a history; why shouldn’t Ava exploit his past? It could be the start of a new venture for them. Nikolas agreed, and Elizabeth said he had a tone like something was up. Nikolas said he sensed Ava and Franco were getting closer in their sessions. Franco asked Scotty was saying he shouldn’t trust his wife, but Scotty said, no; he  shouldn’t trust Nikolas. Franco asked if he thought Nikolas was trying to win Elizabeth back. Scotty said Elizabeth adored Franco, but when Franco had to keep an eye on Nikolas. Nikolas was in over his head with Ava. She was going to make him nuts, and guess where he was going to go? Who knows? Franco said it wouldn’t lead anywhere. Even if he and Elizabeth weren’t fine, she wouldn’t fall for Nikolas’s act. Scotty said, it wouldn’t be the first time. It happened to him with Laura. Who thought letting her work with Luke would go wrong? He told Franco, verify things.

Nikolas said he was hanging onto the hope Spencer would forgive him, and Elizabeth told him, leave Ava. Nikolas said 10% of the estate had been earmarked for Spencer, and she said, just sacrifice his money for his son. Sonny and Jason came to see Mike. Jason went into Mike’s room, and Sonny told Nikolas that he’d heard from Spencer. Spencer was wondering why he hadn’t heard from Nikolas since he’d given Nikolas an ultimatum. Why didn’t he cut Ava off? Nikolas said it wasn’t that simple, but Sonny said Nikolas had dug his own grave when he married Ava. Martin said if Nelle’s marriage was suspect, so was Michael and Willow’s, perhaps more so. Willow would do anything to stay close to Wiley. Willow said Julian was putting Wiley at risk. Nelle had gone to prison for letting her fiancé drown, and trying to kill her baby’s father. Martin accused her of slander, and Willow said, take her to court. She’d love an independent expert to prove her wrong, but didn’t think he could find one. She wondered how he could even consider representing Nelle. Martin said she had a marvelously maternal temperament, and Michael said it was time to regroup. Carly said Julian wouldn’t marry Nelle unless she had something on him; he was obviously miserable. Martin asked Diane if the hypocrisy in the room wasn’t staggering, and she said they weren’t the ones getting a fat retainer to help Nelle use an innocent child. He wondered how it was different Nelle was, hooking up with a humble pub owner to be close to her son. Nelle told Nina that her marriage was no different than Michael’s, but Nina said Willow and Michael had a deep bond, and Willow had a strong bond with Wiley. Nelle said Willow wasn’t Wiley’s mother, and had no right to him. Nina asked if she wasn’t concerned Wiley would sense tension in the marriage, but Nelle said there wouldn’t be any. All that mattered was that Wiley was with her, and not Michael. Nina said she’d married one guy to spite another, and it didn’t work out. He’d teamed up with her mother, and tried to steal her money. She didn’t want that to happen to Nelle. Nelle said, Julian would never do anything like that. If he did, it would seriously backfire. Nina asked what she meant. Jason came out of Mike’s room, and Elizabeth said Mike had been sleeping most of the day. Sonny went in to see Mike, and Jason asked what was really going on with Mike. Sonny talked to Mike about the Yankees. He said they’d won, and maybe Mike could bring the same luck to Michael for the custody hearing . When Mike insisted Wiley was Michael’s son, they thought he was confused, but he turned out to be right. Wiley was Michael’s son, and Mike had to stick around.

Sonny said he wanted Michael to share his life with Wiley, the way he couldn’t with Mike. Sonny cried a little, and said he thought they’d have more time to make up for their lost years. Didn’t Mike want that? Elizabeth told Jason that Mike was done fighting, and wanted to let go. She thought he was holding on for Sonny’s sake. Nina told Nelle that Julian presented himself as a changed man, but he was dangerous, and in it for himself. Nelle said Julian valued his life too much not play by her rules. Nina asked how Nelle got him to agree, and Nelle said Julian knew the marriage was best for everyone, especially Wiley. Carly told Martin, the difference was, Michael and Willow wanted to provide a safe, happy environment for Wiley, while Nelle wanted to use him. Kids sense these things. Diane said Carly was right. Everyone knew it, and so did he. Save his theatrics for court, or he might run out of hot air. Martin asked for a to-go order, but Carly suggested he just go. He asked if he could quote her in an online review, and she said it wouldn’t be the first time. Diane told Martin that if he wanted to use Julian as a surprise witness, she had questions she’d wanted to ask him for years. Was Martin aware he’d threatened to kill Alexis, a woman he claimed he loved? If he could do that to a wife he loved, imagine what he’d do to one he’d rather not have. Nikolas punched the boxing bag at the gym, when Franco came in. Nikolas said he just saw Elizabeth at Turning Woods, and Franco asked if she forgave him. Nikolas said they were getting there. It wasn’t a problem, was it? Elizabeth told Jason, everything Sonny wanted to do to keep Mike with him, like the feeding tube, was just prolonging the inevitable, and in her experience, would just make Mike miserable. Jason thanked her for giving him a straight answer, and Elizabeth said if Sonny wanted to spare Mike pain and ease his passing, he had to give Mike permission to go. Sonny told Mike, he didn’t know what Mike wanted him to do, but he’d ask again tomorrow. Sonny left, and Mike’s hand moved. Sonny said Mike seemed more tired than usual, and Elizabeth said she had to go. Sonny thanked her for being there, and asked Jason what he missed.

Franco asked why Nikolas thought he had a problem with Elizabeth forgiving him. Nikolas said some men didn’t like their wives having male friends, but Franco said he trusted her; they had a solid marriage. Nikolas said, of course (🍷) they did, and Franco asked what he meant. They were nothing like Nikolas and Ava. The only not phony thing about their marriage was their post-nup. Nikolas asked how that was Franco’s business, and Franco said Ava was a dear friend. Nikolas said like him and Elizabeth, and Franco said, yes and no. Ava had been through a lot. Nikolas said Ava had a hard time opening up to him, and he was grateful she had Franco to lean on. Nina asked if Nelle was blackmailing Julian, and Nelle said they’d made a deal. She’d resorted to desperate measures to ensure being a mother to her son. She knew Nina understood what they do as mothers to keep their children safe. Nina’s daughter was hers, and Wiley was Nelle’s. No one should be able to take them away. Martin said Julian’s past had nothing to do with case, and Diane wondered who the judge would choose; a woman willing to go to jail to protect a child, or one who tried to murder two fiancés because they didn’t leave enough money on her dresser. Nelle was a gold digger. He told her, people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. Carly had reminded them just this morning of who her husband was. Sonny put earbuds on Mike, and said maybe his memories would come back. In the hallway, Jason said he was sorry, and Sonny asked what Elizabeth said. Nikolas told Franco that he was looking forward to the unveiling, and Franco asked if Nikolas wasn’t going to burn it like Ava did with Helena’s portrait. Nikolas said, never. He was sure they’d created something beautiful together. Franco said, for someone who wasn’t a fan of his previous work, Nikolas sounded confident. Nikolas said it was a new Franco, a new Ava, and a new day. It would be a painting for the ages, and a party to match.

Carly said if Martin used Sonny against Michael, it would be his funeral. Diane said Carly was speaking figuratively, and Carly asked, how else would she be speaking? Martin said she could have meant it literally, and Diane said it was literally a figure of speech. She told Carly that they were due back in court, and Martin said, what pity no one ate lunch. He hoped it didn’t make anyone cranky. He left, and Diane suggested Carly not issue death threats against opposing counsel. Trust her, and let her do the talking. Diane found Willow and Michael, and told them it was time to go back. Carly heaved a huge sigh, and followed. Nelle asked if she and Nina were good. Nina was her only friend, and she’d like to count on her. Nina said she could do this for Wiley. Franco brought the flowers to the hospital, and asked Elizabeth to forgive him. She said there was nothing to forgive. Nikolas had helped her get over her insecurities about her art. Franco said he ran into Nikolas, who was confident he and Elizabeth were friends again. She said they had a long way to go, and he asked how she categorized her relationship with Nikolas. Elizabeth ignored the question. Sonny told Jason, music was good for cognitive function. When Brook did a concert at Turning Woods, it jolted Mike’s memories. He asked again what Elizabeth said; he respected her opinion. Jason told him, she said, when Alzheimer’s patients get to the place where Mike is – sleeping more than awake, not responding, and unable to eat – she said that usually means that they’re ready to go. She thought Mike was just waiting for Sonny to give him permission.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

The women arrive in Rome, minus Denise, Garcelle, and Sutton, who are going to be late. LisaR, Teddi, and Kyle ride in one car, while Dorit and Erika ride in the other. Teddi tells LisaR that Denise said negative things about LisaR, Erika, and her. Brandi also visited Denise on her set, and… things happened. The next day, Denise told Brandi to never tell her husband. LisaR asks if they f***ed. In the other car, Erika asks what they’re going to do, and Dorit says, definitely shopping. Teddi tells LisaR that Kim had come over when they were at Kyle’s, and brought Brandi along. A lot of things were said, and she doesn’t know Brandi that well, but she seems like someone who says it like it is. In LisaR’s interview, she says she has conflicted feelings. She knows Brandi is friends with Denise, and Denise knows how she feels about Brandi. We flash back to a reunion where LisaR and Brandi had words. How is she supposed to know what’s true when it comes to Brandi? Teddi says she doesn’t know where to put this. LisaR says it’s a lot of information to process. Kyle asks what LisaR would do, since it’s her trip and Denise is her friend. LisaR says, great. Erika and Dorit marvel over how beautiful the city is. Erika says they’re lucky to be there. They are. Too bad they never really appreciate anything since they’re so busy being mean girls. They pull into the parking lot of the hotel, Gran Melia.

In Erika’s interview, she says Rome is one of her favorite cities in the world. She’s spending her last minutes with these women before she’s shipped off to Broadway. They’re shown to their suites, and in her interview, Erika says, Rinna’s room is gorgeous and spacious. Like the others aren’t. Erika wonders if she shouldn’t have the best suite, since the trip is in her honor. They can see the Vatican from the terraces, and are excited to be there. Dorit unpacks, and in her interview, she says, Italy is the place to dress up. She brought a few options, but went too far. In LisaR’s interview, she says her stomach is in knots as to how to approach Denise. It’s a no win situation.

Kyle phones Dorit, asking what to wear, and Dorit says she’s opting for casual. Dorit gets her makeup done, and says tomorrow she’s getting dolled up. Kyle hadn’t wanted glam on the last trip, but there are no restrictions this year. Dorit gets individual pearls glued to her hairline. Kyle sees Dorit, and in her interview, she says, this is casual?

Garcelle calls Sutton, who says she has a flight tomorrow; she needed to get her passport. LisaR tells Teddi that she’s reeling, and Teddi says she has anxiety about sharing. You’re damned if you do, and damned if you don’t. In her interview, she says she’s not in a position to give Denise a heads up. Denise is LisaR’s friend. Here’s the information; do what you want with it. She wishes the conversation would go away, but she has to address the situation. LisaR says, Denise has some explaining to do.

In Dorit’s interview, she says she spent most of her twenties in Italy, where fashion girls live their best lives. They look at Colosseum. Kyle says Sutton is on her way, and Garcelle and Denise should be there soon. They go to a restaurant that Erika calls magical. They sit in the lounge area to have cocktails, and LisaR asks Erika if they can come to Chicago opening night. In Erika’s interview, she says, no. It’s not all nailed down; give her a minute. You rehearse for a month, then they put you in. Let her get the kinks out, then come. The waiter brings appetizers, including cheeseburger sliders with little American and Italian flags stuck in them. Erika says her drink is exquisite, and LisaR says she’s not responsible for anything that comes out of her mouth after this drink. They call Denise and Garcelle, who have just arrived, and tell them they’re at a restaurant in the Colosseum. Denise says she and Garcelle will see them in the morning. Garcelle says she’s so excited. LisaR wants to go around the table, and ask questions. She asks, what was the worst trouble they got in as teenagers? Kyle says when she had sex for the first time, her mother called a family meeting. She won’t say how old she was, but it was uncomfortable and the worst thing ever. Her sister Kathy asked, how was it? Kim caught her and told everyone. In her interview, she says Kim looked gleeful, ripped the blanket off, and she knew Kim was going to tell. Denise and Garcelle show up.

Garcelle wonders if she should invite chocolate Michael to Thanksgiving, since ex-husband Mike always comes. Erika says, Thanksgiving is loaded, and people are always going to jail on Thanksgiving. Really? That’s a new one on me. Garcelle says she doesn’t want it to be messy.

In the morning, LisaR calls Garcelle, saying they’re going to the Spanish Steps and doing some shopping. They wander around, taking in the sights. LisaR tells them, in 1975, when The Exorcist came out, Italy was against having it shown there, and on the premier date, one of the twin churches was hit by lightning. In Denise’s interview, she says she found out her house was built on a burial ground, and her kids see and hear things, and think there are bodies under the beds. The spirits want them out, and people might think she’s nuts, but there’s some truth to that. In her interview, Erika says it’s not her first time there  in this lifetime or any other lifetime. We flash back to Erika saying she was a Spanish boy in another life. She thinks she was a Roman citizen, having a good time with the gladiators. They walk up to a statue of King Tut, and it turns out to be a person in costume, who moves, and freaks them out.

Sutton calls, and they tell her to meet them at the Spanish Steps. She says she got her passport quickly, so she could fly commercial. In her interview, she says if she’d had to charter a plane, it wouldn’t have stopped her, but it would have hurt. They go to where the high-end stores are, and walk inside Fendi. In Erika’s interview, she says, it’s the headquarters of the legendary House of Fendi. They have things you can’t get anywhere else. In Sutton’s interview, she says, in the world of shopping, Italy might be the best place. Garcelle tries on a $30k coat. She asks what it costs, and the clerk says it doesn’t matter. Garcelle says, if you have to ask, you can’t afford it. Denise tells Teddi that she can’t do the fur thing, and Teddi barely acknowledges her. In Teddi’s interview, a producer asks if she’s subconsciously steering clear of Denise. Teddi says she’s trying to steer clear but not be a jerk. It’s a thin line. LisaR says she’s going to be hiding some credit card bills from Harry. The women go to the Trevi fountain, and they all throw coins in at the same time.

Dorit loves Rome’s go big or go home vibe. It’s fun for her. They get ready for dinner, and Kim calls Kyle, saying she’s on her way to the dentist. Kyle says she’s excited. Kim got new boobs, and now new teeth. Kim asks how Teddi is feeling, and Kyle says, she hasn’t said one word to Denise. Kim thinks it’s going to be weird, and Kyle says Teddi can’t even have a drink. In Teddi’s interview, she says she’s tired, she’s been on her feet all day, and knowing she has to go to dinner with Denise isn’t appealing when she has these horrible feelings. Erika tells her glam squad that she’s going to channel someone fierce. In her interview, she says, Rome is the place to be expressive. She wants to embrace the old Italian film stars and luxury.

Everyone meets for dinner. In Garcelle’s interview, she says, Dorit and Erika are having a fashion show for dinner in the hotel. In Kyle’s interview, she says she has the feeling Dorit will have a new accent when they come back. Erika says she likes real Italian pasta, not the sh*t that’s served at home. Sutton doesn’t like the wine, and gets something different. Garcelle jokes that Sutton’s not happy, and Sutton says she enjoys their friendship, but she was put off by Garcelle asking how she got her money. Erika announces she married hers, like we don’t know. Kyle says, it’s a weird question, and Garcelle apologizes. She asks if they’ve gotten all their issues out. My stomach lurches. I hate this stuff.

Teddi tells them that she needs to say something. Somebody told her that Denise said terrible things about her. Denise says, like what? and Teddi says, like she’s pathetic, that Denise can’t stand her, and she tries to fit in with the group because she’s lived in her father’s shadow her entire life. Denise tells Teddi, she never said that, and Teddi says she couldn’t choose her parents; the same way Denise’s kids couldn’t choose theirs. WHAT?! Nasty. I can’t believe Teddi said that, and on top of it, there’s no reaction. Denise asks who told her this, and Teddi says, Brandi. In Denise’s interview, she says, Brandi is the source? and rolls her eyes. She tells Teddi that she never said anything like that to anyone. She hardly talks to Brandi. Teddi asks if she didn’t talk to Brandi before the party. In Dorit’s interview, she says, when she met Brandi, Brandi told her that her boobs were effed up. Denise says she did Brandi’s podcast, and Teddi says, that was six months ago. She asks again if Denise didn’t have a conversation with Brandi before and after the party. Denise says, no, and we flash back to Bravocon, where an interviewer asked Denise if she’s still friendly with Brandi. Denise says she is, and she appreciates Brandi; she’s a straight shooter. LisaR asks if Denise has said negative things about Erika, and Denise says, no. Erika asks what was said about her, and Teddi looks at Kyle, saying she was there too. Kyle tells them, Brandi said Denise called Erika a cold bitch, and said she didn’t like her. Denise tells them, she never said that. Dorit asks if it’s possible Brandi made it up, and Teddi says she doesn’t know why she’d do that, but she was specific and upset. Denise says, for what? and Teddi says for what happened when Brandi came to see Denise for the podcast. Denise says Brandi interviewed her and her cat. She never said anything about anyone. LisaR wonders why Brandi would lie, and Denise tells them, if she had something to say, she would say it. In LisaR’s interview, she says the Denise she knew before was open, honest, and funny. We flash back to Denise talking about her sex life, and LisaR says, Denise now seems more concerned with her image, and being right and perfect. We flash back to Denise saying she didn’t want sex talk in front of her kids, and Denise repeats that she hardly talks to Brandi. Kyle says what’s between Denise and Brandi has nothing to do with them. In her interview, LisaR says the reason she’s not saying anything is one word – Munchausen. We flash back to that because we will never, ever get away from it. She’s not taking the bait. She paid dearly for it, and learned her lesson. LisaR says they’re not trying to hurt her, and Teddi insists it’s going to be on camera already, and there’s going to be a lot more. Denise says, there’s no truth to it. Teddi says, then she already knows what it is, and Denise says, to anything. Garcelle tells Teddi, just say it, and Teddi says, it’s really bad. Dorit asks why she’s torturing Denise, and Teddi says, Brandi said she and Denise had sex.  

Honestly, I felt my blood pressure rise at the beginning of the show. Whether it’s true or not, the only people who know are Denise and Brandi, but Brandi has the reputation of being a liar. She apologized to Adrienne for a huge lie last week, so why are they so quick to believe this?

Garcelle says, it’s one quiet table, and Teddi says she didn’t think it was her place to bring it up. Garcelle asks Denise if it’s true, and Denise says, no. Kyle tells her, Brandi said she and Aaron have an understanding, and Denise says Aaron was there at the podcast. Kyle says Brandi claimed that the next day, Denise told her not to tell Aaron, and freaked out. We flash back to the lying liar who lies, and Denise asks if they’re effing kidding her. Garcelle asks why Brandi would be out to get her, but Denise has no idea. In Garcelle’s interview, she says, whatever happened is Denise’s business, but she wants to get to the bottom of it, and laughs. Teddi tells Denise, say whatever she needs to say, and Denise walks over and knocks Teddi off her chair. No. Wait. That was just in my mind. Denise says she’s going through so much stuff, but it has nothing to do with this or the show. She says, Bravo, Bravo, Bravo. (There’s an old falsehood that if someone says that, filming stops.) She says she doesn’t want to be that person who leaves. She’s floored by the information, and asks the producer, please don’t air it; it’s not true. Teddi says she’s sorry for whatever Denise is going through, but she doesn’t know what to believe. In Teddi’s interview, she says what’s frustrating is, Denise is so concerned with her image. When she doesn’t want to talk, she says, Bravo, Bravo, Bravo. We flash back to another time that happened, and Teddi wonders why Denise is yelling at the camera and crew because she’s going through personal issues. It’s what she signed up to do. Erika says Denise has to straighten this sh*t out with Brandi, and Kyle says, whatever the story is, they don’t care. Denise says she’s very married, and loves her husband. Erika says she doesn’t have to explain herself, and Denise tells them, anything she’s felt, she’s said. Kyle doesn’t think that’s true. Sutton wonders if they care more about what was said about them than what was said about Denise. In Sutton’s interview, she says, a month ago, a friend told her Denise slept with Brandi, but why bring up a rumor about who slept with who, especially at the dinner table? She thinks Teddi is feeling hurt, and retaliating. Dorit says Teddi had a lot of anxiety about it, and got it off her chest; it’s been a burden. She starts to talk, but Kyle interrupts her, and Dorit says, let her finish her thought. She cares about Denise more than Kyle. Kyle interrupts again, and Dorit says Kyle isn’t letting her finish. Teddi says the can’t wrap up this conversation with a bow, and won’t get closure now. Garcelle says, it’s a quiet group right now, and Dorit gets up, saying, goodnight. Garcelle says they have bigger things to worry about, and everyone starts to leave. LisaR says Denise has to talk to Brandi, but Denise says she doesn’t want to do this here. If they want her on the show, it needs to be cut.

It was all like some bizarre intervention.

Next time, racing on the Audubon, Dorit confronts Kyle about always cutting her off Denise says Brandi told her that she’s had sex with someone in the group.

😥 I Totally Missed This One…

Another untimely death in the soap world.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/all-my-children/john-callahan-dead-at-66

Even worse. Thieves don’t leave you alone, even after you’re gone.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/all-my-children/eva-larue-struggling-to-recover-john-callahan-stolen-identity

🗽 Not Up Close, But In Person…

I can’t wait to see what kind of masks they come up with.

https://pagesix.com/2020/07/28/real-housewives-of-new-york-set-to-reunite-in-person-on-long-island-next-month/

🙌 They Like Her, They Really Like Her…

Things aren’t the same without the skinny girl.

https://pagesix.com/2020/07/28/bethenny-frankel-stunned-fans-want-her-back-on-rhony/

🕶 Virtually Taking Over…

News from the Comic-Con front.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1173880/see-all-your-favorite-stars-taking-over-2020-s-virtual-comic-con

🎶 You Can’t Beat Free…

Lollapalooza finds a way to bring music to the people.

https://abc7chicago.com/lollapalooza-lolla-lineup-2020-schedule-chicago/6340944/

🧗🏽‍♀️ Uphill Climb…

We made it to the middle of the week, or Wednesday for those still paying attention. I was going to watch the Shahs reunion tonight, but RHOBH gave me all the angst I could handle for one night. It’s coming though. Meanwhile, stay safe, stay out of the heat, and stay looking forward to the day you can retire your mask.